I believe that this is actually a timing problem in upstart. straceing seems to slow everything down enough that booting to graphics works always.
** Package changed: gdm (Ubuntu) => upstart (Ubuntu) -- gdm does not start after bootup https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/447226 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Desktop Bugs, which is subscribed to gdm in ubuntu. -- desktop-bugs mailing list desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/desktop-bugs