Ubuntu 9.10 Server boots to black screen (still works though)

I have an Dell Optiplex GX260 with an integrated Intel 845 adapter.  Both Ubuntu 8.04(?) Desktop and Server versions worked just fine with the video adapter (after I got the GUI installed for server version).  I've just downloaded the new 9.1 version.  When I installed it, I chose to also install the LAMP server and the Ubuntu Desktop.  (I'm pretty new to all of this and I'm going to need a GUI.)  When I reboot, I get a flashing underscore cursor in the upper left-hand corner of the screen for a few seconds... and then nothing -- black screen.  The hard drive continues to run for a short time and then only ocassional disk activity.  When I've found is that, at the GRUB loader screen, I can Edit the line second up from the bottom.  It's the line that starts with 'linux/boot/vmlinuz' and ends with 'quiet spash'.  If I remove the words 'quiet spash' and then do a Ctrl-X to boot, everything works beautifully.  Almost.  Although I'm getting my max resolution of 1600x1200, I seem to be in some kind of generic/compatibility mode because I cannot enable the cool visual effects and screen fades are noticeably slower than they should be.  I'm sure this is just a video driver issue that is new with this new server (maybe even workstation) version of Ubuntu.  I just don't know how to resolve it.  I'm a complete newb at this but eager to learn.  Thanks for any help you can provide.