We have version 5.0.33 - yes, I know it's old, but every time we try to update we get a message that "update could not be installed (patch apply failed)"
Thanks, that worked. But what is the meaning of the message about "Installing Zotero Word for Windows Intergration..." that has been present for the past 24+ hours?
That should only last a few seconds at most. I'd guess that you have security software that's interfering with the Word plugin installation, and Zotero isn't properly handling an error. Are you able to provide a Report ID?
I've had this problem for every update on Zotero for Windows since 5.0 (now on 5.0.54). On startup, I'm told that "update could not be installed (patch apply failed)" and am referred to the Zotero website for a manual update. Zotero then refuses to continue loading until I restart it.
I've filed a report (after restarting successfully) with report ID 1975415356.
There might be an old problem with your installation, something on your system may be interfering with the updates, or malware could be modifying the program such that patches fail.
Start by uninstalling Zotero and making sure it's gone completely from C:\Program Files (x86)\Zotero Standalone and C:\Program Files (x86)\Zotero. Your data will be unaffected. Then try reinstalling Zotero 5.0.57 for Windows and see what happens if you try to upgrade to 5.0.58 via Help → Check for Updates. (For others reading this later, you can change the URL on the download page to specify a particular version. In general, if you're doing this, you'd want to try the version one behind the current one.)
Upgrade Storage
I've filed a report (after restarting successfully) with report ID 1975415356.
Start by uninstalling Zotero and making sure it's gone completely from C:\Program Files (x86)\Zotero Standalone and C:\Program Files (x86)\Zotero. Your data will be unaffected. Then try reinstalling Zotero 5.0.57 for Windows and see what happens if you try to upgrade to 5.0.58 via Help → Check for Updates. (For others reading this later, you can change the URL on the download page to specify a particular version. In general, if you're doing this, you'd want to try the version one behind the current one.)