pppconfig still not working

[Simon R Tod <S.R.Tod@damtp.cam.ac.uk>]

I've been trying to get pppconfig set up to run with my ISP
mapie.csx.cam.ac.uk - it's an internal univerisity system. I have no
problems getting in from windows with just a username, password and
phonenumber. I'm trying to use dynamic DNS - although I know the
server's IP address I don't have a file /etc/resolv.conf, I know it
supports PAP in conjunction with PPP and I'm leaving the port speed at
it's recommended level - it probes ttyS0 and ttyS1 withut finding the
modem, but I know from the windows partition that it's on ttyS2 (ie.
com3) and I'm not even worrying about the advanced options cos all I'm
trying to do at the moment is update my system as root.
When I try and run pon (as root) I'm getting the messages

pppd 2.3.11 started by root, uid 0
Connect script failed
Exit

I've now got this damn laptop sitting in front of me at work, and would
love to get this sorted out pronto.

Thanks for any help.
-- 
srt