what option to use shell-like boot instead ncurses-like interface?

[Thomas Harding <tom@thomas-harding.name>]

Hello,
I bought a "E-café" mini-laptop,
it seems to come with a proprietary modified Mandrake/Mandriva 2008.

I would have debian on, as all machines I own.

However, I have problems with graphics card while installing :

the ncurses like install interface is displayed like this,
despite several "videomem=256" and alike options used.

<ta(half e "b")[large blue screen][black stripe]

How to de-active ncurses and have a shell-like install -- like
linksys nslu2 via ssh -- if even possible?
(graphical install is worse).

My searches in FAQ didn't hint.

Note: testing version dvd1 have same behavior.

Thanks anyway.

TH.