OS X Tiger Computer Reset with File Loss

Hello.  I am posting this on behalf of a friend:
The computer (a last generation 12" PowerBook) has been working fine for some time with no problems to speak of.  Mail was open and files emails were visible.  However, when clicking on them they returned an error message similar to "Not connected to server" even though they were stored locally.  Quitting mail and restarting it did nothing.  Eventually the computer was restarted.
After restart, no icons existed on desktop, dock was completely reset to factory icons as well.  When opening finder, the Desktop, Applications, Documents, etc folders no longer had their normal icons, but instead just normal folder icons.  All system and applications preferences have been reset, including trackpad preferences, Mail settings, address book data, and Safari preferences and bookmarks.  More disturbingly,  all data in Movies, Pictures, and Music are gone.  Data in Documents folder remains.  None of the data previously on the desktop is to be found, whether it's going through the home folder to the desktop folder, etc.
Spotlight searches turn up none of the missing files.  Nor does a search through terminal.
Subsequent restarts do nothing to fix the problem.  Computer had been functioning perfectly up until the above events, and the computer had not been making any clicking noises, unusual sounds, etc.
Can anyone suggest anything to help, any way to roll back, reset the file system structure, etc.  Clearly, the user is incredibly distressed and nothing we've found explains either why this happened or how to correct it.  Thank you, in advance, for any help.

Sorry gang...  Took it to a GeniusBar, they re-installed Tiger, and it worked...
Turned out what had happened was the user renamed her home folder, and so when she restarted it couldn't find it...
Why the OS would let you (even as an admin) rename the home folder without even prompting you to ask if you're trying to change your user name is beyond me.
I'll leave this here in case it happens to anyone else.  Cheers.

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