Newbie: Problems with hostname and domainname

From: Bill G. (getz53_at_aol.com)
Date: 11/16/03 

Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 15:19:00 -0600

I am new to Linux. I just installed Red Hat Release 9, and am trying to
bring up an Apache web server. However, I thing my hostname and domainname
are not correct.

I have a home LAN with a Linksys router. There are 5 computers connected to
the router, including the Linus box. The remainder are Window boxes.

When I boot Linux, a message flies by. It says something like "Starting
httpd: httpd: Could not determine the server's fully qualified domain name,
using 127.0.0.1 as the server name." (If the boot log is stored somewhere,
please let me know so that I can get the exact message. Thanks!)

After I log in (as root) I get the following message:
"Could not look up internet address for localhost. This will prevent GNOME
from operating correctly. It may be possible to correct the problem by
adding localhost to the file /etc/hosts." I click on the button that says
"Log in anyway."

My ethernet card is configured with a hostname of localhost and a DNS search
path of localdomain.

When I bring up Mozilla and type in localhost (as described in the "Red Hat
Linux 9 for Dummies" book that I am using), instead of going to the Linux
box it attempts to go to www.localhost.com and I get the message "The
operation timed out when attempting to contact www.localhost.com."

Any ideas on what I am doing wrong? Please be explicit, as I obviously
cannot even make the "for Dummies" book work! 8-)

Thanks!

Bill