I did comment splashimage=(hd0,0)/boot/grub/default-splash.xpm.gz in the grub menu.lst and this works around the problem. In short it is grub
** Also affects: grub (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: Unconfirmed -- text console garbled from boot up https://launchpad.net/bugs/63970 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs