Hmm... The problem is gone for me. I think it may be related to the latest changes in linux-source-2.6.20, particularly this one:
* i82365: Probe before adding platform dev. - GIT-SHA 06fd3fa13e3b336fcea01c326f3af314e5f37688 Not even adding kern.log, as it looks OK. -- adds/removes same device many times a second causing high loads and extremally slow performance https://launchpad.net/bugs/81915 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs