Ubuntu 12.04 Stuck at “Stopping Userspace bootsplash”

Virtual machine downloaded from windows azure

1. Edit /etc/default/grub

#GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="console=tty1 console=ttyS0 earlyprintk=ttyS0 rootdelay=300"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=""
GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

2. Remove bloatware

aptitude remove --auto-remove cloud-init
aptitude remove --auto-remove plymouth-theme-ubuntu-text

If you are unable to enter rescue mode – use SystemRescueCd