Debian doesn't like my keyboard(s)

tried to install a recently-downloaded copy of Debian (3.0r2) on my laptop (a Compaq Presario 2190US) today. I was able to type in that i wanted a bf24 system at the rescue-disk screen, but when it got to the 'Choose a language' screen, i couldn't move the cursor. Neither the keyboard built into my laptop nor an external I plugged in did anything. . . .

Tried restarting a couple times, tried using the extra option to tell it what kind of keyboard it was, but it still didn't take. anyone got any other suggestions?