Help!  All text w/in OSX (Menus, File name) are "A"s in boxes

This started out today (Sunday, 3/11/07) after I installed the DST patch. I first noticed this in Quicken, but after I restarted my computer to attempt to fix the issue, the entire Mac OS is suffering from this problem.
The problem is that every menu, file name, and letter of text in the OS shows up as an "A" with a box around it. The only way I can navigate is by shortcut keys (as I cannot read the menus), and my knowledge of shortcut keys is limited. Text within program windows displays fine, but that's about it. Example - the Edit menu displays at 4 "A"s, all in their own box. It almost appears that the system font was changed.
Any suggestions on repairing this? I'm capable of simply formatting the drive and reinstalling Mac OSX, but I cannot easily backup all my data (cannot read file names or find the Export/Backup menu in most applications). Help!

Alright, reinstalling the OS was the ticket. Here's some details for anyone who runs into the same issue...
A little info about my MacBook first. I have Mac OS 10.4.8 with Boot Camp/Windows XP on another partition (about 10 gigs). After I was hit with the "A" box plague, some applications failed to open, including Quicken. It would error out with a system failure.
The solution was reinstalling Mac OS from the CD(s) that came with the computer. If done properly, you will not lose any of your data or settings.
Pop CD 1 into the drive and run the installer application. Your computer will restart and boot from the CD. At this point, I ran the Disk Utility software. A few minor errors were found and fixed. I then continued with the installation of Mac OSX. During installation you will be warned that your hard drive already has the OS installed. If you go into Options, you can select to archive the old OS and install a fresh copy. You will also have the option to restore your Home folder - do this if you wish to retain your data and settings. Continue with the installation as usual.
Your computer will restart when the installation is compete. You are done! When Mac OSX starts up, everything will be back to normal without loss of settings, programs or data. You will want to run the Software Update tool at this point.
I must say, even though I was disappointed that Apple Support would not help me with this issue because of their 90-day free support window, I am very impressed with how easy it is to fix their OS. I'm a customer for life.

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