Dell XPS2010M goes to black screen....help, anyone??? F8 no use

Hi, I have a Dell XPS2010M that was upgraded to Windows 7 about a year ago. All working fine until I booted up one day and the boot screen only stays on a milisecond and then all is black, no cursor, nothing. I wondered if it's dead or is there any hope for this old computer I love so dearly? I have info in C that I don't want to lose either. Any suggestions?...answers? help? Thanks for any suggestions.........I haven't a clue~