[footfootfoot]

I was cleaning out some empty folders and apparently deleted some rather important shit in C:

Now when I start up my desktop can't be found, my start menu is gone, my documents and settings folder is gone among others. I tried to restore everything in the trash and all but two .ini files could be repatriated. Those two produce a message saying they refer to a path or location that doesn't exist. (Documents and Settings)

Tried a dozen system restore points but they don't complete.
Trying Recuva now, but I just got a message saying it ran out of memory.

Am about to try to boot from a start-up disk but not sure what I'll do in that case.

Any ideas?