Windows 7 Updates blocked

I first noticed I had a bug last week when IE Explorer became unstable and also wouldn't play audio while Firefox and Chrome had no similar problems. I downloaded updated versions of the entire malware removal protocol. And before I ran it I checked for Windows 7 updates and realized I had not been notified of any recently per my setting - and found there 50 some updates waiting. I tried to install a couple of them to see if update was working correctly and I wasn't able to - they just stick on the download process. So I ran the protocol which found a number of small issues, mostly in registry keys, which I quarantined. And that appears to have addressed the IE Explorer issues - but update still isn't working. I have been able to download and install about a dozen doing each individually but that's been a really laborious try and fail many times process before getting a single update installed. And now I'm not able to install any of the rest. There were no new programs installed, no events other than the IE explorer issue, no one uses it other than myself. I have no other problems with my internet connections or download capability, and it shouldn't be a Windows Firewall issue, update is not a program you can block or select, and I disable my AV while attempting the installs. Any suggestions as to how I can focus on and hopefully fix this specific issue without an OS reinstall would be appreciated. It