I stumbled over this somewhat dated thread when I had the same problem
occur to me just recently. It ended up being a problem with the new
Linksys Gigabit Ethernet Card that I had installed. While there are
reports out there that folks have been able to make these cards work
(http://www.linuxcompatible.org/Linksys_Gigabit_Network_Adapter_EG1032_v3_c12430.html),
most references point to a general incompatibility.
My system booted fine after I removed the card again.
hth,
h.
