Can't run ePowerManagement on Aspire TimelineX 4820TG + Windows Update is stuck.

Don't know if this is correct. I guess this laptop might count as Legacy by now... Hope it won't upset anyone that I ended up reasoning this board was the best suited.

My trusty 4820TG burned out it's HDD a few months back. I would really like to fix it if possible. Unfortunately the USB stick with the rescue disk backup is just dead, for no real reason. And since the HDD is toast I've replaced it with another "new" one. I have plenty of older W7 OEM discs lying around, so I've gone ahead and installed one of these - keeping to Home Premium, for which my licens key (which is no longer readable) is valid.

Everything seems to work fine except for some key things - mainly ePowerManagement won't run properly. The processes are running, but there are no icons or interface anywhere to be seen. This means the computer is constantly running at full capacity, overheating like crazy (still, not force shutting down - but it gets even too hot to put your hand on), and according to windows calculations I can get maybe 2hrs on battery - used to be between 4-6 (with a possible 8h stated on the Aspire sticker).

Also, I've seen old archived posts suggesting others have had similar problems in the past, but the linked hotfixes do nothing for my 4820TG and most of them won't even begin to install.

This also maybe be due to a problem with Windows Update that gets stuck at "Checking for updates" after installing SP1.

Am I missing something?

In some posts it is suggested that a framework is needed for Acer's eApps to work properly. However no framework seems to be compatible with the ePowerManagement app that is linked to in the Application section for 4820TG. Also, in the same section (and all other section's for 4820TG) there is no mention of any eSolutions framework, so the only way I can understand this is that such a framework shouldn't be needed, or Acer should've linked to that in one of the relevant sections for this particular model...?

So, in conclusion:

1. Acer ePowerManagement - installed but not visibly running anywhere but task manager, and not working at all.

2. Windows update stuck at "Checking for updates" (after it has successfully installed all updates up until SP1).

Please help!
I love this computer. If I could get it working properly again I would be ever so grateful, especially seeing as how ALL hardware is still working properly (I guess, given that Linux can do it all [with exception to controlling the out of control power consumption])

Best regards,
Oskar Olofsson (Sweden)