In /etc/ there's a file called inittab. Almost at the top there is a default run level option and it should be set to 3 - it is probably set to 5 by default (5 is the GUI interface, 3 is shell).
The option looks like this:
id:3:initdefault:
It does sound like there's some funkiness with the video card in that shuttle. If you cannot boot to even get to this option, then you'll need to interrupt the GRUB loader (the booter) so that you can go into single-user mode and then modify that file. Somewhere in the FC install there was an option to start as text only, that would have done this for you - but in my experience, they don't make that option widely visible - in fact sometimes it's just a plain old PIA to find. On some boxes, the way to interrupt the GRUB loader is to hold the "e" key down as soon as it starts, then modify the boot instructions so that you boot into single-user mode. I have no idea how this looks in FC9, so if you get that far and still need help, post and let's walk through it.
