Hi,
I currently have the msiserver windows installer stopped.Does this service need to be running and what is it for please.?
Also i would like to know which services should be running to receive windows updates as i havent received updates for quite a while.
Thank you so much for any help on these matters. :-[
When you stop the service to update windows, you will not receive any.
Before you stop any services, I suggest that you do some serious investigating as to that services function.
Goggle is a great source of knowledge if used. 
I also have msiserver windows installer stopped. It is set to run manually and not automatically. If instead you are getting and error, Please read this. Since you don’t say what is your OS, there is a link in that page for Vista and W7.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315346/en-us
For your Windows updates you can either go to control panel and set Windows Updates as you like. Some like it automatically. Other just to " Notify me when updates are available " and so on.
This is a nice place to learn about your Windows services. What should be running and what can be stopped. Read " Popular Content " Be carefull what you tweaked. Follow instructions:
Yes manual is a safer option, if it is needed it will be started.