ok, I am having the same problem as a lot of other people with this.
I am running on a Toshiba Satellite (don't have the model) and I've tried the alt/ctrl/del combo, but the options to start task manager never come up for me. I'm not sure what to do now. any other suggestions?
I suggest you try pressing F8 multiple times right after you turn the laptop on. If you can get into the BIOS screen then you have a working computer but a broken Windows OS. Repair instructions vary on what version of Windows you have. If you can't get into the BIOS then you have a failure in the hardware. A 5 or 6 year old laptop is cheaper to replace than to repair.
There is a much better way.. Like xpc man said you can press f8 until you get it and start system recovery... And you will get your comp as good as new..
I've and working like a charm