I'm by no means a computing expert nor an IT specialist, but whenever I have PC issues I load up Event Viewer. Just type it into your Windows search bar and it'll come up.

Look through both the Windows directory and Applications directory in the top-left corner to see if you notice patterns in the errors which must be there in the day-to-day routines (heh, kinda pun-ish) of your machine. Event Viewer keeps a record of every little "event" that Windows experiences. Jot down the error codes (although that isn't always helpful), any noticeable sequences/patterns, etc, and google it. You'll notice the recorded events and errors tend mostly to be when the machine boots up and shuts down, but often they'll occur after certain applications close or when using a web browser. You'll also see such things as Lotro Client CTDs, which I've noted in the past to detect a sound card issue I was having with Lotro.

If it's trouble you can't fix at least you'll some inkling of what the trouble may be. Google isn't always the most helpful when the top hits are people spamming their woes as unregistered users on public forums. Professional help can be costly, but Alienware's handy little Respawn software can always restore your machine to factory settings. You may want to back up a lot of your data beforehand, of course.

When in doubt "Google"!

Try this:
Under Computer management so to services, then scroll down to Windows Update.  Stop Windows Update.  Then go to C:\Windows and look for a folder called SoftwareDistribution.  Rename that folder to SDTemp.  Restart Windows Update service, it will recreate a new SoftwareDistribution folder.  Then go out to Windows update and try again.

Excellent step by step instructions- swing and a miss.....
Failure Configuration Windows Updates - Reverting Changes.

Thanks Drakken isolated the trouble maker.