Resolving kernal_data_inpage_error on 8.1 w/o having already made a recovery disc/usb

[Pantalaimon]

So checked the sticky/forum rules and didn't see anything against this type of help thread so here goes.

Yesterday night my Asus laptop, which is already 4+ years old now, started freezing up and finally hit a BSoD (KERNAL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR) bug. I had not created a partition with the recovery suite options on a usb or burned the recovery tools from my computer to a blank cd prior to this. I hope to try and recover my data & files while also restoring the laptop to a working condition to continue gaming on as well. I've already looked into a bunch of links talking about running check disk, safe mode, using system restore points, etc. However, due to not having already made a recovery usb/cd, and also not being able to access the desktop to use the search bar/check disk/etc, I am not sure if I can even do that. All I have access to is the starting up Asus window & the boot menu with the typical general computer info, advanced options, boot options, etc. Other than that it is just the typical black screen when starting up.

Is there a way I can get a hold of appropriate and legit recovery software to restore the laptop without simply doing a full factory reset on it given my circumstances? I guess worst case scenario I can try and take it in to Bestbuy/PC Laptops or another equivalent to have them do it for me would work if they can preserve my files as well, but I'd rather not fork over $100-$200 to do that.

Any advice given in a very user friendly mode is much appreciated since I'm not super experienced with this.

EDIT: My Asus laptop started out with the factory Windows 8 OS, but I later upgraded to 8.1.

EDIT 2: Comp is an Asus XSeries 15634 Laptop 4GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive that runs an Intel Core i3-2350M @ 2.30GHz