Windows 7 - HP Netbook 110 problem after automatic update.

Okay, I'm not very tech savvy and I know nothing about this netbook because it's my husband's and I've never used it. All I know is, it runs Windows 7.
After the update, which completed yesterday, he couldn't get past the password screen so we tried an external USB keyboard and it made no difference.
I'm guessing it was a corrupted update so I tried starting the netbook in safe mode and I eventually found my way into "repair your computer." I intended to set it back to an earlier date and it only gave me one option, which was earlier today and it failed.
So, I'm guessing I can't do a fresh install of Windows 7 because not only do I not have the disc, but the CD/DVD drive is external and goes through a USB port.
As you can tell, I have no clue and obviously, I can't go to the start menu or anything like that.
I believe he has Norton or AVG on the netbook but I can't disable it because I can't get into the computer. (Or I simply do not know how.)
It was suggested to me that I should remove the battery and hold the power button for 20 seconds, then someone said 40 seconds and someone else said a minute and none of that worked.
As if that wasn't bad enough, lol, my own desktop (WinVista) has a non-working CD drive and really temperamental USB ports so I doubt it will be any use helping if this is not an easy fix. I would welcome your comments on this.
Thank you

Welcome to SevenForums.

Now I've got a simple mind and can only work on one problem in one thread. Would you decide which problem I should address?

By that I mean, which computer would you ike for me to concern myself with first.

How can I get past the system restore failure, if at all? Would it help if I posted the error message code?

Oh, just the netbook. I'm not bothered about the desktop probs, I was just adding info about the limited tools I have here.

Can you boot into Safe Mode?

BOOT TO SAFE MODE
Ø Power down your computer.
Ø Power up your computer.
Ø IMMEDIATELY—Start tapping the SPACEBAR
Ø When the Windows Boot Manager screen appears,
Press the F8 key
Ø The Advanced Boot Options screen will appear.
Ø Using the down arrow key, highlight Safe Mode
Ø Press the ENTER key.

In shorthand,
PowerUp | Spacebar until Windows Boot Manager
| F8 | Safe Mode | ENTER
=========================================
=========================================

Now, use following procedure to restore to an earlier restore point.

RESTORE TO A PREVIOUS SYSTEM RESTORE POINT
WIN | type SYSTEM RESTORE | ENTER | NEXT
Choose a different restore point button | NEXT |
Show more restore points checkbox (lower left)|
Highlight the desired restore point |
Scan for affected programs (lower right) |
make a note of affected programs |
CLOSE | NEXT | FINISH


WIN = key with the wavy Microsoft flag on top.

The first thing you should do with the netbook is make sure you have made a backup of any important data. This way whatever happens someone will be able to help you get things back in shape.

Would be nice, but from her first post I'm hoping that at least we can get to safe mode and if lucky have a pre-problem restore point.

You can still get data off the hard drive in a number of ways and this should be the number one priority.
@Boobarella
If you don't have anything of great importance on the netbook then this isn't an issue.

Patience my good man.