Comment 2 for bug 236307

I also had this problem tonight...

Here's a temporary way for those on a Wubi install to get back to a working system (if only until the next reboot). Pressing `Escape` right after choosing Ubuntu from the list of available operating systems but *before* the Ubuntu splash screen appears will present a list of kernels, among which should be the -16 kernel. I was able to get back into a working session (with all settings intact) by selecting the -16 kernel. While this does nothing to solve the underlying issue, it does restore a sane environment for exploration/testing..