prob w/ restore and firewall

BIG problems here. had problem with my ethernet controller not allowing servers to be found. Got that taken care of. While trying to fix, did system restore. Progress bar quit moving after 1 1/2 minutes, watched for several more than left computer. One hour later, desktop was back, no "system has been restored" dialog box. Now when I try system restore, all I get is a blank white screen in the system restore box. Also cannot access windows internet explorer, I can only create a shortcut that can not be opened. I saved all my files and did a clean install on separate hard drive. Then several drivers were missing and would not reinstall. I have fixed driver issue, but still cannot access restore or explorer, and I currently have no firewall or AV installed and cannot install any.