Agere modem with Compaq R3000 and SuSE

Hi All, I have the subject laptop with the dreaded winmodem. I understand that this modem could work if I install the 32 bit version of linux as the drivers work better with 32-bit mode than 64- bit mode. My laptop is an AMD 64. Have a couple of questions: Does anyone know how to force a 32-bit install using the SuSE 9.3 DVD? Does anyone know of a step by step way of installing the proper drivers to get it to work? You will have to be gentle as I am new at driver stuff and all. Thanks in advance for any help received, Phil