To give you an update of what I hope to achieve with this computer is to get it to a state where I can successfully run the "Windows Anytime Upgrade", which is the only way this computer can be upgraded from the Home to Professional version (from what I've read and tried so far). I've purchased Windows 7 Professional and hope to use it for the upgrade. It's the Windows 7 Professional installation CD that I've been using to restore when getting the black screen.
It seems like the built in Windows Update is still corrupt (broken) and even the manual attempt with KB890830 did not work.