If the Debian install CD is giving you too much trouble, but you can boot to a Linux LiveCD (almost any will do), consider installing Debian from Linux.
This is a very hands-on procedure, but if you're familiar with Linux already, it works well. The link will give you all the details, but the procedural overview is:
- Boot to a LiveCD (or a LiveUSB or any other Linux system);
- Create partition(s), format filesystem(s);
- Install & run debootstrap to install the base Debian system;
- chroot into the new system (see the SU chroot tutorial);
- Configure the system (kernel, Apt, bootloader, ... told ya it's hands-on);
- Install any other necessary packages.
Then reboot, repair anything that didn't get setup quite right, and install and configure additional packages as needed.