It would maybe be nice to know HOW you fixed it - as a point of general interest - and how it came to pass that you have done so - if it works.
If nobody with the problem still has it or has stayed with the game, then I guess I will find out for myself when you have the next update (almost one of the good things of summer is that fewer people meddle with stuff).
Thank you from me anyway - as pre-thanks in the expectation of a flawless update next time round!
It seems there was a small patch of some kind, as my Vista downloaded briefly then tried the usual redist thing at 95%. Instead of failing, the loader then moved on to the next check for data, needed nothing and went green.
Yours is indeed a different problem if you are able to get as far as login details, then get stuck...
Getting stuck at your point has happened often in the past, with various non-logins occuring. Trying many times sometimes got past whatever was the problem (annoyingly inconsistent, but at least it sometimes got a success - like in crafting lol). GL