As I am sure Steve recalls, I am famous--infamous?--for regularly having problems with updating my various machines.
Because I have been burned so many times, I installed Rollback-RX on my XP machine; however, last I checked it is not yet available for the machine in my signature.
As a result, I adhere to the following:
--always create a System Restore point before updating anything
--regular make mirror images of my C Drive with Acronis
--periodically clone my C drive, using Acronis, to a second internal drive
Here's what happened most recently:
After installing, if memory serves, about 11 "recommended" Windows upates--not IE10 and none of the "optional" ones--when I re-booted, the machine took a very long time to get to the Win7's 4 colors and then another long time to get to my login screen, then a very long time to get to the desktop, which would then disappear into blackness after perhaps 30 seconds.
By repeatedly restarting over a 30-minute time period, I eventually got to the point where I could select to restore to the point where I had installed the Windows updates, whereupon I clicked Next and the desktop promptly dissappeared once again into darkness.
Perhaps 10 minutes later, my desktop did reappear and did not immediately re-disappear.
I had to shut down to go out. Will update this post later.
(To be continued)