Those are all good suggestions. But, the issue he is having is that Windows doesn't seem to finish the installation of the updates. It shouldn't matter if he is or is not installing the optional ones. Once the installation finishes and the computer reboots, the updates should be configured and done.
Definitely upgrade to 8.1. Much better than plain 8.0. But, once you are going to install again, just install 20 or so at a time. This will help with troubleshooting. If they install correctly, you will know it is either the fact that you are installing too many at a time or that there is just one update that is hanging. You will never figure that out unless you do a few at a time.
