How do I interrupt a Debian (installed from DSL) boot process to get hold of a command line before X starts and changes the video mode?
The ugly details / chatty bits:
Using an old Dell Latitude CPiD266 laptop as part of a crash self-guided intro to Linux. It may have some hardware (disc?) problems that prevented installation of Ubuntu or Debian (or even Live CD use of Ubuntu) but I was successful in booting DSL from CD... except that the GUI was unviewable thanks to incompatibility with the video system (Neomagic 2MB).
After some fiddling I determined that I needed frame buffering, and so to (a) select the boot option fb1024x768, and then (b) select Xfbdev when prompted during the DSL X setup.
Later I was able to install to the hard disc from the DSL CD, but although I got a chance to use part (a) above, I don't recall being given the opportunity to use part (b), i.e. to choose Xfbdev. The upshot is that when I boot from the hard disc all is well (and visible!) until X starts and then my video is whacked. Even if I exit from there to the command line, the video is still messed up.
So I'm assuming there is a config file somewhere that I need to edit. No doubt I can piece together the information I need to sort this eventually. (I'm *not* asking for help on this unless some kind person really has a lot of time on the their hands.) However I'm assuming that I can't get to square one unless I can get hold of a CLI before X starts.
Or... hmmm... I guess I could boot from the CD again and get to a CLI from there. Maybe that's the ticket?
I don't even know any commands yet, that's how newbie I am! But you gotta start somewhere... and as an olde-tyme DOS user who had brief exposure to Unix a few decades back, I'll be fine once I get rolling.
TIA,
solarscooter
Catch up on the latest ULNG Announcements at our 
I finally found the clue I
I finally found the clue I needed, though it may not be the most elegant approach. I simply needed to run xsetup from the command line, though I had to let the GUI boot and clobber my video first.
At the command line (which you can reach from the GUI with cntl-alt-backspace) the video was still whacked, but thanks to going through the xsetup routine from the live CD launch 100 times, I could certainly see well enough to get through the x setup.
From what I've read I thought I should've been able to use xstart to get back into the GUI at that point, but that wouldn't work for me. No matter. On subsequent reboots, xfbdev had indeed become the default.
Now that the flailing is over I can actually settle into learning something about Linux (not that I haven't picked up a few things while flailing).
Cheers
-ss
Already learning more about
Already learning more about the distinction between X and the desktop... but this doesn't change the essential question: can I grab a console interface before video goes south?