Macbook pro 2007 - black screen on live CD boot

[dispatch88]

I have an old Macbook pro 3,1 with a geforce 8600M GT. I'm trying to install Linux Mint 14 KDE 64bit but have been hitting a very stubborn "No screens found" or "can not find nvidia module" error. My research has shown lots of people are having this issue, with mixed results.

I've tried compatibility mode as well as with various parameters, nomodeset, nvidia.modeset=0, nouveau.modeset=0, etc. I've also tried different versions, 32/64 bit, mint 13 32/64 bit, ubuntu 12.1 32/64 bit. It seems the mac will only recognize 64 bit versions at the boot options screen, im not sure why. The closest I came to a successful boot was with ubuntu 12.1 64bit, The splash screen came up for a few seconds before x server crashed.

Is there a way to bypass the "try linux mint" and just go straight to installation? perhaps through a command prompt? I want to install over the entire drive, overwriting the current mac os. I'm also willing to take the drive out and plug it into my windows computer to install, if thats a viable option. I also have an ubuntu machine if that makes things easier.

edit: oh this is being done through usb, the optical drive tends to eat discs.

[dispatch88]

Patience got the best of me and I went ahead and took the drive out. I plugged it into one of my desktop machines, booted from the live cd and was able to install. I then put the drive back in the macbook and it started up without a hitch! My only problems now are most likely driver issues, trackpad is a bit sticky, and the whole system seems sluggish including boot time. Im also getting a temperature reading from one of the sensors of 127 C!? i hope that's wrong.

Despite those issues, it's a success!