Barbara> How do I set up the general loopback network address
Barbara> 127.0.0.0?
First off, I think you're wanting 127.0.0.1 and not 127.0.0.0... the former is the standard loopback address, if you want to conform to standards. Second, a good way to set up the loopback address is to add the following line to your /etc/hosts file (if it's not there already):
127.0.0.1 <hostname>where <hostname> is whatever name you gave your computer (you can get it by typing "hostname" (minus quotes). I've got this line inside the "debconf" area in my hosts file... if you have networking configured right it should probably be working already. Try "ping 127.0.0.1" to check.
Hope that helps... -- DvB