Comment 121 for bug 345119

Blacklisting i915 kernel module is not enough. With the i915 module blacklisted, and the initramfs image updated, the i915 module still gets loaded somehow. It looks like Xorg forces the module to load when it starts up.

These are the commands I used to disable the i915 kernel module:
   sudo -i
   echo "blacklist i915" > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-i915.conf
   echo "blacklist intel_agp" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-i915.conf
   cd /lib/modules/2.6.31-14-generic/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/
   mv i915.ko i915.ko.old
   update-initramfs -u
   reboot

My /etc/X11/Xorg.conf file is empty.

With the i915 module not loaded, I have a functioning Xorg that doesn't freeze. I am still running xserver-xorg-video-intel driver, but I don't get xv video playback.
   [drm] failed to load kernel module "i915"
   (EE) intel(0): [drm] Failed to open DRM device for : No such file or directory
   (EE) intel(0): Failed to become DRM master.
   (II) intel(0): Creating default Display subsection in Screen section

BTW, this freezing bug is still present in the newer kernel package: linux-image-2.6.32-2-generic

I can do some testing or debugging if that would help...?