Windows 7: Win 7 x 64 hanging on Welcome screen, System Restore not working

Hi everyone,
It's my birthday Wednesday 22nd and I want to be able to Skype my friends and family since I'm living overseas by myself.

This weekend my Toshiba Sat C655 Win 7 x 64 began experiencing start up trouble after I allowed some Windows Updates in queue (grr). The laptop starts up fine til I get to the Welcome screen, where it sits with the circle going round and round endlessly.

I am good to go in Safe Mode with Networking, but of course audio and web cam disabled in that mode.

I've tried every set point in the System Restore list, and although it looks like it's working, I go back to the hung screen. And then when I return to Safe Mode, it alerts me that System Restore didn't work.

I have no startup discs since I'm overseas and my Toshiba didn't come with any (bought it just before I got on the plane).

I'm relatively confident at trying other things if anyone has a suggestion. System restore in the past was very reliable for me to get rid of pesky problems.

I have run Avast and there are no viruses at work here.

Cheers & thanks in advance if you can help.

Cat