[00:11] <fluvvell> dekarl, thanks for the interesting and fully random response, for anybody who may find this post should it happen to be archived online, let me just say this card has been working in a mythtv install since 2007, various kernels and iterations all from the Ubuntu stream. The fault turned out to be a motherboard with a faulty pci card controller/heatsink combo.
[00:14] <fluvvell> for those readers who happen to be in New Zealand, the skystar II cards have been available to access freeview when they are not in line of sight of a terrestrial transmitter digitally enabled.  b2c2-flexcop drivers are installed on the ubuntu/mythbuntu distros, probably on others as well. This was confirmed with a 12.04.2 boot CD on a working motherboard.
[00:14] <fluvvell> They are of course a satellite receiver card
[01:52] <qwebirc34341> I'm trying to install mythbuntu 12.04, 32-bit.  Burned the iso to CD, booted from it, and after a bit I get to what looks to be a desktop screen, with "Applications" in the top left corner.  However, there is no "install mythbuntu" icon (or any icon) on the desktop, and the mouse freezes.
[01:52] <qwebirc34341> My next step is to just try to install plain Ubuntu and see if that works
[02:27] <qwebirc34341> gonna go troubleshoot some hardware.  thanks yall.
[05:41] <dekarl> sorry fluvvell, no harm intended. I missed the part where you said "this is the kernel version that worked up to last week" and got side tracked by google results for "a new revision of an old card that needs new glue code"
[05:48] <fluvvell> dekarl, yes that was a bit of a givaway! I wasn't sure if you had been online at that point so wasn't going to be too rude. All a good learning experience for me anyway, hadn't been too ready to give up the motherboard so quickly as its within warranty. All the better though. Supplier (freight delivery notwithstanding during a local flood with road-outages) is overnighting me a new one. Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H
[06:34] <dekarl> the little girl is up, got baby duty
[08:04] <dekarl> OT, we now plug barges in the gaps in our dikes... http://www.faz.net/-12223561.html
[20:03] <qwebirc88408> hello how do i select the cad driver eg card=114