If I understand correctly your laptop is exhibiting these symptoms only with a Windows 7 install that you have updated and that the same laptop "when i put the original vista drive back in it works fine" that is to say that it has absolutely none of the symptoms that you describe above, including the issue with the charging cable??
My suggestion would then be to perform a clean custom install of Windows 7 on another hard drive (that you know to be good) and instantly turn off the Windows Update Utility's ability to download driver files onto your computer;
Click the start orb and type
advanced system settings
into the search box and hit enter
Select the "Hardware" tab and then the Device Installation Settings" button.
Select the "No let me choose what to do" radio button
and then the "Never install driver software from Windows Update" radio button. Save changes and OK.
Then go here
Link Removed due to 404 Error
Select your laptop and then your flavor of Windows 7 (64 or 32bit) and download and install the manufacturer's drivers for your hardware. There are 3 or 4 pages of drivers there, I would begin by first concentrating on the Chipset, Video, Audio and LAN (wired and wireless). Then check device manager for any other issues that may remain needing attention.
As far as other Windows Software Updates I would do them manually, I would probably start by
downloading and installing service pack 1 and follow that with installing small batches of any remaining updates, providing an easier fall back position if problems occur, rebooting after each even if not prompted.