data recovery after sudden bereavement - no start button

A friend's husband died very suddenly. He left his
computer switched on and logged in. They do not know his
password, so dare not switch it off. They asked me to back
up all vital data so that it could be recovered.
We want to email friends and family to tell them he has
died. We want to access the insurance folder.

I am not familiar with xp, but was confident that I could
back up data to DVD. I opened various explorer windows to
see what was on the computer. I found Nero and opened it.
I opened the settings window and was considering changing
the appearance to classical, which I am more familiar
with. I tried moving an explorer window and was left with
a screen full of partially drawn windows. I set about
closing them down, and either clicked on something I
should not have, or the system was dying anyway.

Whatever, I am left with just the background image on the
screen. The windows key does not work. The only response I
can get is to ctrl-alt-del. Is there any thing I can do
in task scheduler that might bring the system back under
control?
Any other key combination that might get a response? A
better source of help?
The system is online, and we are still getting regular
intrusion attempts from a scanner, so there is life behind
the blank screen.

Please help, or point me to someone who may be able to.

David F. Cox