I upgraded from R5F1 to R5F27 at the weekend and like many other had the problem with nvidia card/drivers and x-windows not starting. I searched here there and everywhere and tried all the fixes I found but nothing I did worked.
After trying so many fixes I wasn't sure what state the box was in so I decided to reinstall R5F27 (using auto-upgrade). At the point where it asks about using the splash screen, which I have never used before as it warns about problems with nvidia cards, I thought "Give it a try, it's stuffed anyway."
Guess what? It fixed the problem! It boots without a problem and has the added advantage of looking less like a geek's toy when it boots. Just in time too, my shiny new 37" LCD TV is about to be delivered!
