Ray, I am not sure what he has or has not done already, but the very first thing you want to do is access your control pannel, from there you should be able to access your programs and fetures, if they are still on the computer you might find it there.
The second place to check is the icon computer, then manually look through files, sometimes they don't always get errased as much as over looked or moved. also check the recycle bin, some things might be located in there.
the next step would be to shut down the computer and when the start menue pops up, like mine for example gives f12 and f something else as a boot option, or start normally, you can try f12 but most likely f11 will be where you need to go, press it quick though.
and when all else faills, you have to back it up, unfortunetly that does require running some software.
if and when files are recovered, I would highly reccomend doing a back up, which can either be done to a disk, or an external hard drive. and always always back up often. It's a pain in the ass, but worth it.
If I think of anything else I will let you know, if you have anyquestions, let me know,
also I am currently having the same problem with my computer, so don't feel bad. Shitty thing is, I had all my stuff backed up on my other computer, and I think it just bit the dust too....damn.