Cannot use grub (or Live CD) on Dell Optiplex 320

I'm updating this forum posting and title to reflect a better understanding of the problem. The original posting with system details is still included below.

I have now found plenty of Web postings to indicate that the Dell Optiplex 320 will not load the kernel using grub. For other distros, the typical solution is to use lilo instead of grub. With MEPIS, my problem is that I don't know if or how I can do that for install purposes. I am entirely dependent on the Live CD, and as far as I know it is entirely dependent on grub.

I have also found a posting at http://refried.org/blog/226/ that claims that the problem is specifically with grub Legacy and that grub 2 will work. Perhaps there is a way to modify the install image to use Grub 2?

Unfortunately, I just bought 10 of these machines for a college lab that I must have up and running pronto. I would really appreciate any assistance on how to get around this. Otherwise I might have to install Windows, and that would really hurt my pride.

(Original posting below)

I am trying to run the 6.5.02 Live CD on a Dell Optiplex 320: Core Duo 2.0 GHz, 1 GB RAM.

The machine boots from the CD and loads grub. No matter which of the boot options I use, I get the same result. A black screen appears with the line "kernel /boot/vmlinuz ..." and everything stops. No CD spinning, no nothing.

I get the same results with all the various resolutions, predefined grub options, and various other boot options I can think of to try.

I am using CD-Rs (not RW) burned at 4x and the md5 checks are good. I get the same result using both 32 bit and 64 bit versions. The CDs work on other hardware.

I'm guessing it is a CD issue, but don't know what else to try. Suggestions would be appreciated.