MacBook pro software update is "frozen"

Hi there. I have a MacBook pro running on lion. I decided to do a software update tonight after (foolishly) not doing one in a long time. I should of done a couple programs at a time but I just hit "install" and went with it. Anyway, after restarting my computer went to a gray progress page with a little progress wheel in the center. However, for the last 40 mins or so there has been no movement on the wheel or activity whatsoever. The arrow still moves though. Fans are very low. I'm afraid to hold down the off button because I haven't backed up and I don't want to mess anything up. Is it normal for software updates to take this long? Should I keep waiting or is hitting the power button my only option? Please help! Thank you so much!

I never understand why folks are reluctant to do software updates? This isn't Windows where you fear for your data each time you update. And then not to make a backup.....?

I would wait it out. If it crashes, you can always reinstall Lion from your Recovery Partition. (Command + R)

Thanks for the feedback!

Not updating is sheer laziness on my part.

How long should I wait before restarting myself?

I would give it a couple of hours. If it looks like it's completely frozen, do a hard reset. You may wind up having to reinstall as I stated above. However, reinstalling Lion over itself does not destroy your data. Only if the machine needs to be wiped and a clean install done would your data be lost.

Let us know.....

Thanks for your help!

I waited for another 2 or so hours, and after no response I shut the computer down myself.
Held the button for 10 seconds, waited a minute, and restarted. Thankfully everything was fine. I will be much more diligent about my updates and backing up beforehand from now on.

Thanks again.