OK
type reset get the same.
tried ctrl-alt-f1 /f2 /f3 /f4 ....
same on all
type init 6 nothing
I hit the reset switch reboot and and boot into gnome and all is fine no
problems.
logout and login again no problems.
ctl-alt-fn and the consoles are unusable.
That is a problem. On my machine if I exit X manually I am sitting on console 7 (assuming we count from 1). Ctl-Alt-F1 brings me back to console 1 and my text prompt (usually a bash session already in progress). If you see something different, then you have exceeded my knowledge of how to help.
I bet that the rivafb driver is a red herring, though. I get the same message but not the same bug, so it's very unlikely "rivafb" contributes to your problem.
