64bit install problems

i have an HP dv8135nr and for some reason the 64bit dvd install isnt working. I have selected safe mode and it still just goes to a black screen and doesnt go any further. it does have an ATI xpresss 200M graphics card in it. could that be the problem? i really would like to make use of this 64bit cpu, and SUSE has gotten the farthest out of everything distro ive tried to install on this thing, but it still hasnt even gotten to the install part yet..... are there any other things i can tell the kernel at boot to maybe get past this. or how about a text based install? but if the GUI doesnt work in the install it probably wont work after the install, so thats no good either. thanks for any help Nick