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 
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?