Thanks Edwin, actually a presario is a desktop, will the above option work on a desktop? I am booting from the cd and my screen goes blank and I get a message about resolution on the screen just like you do when you turn on the monitor and not the cpu, does that make any sense.
I have exactly the same problem. Try pushing [CTRL] [ALT] [+] a few times. It should let you use the 640x480 mode. I'm going to try and see if Mandrake 9.1 has better out of the box support and I'll post again. Further advice is appreciated.