jonluc1,
There could be a couple of problems possible here.
1. Did you burn the cd slow and check the md5 sum on this computer? If the answer is no to the slow burn then I would reburn the cd, slow this time. The md5 sum should verify on the laptop to confirm its usability.
2. The MPC TransPort T2500 is very Windows centric. I would suggest that you go to the Puppy linux community site and download and burn "Puppy shard 3.01" linux iso. It isn't a big download, for a linux distro, 155MB. Again, burn it slow and check the md5 sum on the laptop. If the laptop won't boot that iso and run, I predict a long, bumpy road in getting a linux system working right on your new laptop.
Probably not what you want to hear but better to know now before you bang your head against a wall. lol
Good luck,

Fred