Nothing appears on the desktop

Question

I have a huge problem!
When I first opened my laptop, the desktop completely disappeared. There was nothing on it, no icons no startup menu .. nothing! I even tried to get it on Safe Mode but it still didn't work. The only thing that does work is when I press on CTRL+ALT+DEL. Other than that, I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to reinstall the whole system because I have some documents that I want to get back.
So I really need help from whoever is willing .. Thanks!