I don't have a solution as such, but if the worst comes to the worst, at risk of stating the obvious, you can take out your hard disc and connect it to another computer to retrieve the files.

You can purchase USB cables now which allow you to do this with ease.

I hope you find a solution though, since I can relate to your pain. I only just bought my new laptop last week after the other one failed from a similar error. I don't have a lot of patience for technology nowadays.