linux on my laptop and power management

[Harold E Vine III]

having installed linux on my toshiba satillite laptop, there are a few problems i need a little help in finding the cures to.   i've never ran linux on my laptop, so i dont know where to start looking.   i did a clean install, wiped out xp and now only have redhat 9.0 installed on it.   it boots and runs fine.   my built in network port does not work. my pcmcia network card does not work.   the proper moduels seem to have been detected and loaded, but when initilization is attempted either on boot up or by using the rh networking tool, the cards don't seem to be able to get ip addresses from my router and therefore are useless.   my wireless pcmcia card however DOES work, flawlessly. so for now, i at least have a wireless broadband connection.   i have run up2date, and everything is up to snuff.   the other problem is that when i close the laptop cover, linux stays running. at full bore and there is no standby or hibernate funtion.   where can i start looking for a solution? what other information can i give you that can help solve these  issues?   thank you so much for your help, harold