When a user currently boots into the 'recovery mode' from GRUB, they are presented with a command-line interface with complete root privileges and no introduction. This is just not user-friendly by any definition.
With the introduction of bullet-proof X in 8.04, it should be possible to launch some sort of gui no matter what, so how about creating a guided recovery app (in the style of 'ubiquity-only') that goes something like this:
Welcome to the Ubuntu Recovery Helper.
-If you booted into this mode because booting Ubuntu normally doesn't work, press continue.
-If you have booted into this mode by accident, you can reboot your computer and choose the option to load Ubuntu normally.
-If you are an advanced user and would like to go straight to the command-line, press Advanced.
[REBOOT] [ADVANCED] [CONTINUE]
If they press continue:
-If you know approximately what is wrong with your PC, select it below and press Continue.
-If you don't know what is wrong, press I Don't Know.
[]Graphics Card or Monitor
[]Hard Disk
[]Sound
[]etc.
[BACK] [I DON'T KNOW] [CONTINUE]
Selecting Graphics Card or Monitor would launch the X.org configuration utility, with the additional option to 'Autodetect any display hardware changes' (runs "sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xorg-server" or whatever the exact code is). Selecting I Don't Know would launch the same prompt that the hardware database thingie uses, and when an error is reported would go to the appropriate item from the list above.
I'm not going to go through the entire thing, but I'm sure you get the idea. At the moment, Windows recovery mode is just an admin desktop, and Ubuntu is command-line. We're currently behind, but implementing something like this would put us years ahead. It would also make a great 'important feature' for 8.10 (like compiz-fusion was for 7.10).
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