“Windows Update Cannot Currently Check For Updates, Because The Service Is Not Running”

with thanks to:
http://www.simplecloudworks.com/2012/05/fixing-windows-update-cannot-currently-check-for-updates-because-the-service-is-not-running/

Turn off "Windows Update" Service
Open command prompt
cd c:\Windows\Softwaredistribution\Datastore\Logs\
move edb.log edb.log.off
Turn on "Windows Update" Service

Try to check for updates again.

Another site mentioned to try updating Defender manually but this didn't seem to help.