The computer will not boot up. It says it is

Hello

This is a common Vista patch issue that others are having. From the Microsoft web site, you will need to do the following:

- Used the reset button to restart.
- Prompted me about not being shutdown properly. (if it didn't I would just use F8)
- Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
- Changed directory to just c:\windows
- Ran a rename of this directory: c:\windows\SoftwareDistribution to c:\windows\SoftwareDistribution.old
(ren c:\windows\SoftwareDistribution c:\windows\SoftwareDistribution.old)
- Rebooted.

This will get you past the failed update and allow your laptop to boot up correctly.

I am assuming you are running Vista; if not, this may still give you enough info to get you out of trouble.

Microsoft Update gives this message, and should be left to complete the work. For how long did you allow the computer to run? If it was loading, say, Vista SP2, then you should leave it for half an hour to a couple of hours, depending on how slow your computer is, even longer if you have dial-up. A service pack is a very large update, is likely to turn your computer on and off itself several times while it loads, and it should be left to do its thing until it finally gives you the logon screen.

If you don't know what your computer was updating, and it was set to run updates automatically, then from this experience you may now want to change the Windows Update settings to notify you of updates rather than run them automatically.

When you restore your system (back to before the updates tried to run), first make sure you are NOT connected to the internet (unplug your LAN cable or turn off your wireless connection). Go into Control Panel, Windows Update, Change Settings, and change the setting so it will notify you - under Important Updates (select from the drop-down list): "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download or install them". Then click OK (and authorise as adminstrator when it asks).

Now that you have tamed it, you can connect your computer to the internet.

Back on the Windows Update screen, click "Check for updates". Assuming you had restored your computer back to before the most recent updates, then these updates will now be presented for you again - but this time will not run until you are ready for them. There will be an option for you to view the updates, and you can take a look at what's being offered, and the MB size. If the size is in KB, then it should run quickly (less than a minute). If it's more than a MB, allow very roughly a minute per MB, eg 10 mins for 10MB. This might be much faster or slower depending on your computer and internet speed. And some updates will need the computer to be restarted, some do not - the details will be explained there. If it's a Service Pack (eg SP1, SP2 etc), it may take, as I suggested before, hours to run. Once you've decided the updates you will run, you can click 'install' (takes you back to the main Windows Update screen), and click "Install" again, to run it. I suggest leaving any any service packs (eg SP2) until last thing at night, to install. Leave the computer switched on overnight.

If you turn the computer off with the hardware button while it's in update mode, you can corrupt the installation, then you would have to restore it. If you see a service pack scheduled to install in the Windows Update, you might want to do a full backup of your system before you install the service pack. I'm guessing you already know how to do that, since you have restored from a backup already.

Let me know how you go, if this was any help?
All the best.