Live DVD boots and goes online.
Updates.

Won't connect to wi-fi from the installer dialog. Connects fine using the taskbar applet.

Hard lockup during installation. I believe it is related to brightness control. On this model the brightness adjustment is done through keyboard-BIOS interface and a little widget is drawn by the BIOS to indicate brightness.

Mint tries to overtake the brightness control and after a couple of adjustments locks up the computer.

The brightness changes as does the Mint indicator, but the BIOS indicator is stuck on maximum.

On the second try, post-installation the DVD ejects but the system does not respond to "Enter" key and requires a forced shutdown.

Interference with hardware brightness control has been a flaw in Linux Mint for years.

On a second try prior to installation I opened the Power Statistics, adjusted power settings, turned off all desktop effects, played with brightness, and left the power-related apps open during installation. It completed successfully, except for not rebooting - required forced shutdown.

Gateway MA6 has Intel 945gm, Celeron m430, SATA HDD.