Installing the 686 kernel appears to have solved the problem in my case. I documented the process at this Ubuntu thread:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=198879 Thank you to all who replied :-) *Nick* -- Ubuntu Server LAMP 6.06 in VMWare on WinXP hangs after installation https://launchpad.net/bugs/48284 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
