Help Please. A friend can no longer use system restore.

[truedelphi]

9. My executable files will not work. They will come up,

But only as an open file with the programming that created the file exposed. (For instance, if Wordpad file "recipes" is opened, first by clicking the file "recipes", and then by choosing "wordpad" form the list of programs to use, the recipes file never comes up, only the file that has the actual programming for the Wordpad file. Which to me of course is gibberish. And wouldn't help a programmer anyway, except to tell them that there is something major "wrong."

(I have tried repeatedly to deal with the restore executable file, also the rrundll32.exe file I only get the programming and no execution.
Here's a main question of mine - if safe mode is to be used - will it damage or lose any of the files with content that are on the computer?

A lot of computer people care mostly about restoring the computer. This computer cost my friend all of $ 45, plus about $ 125 to have the local computer repair people install stuff on it for her. Like me this friend is a writer - and she cannot afford to lose her CONTENT. Which represents a lot of her life.