After downloading some updates, it tried to install them.
The machine tries to reboot. It gets to 35% and then says failure configuring updates, reverting changes and the shuts down to restart. This cycle continues endlessly.
Try booting to Safe Mode, or using the Startup repair option.
Once you manage to get back into windows, start with following the Windows Update Posting Instructions and post the results.
Computer type Laptop System Manufacturer/Model Number Asus K52F OS Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM) CPU i3 370M Motherboard Asus Memory 8GB - finally :) Graphics Card it's an i3, dude! Sound Card onboard Monitor(s) Displays 15.6" built-in Screen Resolution 1366x768
PSU n/a Hard Drives 750GB Seagate internal
Sundry external drives attached to other computers on the local network Internet Speed as much as I can get - usually on a dongle, so <1Mb/s Antivirus MSE Browser IE10/Chrome/FF(if I must)