Install Mint with a wireless keyboard...?!

[electronictim]

Hi all.
I've been running Lubuntu on an old 512mb Sony Vaio Desktop, but want to change over to Mint (LXDE). However, the wireless keyboard doesn't work on the boot loader screen (I am booting from USB). On other distros, there is an automatic timeout on the screen, meaning the first option ("try _______ without installing") is selected automatically after a given period of time. And the keyboard works fine once the distro is loaded up. But with no such timeout on Mint (why oh why?!) - I can't ever get beyond the boot loader. Maybe I'm being really stupid, but I can't fathom it...
Any ideas?
Thanks a lot (in hushed anticipation...)

[mikewhatever]

Well, ...and what bootloader does Mint LXDE use? It's probably a good idea to provide a lot more info, especially if you want help with a problem unrelated to Ubuntu.

[Perfect Storm]

Moved to Other OS/Distro Talk.

[drawkcab]

borrow a wired keyboard for installation.