I have no consoles (Ctrl+Alt+F1 does nothing) ;(

[Kevin C. Smith]

>> >> Its a Dell Insperon 2650 laptop using its internal keyboard.

Common issues with some laptops. Try disabling usplash.

$ sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
Find this entry “# nonaltoptions=quiet splash” and edit it by removing
“splash”. You should have “# nonaltoptions=quiet” now and save.
$ sudo update-grub
reboot

The following link may help.
http://linuxsmith.com/home/?page_id=11

-- 
Kevin C. Smith