Linux on Deskpro - Some hardware not recognized

Another of my crazy projects. I want to convert a Compaq Deskpro
machine to a TV then TIVO box if possible under Linux.

I stuck in some cards and installed Linux (FC4). The cards are not
recognized. In particular I stuck in a TV tuner card and a wireless
network card. For some reason the sound subsystem (on board) is also
not recognized.

Poking around in the BIOS it appears that the cards need to be
recognized there first. Perhaps some Compaq specific drivers need to be
installed. But how? The machine is fairly old but the cards are new.

This may seem to be a strange question but is it possible to convert a
Compaq Deskpro hardware into a generic machine of the same generation?
I ask becaue I can put PCI cards into generic motherboards and the OS
normally recognizes them.

-Jin