Windows 7: Windows 7 System Restore stuck on welcome screen

I saw on another thread that I should do a system restore from safe mode on my Acer laptop because when I logged into my computer I couldnt open anything. The system restore was completed (I only restored it to a few days earlier) but when my computer restarted it never allowed me to log on and is stuck on the welcome screen with the little circle thing just turning... I am wondering how long it should take after a system restore for my computer to get to the log in screen. It has been about 8 hours now on the welcome screen. I am started to get a little worried and wondering if I should manually restart my computer by holding down the power button, or will that ruin the system restore or somehow damage my computer? Any suggestions or help would be great!!!

Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot.
I am wondering if perhaps this ^ tutorial will be of some assistance. And to answer your question about manually restarting it, it doesn't seem you have many other options at the moment.

The tutorial linked by GSprague above does everything possible to get it started including hardware tests, then if it won't you can rescue your files to run Factory Recovery or get the superior Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7