Thanks for the new info Colin. In light of all the info here, I think the right way to go is to update the failsafe.conf to inform the user that the system boot is delayed waiting for network configuration. This will give the user a chance to inspect their network configuration, and will allow support people to quickly ascertain the status of /etc/network/interfaces and fix it.
I believe the way to do this is with a plymouth message after 20 seconds. This will ensure that any plugged in system sees no message, but anybody waiting an unreasonable amount of time is informed quickly. Opening a task against upstart since that is where failsafe.conf lives. ** Also affects: upstart (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Changed in: upstart (Ubuntu Oneiric) Status: New => In Progress ** Changed in: upstart (Ubuntu Oneiric) Assignee: (unassigned) => Clint Byrum (clint-fewbar) ** Changed in: upstart (Ubuntu Oneiric) Importance: Undecided => High -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/847782 Title: installer writes a permanent ethernet entry in interfaces file To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/netcfg/+bug/847782/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs