vista won't start after update

i'm actually not sure what the heck happened to my computer -- i think it
downloaded updates automatically and restarted itself, or it might have
restarted when i dropped my book on the keyboard. but anyway as it was
restarting it said "installing updates" and the login screen came up ok but
when i logged in the desktop did not appear. the taskbar appeared and when i
moused over it i saw the eternal spinning circle, and if i clicked on
anything it said "windows explorer is not responding." i tried rebooting 3
times, finally i booted in safe mode and it works but cannot run all the
programs. would love some help here! thaaaanks.

note: there are no system restore points saved on my machine. and i don't
have the original windows disk.

I too have the exact same problem. It's got something to do with the
recent update.

I fortunately had a system restore point and restored it to the point
just before the updates.

I wish I knew how to help you and your computer.

Jerry