help needed

[Mere_Mortal]

I'm reluctant to believe this is a video problem since the BIOS evidently works and it certainly won't be an issue with drivers because they are not loaded in safe mode (it may also and issue). If you're familiar with the inside of the computer and have either two pieces of RAM or a spare that you can use, switch them around to confirm or rule out faulty RAM or damaged slots.

Since you are able to get into Windows in normal mode, even though there is no desktop, something is working but Explorer appears to be failing for whatever reason. If you can somehow get into the registry, it would be possible to force the system to load an additional process, such as Task Manager (you might try Ctrl+Alt+Del, but I doubt it'll work), so that you can access the files and even get online (if you're using a router, it should automatically go online if your settings allow it). One way of doing this is a boot disk which is something that EVERYBODY should have, be it the Windows set-up disk or something like Bart PE, or preferably both. These will actually allow you to access the files in their own right, but that's a different situation and may not allow you to get online (it is possible with Bart PE, but I don't know how to achieve it). If you cannot create a boot disk, you may be able to find one for purchase on eBay for example.

These possibilities should be examined before resorting to a system restore, repair or even the drastic full reinstall.

I must also note a critical difference between the two repair/restore options, soft and hard. The soft option is where only the Windows set-up is restored, in other words the Windows directory and the registry. The advantage is that all user and program files are kept, but you will need to reinstall all necessary applications and reconfigure Windows. All Windows updates will also be lost, including Service Pack 2 where relevant. The hard option is basically resetting the system to its factory condition, this will mean that you will lose ALL files. The only difference between the hard option and a format, so far as I'm aware, is that the former just deletes existing files and a format completely wipes the drive.