Rejecting my own bug. Further inspection shows that the kernel is actually hanging when detecting my optical drives. I'm not sure if the USB controller ever comes online, though...
** Changed in: linux-source-2.6.19 (Ubuntu) Status: Unconfirmed => Rejected -- Kernel hangs when starting USB controller. (VIA chipset) https://launchpad.net/bugs/74706 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs