Modem on Port 5

Hi! I just installed an internal PCI US Robotics 56K Performance Pro in my computer replacing the HFS56 Micro Modem. Windows 98 and SuSE resides on the same hard drive. According to Windows 98, the modem is on Communication Port 5 (five). SuSE Linus can not access it. According to the directtions from US Robotics, if my kernel is version 2.3 or higher, it would recognize the modem. However, according to the command, 'uname -a', my linux version is 2.2.18. How do I upgrade the kernel? I can only access the internet via Windows 98. Being a newby, please provide step-by-step directions. Thank you for your help. Ken Green