Can only boot laptop in safe mode

[Papa Geno]

Hey guys. So last night I shut down my laptop and it started installing updates. It looks like I didn't plug the ad adapter in, because when I woke up and started my computer it had the atypical shut down screen and asked if I wanted to boot in safe mode. I booted regularly and got the Windows welcome screen, then a black screen popped up along with my mouse cursor, which I had control over. It never got past that point after several minutes. After a hard shutdown, I booted in safe mode and everything was fine. I tried using system restore, disabling all non Microsoft services in system configuration, and I reset the bios. No dice. Anything else I should try before a fresh Windows install?

 

[Papa Geno]

Startup repair said there were no problems. Same with memory diagnostics testing. Can you use a usb drive for Windows recovery? My friends and I don't have CD roms.

 

[Papa Geno]

What OS do you have?

Windows 7. My laptop is a Lenovo Thinkpad Edge 15.

I wanted to try updating windows/my drivers to see if that helps but windows update will not launch. hmm.

 

[Papa Geno]

I tried going to an even older restore point and I got this text on the black screen.

http://i.imgur.com/3fk3lYZ.jpg

Any ideas?

 

[Papa Geno]

That sounds good, but this line in the post you linked makes me think otherwise: "You cannot do a repair install at boot or in Safe Mode."

Currently I can only access safe mode and the boot menu so that looks like a no go.

I have a feeling that accessing windows update and redownloading whatever the latest update was would help, but apparently you can't open windows update in safe mode. Are there any workarounds for this?