When I try to install Linux on older PC 32bit I get black screen with blinking cursor. How to fix?

I have an old PC that used to run Windows XP (32bit). There are two hard drives. I tried to turn it on again, but Windows would not boot. I then decided to install Linux. I tried Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Debian, and Silaz (32-bit versions). They all do the same thing - they start booting, I get a menu, I select install... and then get a black screen with a blinking cursor. I first assumed it was the somewhat rare graphic card. So I uninstalled it and put a standard PCI card in — same issue. I then removed the slave drive and tried to install it with just the master. Same issue. I then removed the master, jumpered the slave as the new master, and tried again - the same result. I then started the Debian CD (had the nicest boot menu), went into isolinux, and added nomodeset to the kernel prompt. No change. What else could I do/try? It is a Pentium 4 2.4 GHZ. The board states it is a "Medion MD5000 v1.0".