Windows Update Killed my computer

[AWS]

About three weeks ago (2/20/13), I allowed my computer to do windows update. It configured the updates, and then went to restart. And it never came back on. I pressed the power button, and nothing would get it to come back on. It would power up for a half

second and then die again. This means, the fans and LEDs would power up, then die a second later. There was no BIOS, nothing on the screen. It would die way too quickly for my monitor to even recognize that the computer was on yet. I have a windows 7 x64,

home edition, I believe.Wondering if a component went bad, I unplugged all the hardware (optical drive, the hard drive, video card, RAM, fans) leaving only the motherboard, CPU, and Power Supply as variables in the problem (plus the windows update itself).I tested the power supply using a paperclip trick, to bridge the green and black wires of the power supply's motherboard plug to jump the power supply into starting, and the power supply seemed to start up okay. I concluded the motherboard or processor had

died.I spent $300 on a new motherboard and processor, and the computer still would not start, so that wasn't the problem after all. At this point, I was beyond furious. I KNOW windows update caused the problem. Somehow, a software change had physically affected

my hardware! I took my computer to the geek squad to see if they could give me any ideas... And surprise surprise, the guy in line next to me was picking up his laptop from repairs for the same exact problem, caused by the same exact windows update. He said

that he let it update, it went to restart, and it never powered up again. I have since searched online and I see that this problem was wide-spread. I am not crazy. Windows update literally killed my computer.Geek squad tested my power supply and told me that the readings were normal for the half-second the computer powered up. They then gave me the idea to test my power button itself. They thought perhaps it had worn out and wasn't triggering, which didn't make

any sense because I shouldn't have needed to touch the power button at all-- the computer was supposed to start up on its own from the restart. But, it was the last thing I had left to check.I literally had to bust apart my case (value of the case being $100+) to unplug the power button. I then rigged a small jumper cable to start the motherboard without a power button. There was no change in the behavior of the problem. I then concluded it HAD

to be the power supply after all... sure enough, after some more false starts, the power supply then started smoking.I bought a new power supply. Now I have spent $450 on this so far if I don't plan on replacing the busted case. I called windows support and they seemed oblivious to the fact that this problem was wide-spread, and refused to take any responsibility. I was told

that I would have to pay $60-70 for tech support, who would probably be clueless or denying that windows update caused it. I threatened to sue, but still got no where with this. Obviously, I believe windows should be held responsible for the damages. Even

if it is impossible to get them to pay me reparations, the least they could do is help me fix my PC for free.Today I plugged in my new power supply with my new motherboard and new processor, and actually got the computer to start up. Fans and LED lights are working, hard drive sounds like it is kicking on OK. I went through the BIOS setup menu. Then windows would

not start. It recommended a startup repair, then system resptore, which I allowed. Unfortunately, that did not work. I tried it again. It still did not work. I checked the start-up repair diagnosis and details, and they were as follows.Last successful boot time: 2/20/2013. System Disk = DeviceHarddisk0. AutoChk Run = 0. Number of root causes = 1.I scrolled down to find: Root cause found: A recent driver installation or upgrade may be preventing the system from starting. Repair Action: System Restore. Result: Failed. Error code = 0x1f. Repair action: System files integrity check and repair. Result: Failed. Error code = 0x490.

There was nothing else to be done, so I tried memory diagnostic instead. It ran a check on the hardware and told me there was a hardward problem. It said that if I had plugged in any new devices, such as a camera, that I should unplug it and restart. Well,

I didn't even have my wireless internet card plugged in. Just the USB keyboard and a USB wireless mouse, and my monitor. If there is a hardware problem, it would be with my hard drive.

I tried another system restore from 2/17/13, but it "did not complete successfully." Details: An unspecified error occurred during System Restore (0x80070002). It suggested that I try a different restore point so I tried one at 2/3/13 with the same results.As far as I can tell, the only way to get a working computer would be to reformat or to reinstall windows and lose all my old files. I absolutely cannot do that. I have some of my stuff backed up on an external hard drive, but I could not fit everything. I'm

going to attempt to reinstall windows while keeping my old files, but that may not even work. Does anyone have suggestions on how to fix this?

At this point I am angry enough to storm MS headquarters, and I'm betting it wouldn't be hard to find an army of like-minded victims willing to join me. $450 down the drain because I TRUSTED windows, because I clicked that little button that said "update now".

I've had problems with windows update before, but nothing like this.Please and thank you to anyone who tries to help.

 

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