There seem to be all kinds of fixes for your situation, but nothing for sure.
Why did you do a system restore? Have you tried that again from the WinRE scenario?
Do you have a way to switch your graphics mode? Perhaps use an external monitor to see if you can get a screen?
If you had a virus of some type, it might have messed up your system. If you can use the F8 commands, but not safe mode, that might mean your video driver is causing the problems.