Picked up a virus from a photo editing program download.....It jammed up my Windows7, I couldn't update anything and the system restore wouldn't work. The Microsoft Security Essentials wouldn't update either. Microsoft update fix application wouldn't work either. I tried re-installing Windows but I couldn't access my files....only real fix was to re-format and re-install everything from scratch....it took me all weekend to re-install all my programs, but now it's running perfect. Damn hackers.

At least your reinstall was from a hackers virus, mine was due to Microsofts very own Win 8.1 update (which I also had to do a fresh install a few weeks back).
 
The good news is, the system is like a new build and now running smoothly. Good to see you got it working again.