Ubuntu :: Update Turned 10.04 Into A Doorstop?

I am kinda fed up with the a**holes who provide updates, whathaveyou. I just want to have a machine that works. And I am spending more bloody time fixing stupid problems on this system than I ever did in 20 years of using Windows. Yeah, go ahead and say that I flame. I sure as hell do when I'm mad as hell with those that purport to say that Ubuntu is for everyone.

So here is the problem I allowed an auto update to go ahead on my mums's machine (952 files of it, and received this error on reboot: There is a problem with the configuration server (/usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconf-sanity-check-2 exited with status 256) There was also a fatal error an the mail notification module and also a gnome power management fault (can't remember the exact wording). This caused the system to fail to boot into any operational mode.

I have tried all sorts of things like pressing the SHIFT key to access the menu for previous installs (didn't work either), trying to edit the /temp folder permissions using 1777 chmod (the person failed to say though HOW to do that, as do most posts that also FAIL to tell the exact steps of doing something) which I could not do even when I got to the folder using a 10.04 boot CD as it said 'You do not have permission to change these values'. Really stupid to be locked out of a machine that no one else but my mum and me use at home. (Don't you people get that this is just STUPIDITY or plain old ARROGANCE on the part of the developers/programmers to treat us like dumbasses?). We should have the option to lock ourselves out of our own machines in the setup screen.

Anyway, can anyone see themselves getting past my angry post and actually providing some pointers? And another reason for the anger is that I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS sort of stuff to be happening all the time. I have just come out of installing Hplip-3.10.5-1 (which was NOT available as a bona fide upgrade so had to get it direct from Debian) to get an HP 3310 printer going which took two days or more. Before that it was trying to get a Canon MP130 to work, and the woes go on. Been thinking of ditching this Ubuntu but have emails etc on it that would take just too much work to get off/backup and start from scratch.