I indeed installed the new version of miktex over the old installation. Will try a fresh install and report back. btw, does it work on overleaf without errors for you?
In trying to compile the unaltered master/doctoral thesis template I found here: http://www.latextemplates.com/template/masters-doctoral-thesis , I got an error in the latest version of MikTex, as well as on Overleaf. I attached the log of the MikTex ...