2. it's not really the Catch-22 as you wrote above. You should have
been given the install options of GUI or text-mode. Even without a
proper video driver, a 640x480 VGA window should have appeared as the
generic default. I get that with some distros which aren't accompanied
with eleventy-seven bazillion video drivers (some of which are still
proprietary).

Once the text mode install has completed, then a proper driver can
be found and installed; Ive had to do that many times over the years.

Are you saying you see absolutely nothing on your monitor when you
boot the Ubuntu install disk? Did you even see you're your computer's
bootup screen with a choice to enter its BIOS setup? If you see the
computer's basic BIOS bootup screen, then text-mode Ubuntu install
will work.

Text-mode install is kind of a misnomer. It's an ASCII-graphics mode
with color and selections are (typically) made using the keyboard's
arrow keys and the ENTER key to confirm a selection, TAB to move
faster, etc. I suppose I've been lucky that Ubuntu seems to work
with every computer (and graphic card and mode) I've tried.


I get the following options when I boot with the 8.04.1 CD in the drive.

a.. Try w/o any changes to your PC
b.. Install
c.. Check CD for errors
d.. Test Memory
e.. Boot from 1st hard drive
Along the bottom of the screen are various options listed as F1, F2, etc.
F4 is Modes. I select Try w/o any changes and hit F4 and choose Safe
Graphics Mode and it works!!! I am able to use Ubuntu.