Comment 20 for bug 665185

There are other bugs in Ubuntu that can cause shutdown problems, for example Bug #665195 and bug #665176.

I fixed my problems by creating a /etc/init.d/sysshutdown as attached (and adding it to the various runlevels). This at least gives you a chance to examine the situation (in Virtual Console 9) and do a Alt + Sysrq + RSEIUB if need be. This, or something similar, should be included in distributions, since improper shutdown is dangerous. Sysrq can be simulated by writing to /proc/sysrq-trigger. Ubuntu should at least force-remount read-only (via sysrq) before doing its customary improper shutdowns.