If your computer offres a non-destructive recovery, your photos and other files will be saved.All system recovery programs warn you if you are about to erase the hard drive, so you can always say no and cancel.Try to run the explorer by holding the start button and R at the same time, type explorer and hit enter. If that does not work, try to start in safe mode, hit F8 on bootup and see if that will allow you to copy your files to a cd or external drive.