OK I have finally found a solution to this problem - once I fixed the subscription problem the update worked (boy there was heaps of updates backed up
😮 )
BalaSGS was on the right path with
Right click McAfee icon in the system tray and then click on product setup if you don’t have then click on verify subscription.
but you have to go to C:\sysprep and rename it OLDsysprep first and then click on verify subscription. You will get a pop-up telling you that it is verified and then you right click the M icon and click on Updates.
Thanks to everyone who assisted in this matter.