x86 install display turns off at login

x86 install for the dude, what a nightmare

finally get install that looks like it will complete after changing usb irq due to keyboard not recognized, and ditching an entire days attempt on an r300 that just can’t find /dev/root who knows why

now i see ‘login’ for about .5 seconds then display goes completely dead, the machine will be mostly remote anyway but i want to be able to get a console on it easily

can anyone explain to me why this might be and how to resolve

thanks