It's good that you're fixing this.It also can be worked around by using the net.img floppy and loading it when prompted. Even with the regular first cd of the sarge set, I have to choose my 3com from a list; it isn't automatically detected. Btw, my hacked cd did the job for installing with brltty though I realize it's not a proper presentation at this point.
-- Cheryl "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."