Hi Brian,
Well I powered it down and up and and after the "safe mode" message displayed it automatically started "normal" and continued "Configuring Service Pack". After shutting down automatically, Windows started and displayed another "Preparing to configure Windows" message. After this, I received the successful "Windows 7 Service Pack is now installed"!!! :dance:
I will now look to see the details on the SP1 update and what it provides.
Thank you so much!! I've been at this on and off for the past 2.5 years with no success until now. With all the forums out there and after reviewing many entries, I was wary of what to expect from any of the "Microsoft" related forums. Once I found Sysnative.com a couple weeks ago, I felt confident you could help with my issue.
My next question is, should I turn on the Windows update? I currently have it set to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them". I usually only install the important updates and the last time I've installed an update was probably a couple years ago. I do see a bunch of "Windows Defender" updates so those must download and install on their own.
I will be sending a donation to sysnative.com!!!