Hi, it's unlikely to be connected with Firefox. Windows Updates have been causing all sorts of problems ever since MS started to force Win 10 onto everyone, which in many cases has broken the updates. I'm currently trying to get updates including Defender working again, but it's pretty much trial and error.

A couple of sites where you are likely to find the fixes -

• http://www.askwoody.com/

• http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/

If your question is resolved by this or another answer, please take a minute to let us know. Thank you.

Thanks for help. I had a livechat with Microsoft Tech. this morning. Apparently Windows vista is an obsolete product and may not receive updates for stability any longer. He was a dedicated Windows 10 technician ... Is it worth trying to get them anymore?

You can select and check your version in the Microsoft Support Lifecycle - https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/gp/lifeselect?target=lifecycle&c1=509&=GSSProdSelMore509

I confirmed that Vista Home Premium gets extended support until April 2017 and then followed a contributor from sevensforum who suggested downloading manually KB3145739. Then rebooted, and a few minutes later had automatic notification of 8 updates. These installed quickly and have just had another for MSE. Thanks for all the links, which are very useful, and success after 3 days!