Some 40 Windows 8.1 updates failed on my Dad's new PC, and disabling secure boot did not work either. I thought your suggestion was the solution for a bit, because the number of updates to be installed seemed to change, but it wasn't the case. None of the
suggestions here worked for me, I've had to reset the machine and let it update from the top. Perhaps I could have uninstalled all updates instead, but a clean installation seemed easier and more thorough.
You are absolutely right about these problems being ridiculous, though. And the advice by the so-called technical experts is indeed utterly useless, they just have a handful of tricks up their sleeves and that's it; no genuine understanding or problem-solving
capabilities.
Scan this, clean that, change a setting or two, turn off your security suite . . . Still not working? Wipe that bastard clean!
Anyway, I thought I'd share my frustrations and how I "solved" the issue. I'm in IT, so it's a bit disappointing that I had to go for the brute force solution instead of an elegant fix, but well. We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just
stuff that works.
Cheers.