FC4 messes up console on Averatec 3500 series laptop

I decided recently to install FC4 on my laptop (Averatec 3500 series) 
and noticed that while X-windows is running OK, the console is messed 
up. The lines which should appear on the bottom are actually the top 
2 lines, and are compressed.

In addiotion, I noticed that the module for recognising an NTFS 
partition isn't loading by default. The partition is on a laptop hard 
disk hooked up to a USB port, but using the mount command gives the 
error message that the NTFS partition is not recognised.

However, my USB memory sticks are recognised, so there is hope.

I'm more worried about the monitor really. Any suggestions?

Paul King