RH 6.2 install causes screen to explode

[Peter Evans <peter@example.com>]

Danger: dimwit extremely-newbie question! (I bit the bullet; it hurt.)

Today I ensured my old laptop was bootable from diskette and CD-ROM, and
then nuked (FDISK) everything on the hard drive. (Take that, Bill!) I'd
already decided that Red Hat was the most likely Linux to accommodate my
low IQ, that RH7.1 was too big, and that RH6.2J was the one. The CD
started up, asked a very few questions (none of them about video) and
then my screen slowly turned an unhealthy bluish white, fading to white.
I couldn't read anything, so, fearing that my LCD might be destroyed, pressed
Ctrl-Alt-Del. I guessed that the installation routine had made a wrong
guess about the refresh rate or some other aspect of my video card or
screen.

The second time around, I took the option of installing RH in expert
mode. Perhaps there were one or two more questions, but anyway I wasn't
asked anything about video (or any other aspect of hardware, for that
matter) and again the screen turned white.

After I press Ctrl-Alt-Del the screen briefly goes back into text mode
and I see something about "Trident", "SVGA", etc., etc., but the damn
thing reboots before I have time to write anything down.

What should I do?  (Be patient and let the installation do its thing
with my screen? Just go back to Win98 and Microsoft "Bob"? Get an iMac?
Suicide?)

If you think I have adequate brainpower to proceed in my attempted
escape from M$, suggestions on how to partition my paltry 1.4GB of
single and unreplaceable hard drive would be welcome too. (How big a
swap disk, etc.)

Oh bugger, I've just got a phone call from my SO, who says Tagosaku, her
until-now trusty Win95 laptop, is on the fritz. So I have to rush home
and thus shan't be able to read your replies for another 24 hours,
during which I'll have wasted more time with that other OS.

(I suppose if I just want Linux in a small package I should get the
Agenda VR3 http://www.agendacomputing.com/ -- unfortunately English-only,
but anyway "Plat'home" has them for 32 thou a pop.)

++++++++
Peter "dazed and confused" Evans
peter@example.com