System Boots, logs in, Cannot launch any programs

Running Windows 8, the system boots into a user account without login. The launcher seems to work, I can bring up the desktop. From the desktop I cannot launch any programs, other than a non-admin DOS window- but from there I can't launch any other non command.com EXE. When I try and run any desktop app, the icon comes up and highlights for about 5-10 seconds, then goes back to normal. I...