using 8.04 2.6.24-16
I end up at command line.

last entry is :

Busy Box v1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3 -5 ubuntu12) Built in shell (ash) enter help for
list of commands

(initramfs) _

fell back to using ver 7.10 choice in grub

the other vers are broken

AMD x2 (socket am2)running at 1.78 Ghz
ABIT AN 52 (Nvidia chipset)
Nvidia FX5700
2 Gb ram
120 Gb SATA drive

I seen another similar post, but I dont get the same error.
I used the online upgrade, no cd was used
I have not tried the recovery mode as I do not know where to start

using 8.04 2.6.22-14

driver 'srv' needs updating please use bus bus_type methods

at least 7.10 still works

The recovery mode (in Ubuntu) should be an option on the boot menu. Just select that - it will come up without the splash so you can see all the messages. Should help suss out the (as in your particular) problem - Hardy has been seriously flaky for a lot of people.