11.04 Natty hangs during install while starting services. Whats next?

[maxwax]

I'm trying to install 11.04 natty on an HP Probook 6455b and failing.

Using two different burned cds I'm able to start the install process

1) I can get to the initial menu and interact with it to change command line options
2) I can boot the kernel and see services trying to start

At some point the system hangs and I suspect because upstart is starting services in parallel the console messages aren't showing the same consistent point for the hang.

with my last run using --verbose on the command line the last few lines are:

* Starting bluetooth
* Starting configure network device security
* Starting configure network device
* PulseAudio configured for per-user sessions
saned disabled; edit /etc/default/saned

Another run I just did (with network cable unplugged) ended with the same but also

* Stopping save kernel messages

I should note that the Pulseaudio line's asterisk is red or orange, does that indicate anything?

Mostly I'm looking for suggestions on how I can further debug and diagnose this problem to resolve it.

The system previously ran 10.10 fine and runs Fedora 15 (which should have a very similar kernel level) with no apparent problems.

Probook 6455 = basic HP laptop with AMD Phenom II mobile processor, 6G of RAM, ATI 4200 embedded graphics, etc, etc. Nothing special really.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[maxwax]

I haven't been able to root cause the problem, but I found enough of a work-around to get this HP Probook 6455b installed.

The symptom trying to install 11.04 on this laptop is related to the initial handling of graphics. The kernel will load fine and some system startup services will happen but somewhere at or near starting graphics, the system hangs completely.

My work-around (tried once) was to boot with 'single expert rescue' to get the kernel to boot and then get to a rescue prompt. So more than likely 'rescue' mode is all you need.

From there, boot into failsafeX graphics mode and use the LiveCD operating mode to perform the install. Upon reboot of the fresh installation, everything works fine.

I've been using the default graphics drivers with an HP dock and two external monitors in 3D mode. No problems so far and no need to use the binary ATI Catalyst drivers.