How to block automatic updates in the next version of Windows 10

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Detailed report coming soon in InfoWorld.
[See the full post at: How to block automatic updates in the next version of Windows 10]

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“the next version of Windows 10”

Microsoft said that there would be no more versions of “Windows”; but it looks like there will be a lot of versions of “Windows 10”!

I know; off topic!

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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There is a critical difference: Before w10 you had control over which version you ran on your computer by either buying or not buying a new one.

If you go to the “last” version (now re-labeled “editions”), you don’t anymore. You run what MS wants you to run for their own, not your purposes.

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Exactly. In my view, Microsoft is trying to create a perception of Windows 10 being so great that they can stay with it forever, while all the while they are creating new versions of Windows.

“Windows 10” is simply the new name for “Windows”, with the new versions of “Windows 10” hidden under the surface rather than in plain view.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

1 user thanked author for this post.

HiFlyer

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It’s sad when even as a college-educated, degree-carrying SysAdmin, the update policies of any company makes my head hurt. I know the big thing with Win10 was simplification; simplification of problems, simplification of updates. “Windows as a Service.” However, the up front changes, the reversion of things, and now more reversion of things (while seemingly also accomplishing the task of further muddying up the waters)…it just makes my head hurt.

Every Windows flavor before 10 was drop dead stupid simple to update and keep updated, and Linux nowadays (at least the dozen or so distros I’ve used) are also drop dead stupid simple to update and keep updated. (I won’t speak for Macs, because those have been out of my bailey wick for 5 years now.) But yeah…drop dead stupid simple.

Yet here we are, with Win10, and Microsoft can’t even get the idea of simplification right. I remember when Windows Update said “hey, I have updates!” and we could accept those updates, a) knowing there was no funny business attached, and b) knowing that nothing would be broken by taking those updates.

One another question: does Microsoft have any body parts left, because they’ve seemingly shot of every possible appendage to the point that I’m starting to wonder now how they’re pulling the trigger. It sure does seem like keeping sanity while running Win10 is a more daunting task than dodging updates and sketchy surprises on a box running any other flavor of Windows…and I’m starting to wonder why people put up with this (and why Microsoft thinks they will)?

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lurks about, lizzytish, fp, Elly

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This is PR; it is NOT about simplification and it never was. It’s about control for the user exploitation purposes of MS. The notion of competition is also pure PR: all businesses aspire to monopoly or at least oligopoly. And if you are lucky enough to be a monopolist and don’t have to compete, you dk how to and when in trouble all you do know is try to regain control by any means possible.

Most big tech companies — Facebook, Google, Amazon are increasingly monopolistic and become more and more arrogant and not just indifferent to laws and customers, but actually malevolent.

We are now entering the last stage of self-destruction: the previous was corporations controlling the govt; now they ARE the govt. The govt has outsourced itself out to them and there is no longer any system component to protect the public. It’s really over.

 

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Elly

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Defer, pause, snooze seem really simple to me; and with enough choices.

Much simpler than all the games people play with Windows 7 and 8 updates.

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If “we will install it anyway” is enough for you, that’s fine.

Those of us who play with W7 or W8 updates do that, because they can. In W10 – you can’t.

Fractal Design Pop Air * Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W * ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS * Intel Core i9-11900K * 4 x 8 GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4 3600 MHz CL16 * ASRock RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming 16GB OC * XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE 1TB * SanDisk Ultra 3D 1TB * Samsung EVO 840 250GB * DVD RW Lite-ON iHAS 124 * Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64-bit Insider * Windows 11 Pro Beta Insider

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Elly, lizzytish

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“Enough choices” would be the ability to refuse an update outright; you can’t do that, unless you refuse every update, and by that I mean “never update”.

If that’s a “game” to you, then I can’t help but LOL at that notion.

Having a running PC to use when I need it is not a “game” to me.

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lizzytish

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I never want to refuse any update, and I always have a PC to use when I need it.

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PhotM

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b wrote:

I never want to refuse any update, and I always have a PC to use when I need it.

You sure about that? What will happen if/when Microsoft delivers an update that actually borks your system? You may not have had it happen personally, but that does not mean it hasn’t happened, nor that it will never happen.

They’ve laid off much of the testing staff since Microsoft became the company we trusted to send out good updates. Think about it.

-Noel

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My PC might get hit by a tornado too, but I try not to concentrate on things which may never happen.

I did have at least one troublesome Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview update on my phone earlier this year, but the last couple have been easy and flawless.

Have we heard of many instances of Windows 10 PCs getting bricked by updates, out of the 500 million?

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abbodi86

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Yes, we have but I will let you continue your investigation….

Look around the forcing of GWX, General Users on all Windows Versions, and Surfaces. Leo Laporte on TWiT.TV had a surface brink on international live TV. He tried to recover it and never could as I remember it. He also bricked one or two Windows Phones.

When this level of disfunctionality, do to Updates/Upgrades on Windows, including bricking, most people just buy a new PC because the support often costs as much or more than a new PC. That assumes that they can even find somebody talented and experienced enough in IT to fix or recover the machine. Usually they can recover the disk contents/data.

--------------------------------------

1. Tower Totals: 2xSSD ~512GB, 2xHHD 20 TB, Memory 32GB

SSDs: 6xOS Partitions, 2xW8.1 Main & Test, 2x10.0 Test, Pro, x64

CPU i7 2600 K, SandyBridge/CougarPoint, 4 cores, 8 Threads, 3.4 GHz
Graphics Radeon RX 580, RX 580 ONLY Over Clocked
More perishable

2xMonitors Asus DVI, Sony 55" UHD TV HDMI

1. NUC 5i7 2cores, 4 Thread, Memory 8GB, 3.1 GHz, M2SSD 140GB
1xOS W8.1 Pro, NAS Dependent, Same Sony above.

-----------------

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Leo’s Surface wasn’t bricked, and there was an easy fix already available from Microsoft for his failed update (caused by his switch from IP to CB):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNpgFsGT-VE

(In fact, it was fixed on the same show within 33 minutes.)

But if that’s one troublesome update out of billions served, I’ll take my chances.

(GWX wasn’t applicable to Windows 10 PCs.)

2 users thanked author for this post.

ch100, NetDef

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b wrote:

. . . But if that’s one troublesome update out of billions served, I’ll take my chances. (GWX wasn’t applicable to Windows 10 PCs.)

I completely agree.  Far easier to fix a machine broken by a patch gone wrong, than to fix the network when malware gets into everything from one vulnerable entry point.

~ Group "Weekend" ~

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ch100

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b wrote:

Have we heard of many instances of Windows 10 PCs getting bricked by updates, out of the 500 million?

1511 upgrades did a pretty good emulation of it for some users during the first weeks after the release, machines with multiple logical drives seemed to be worst affected: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=anniversary+update+%2Bfreezing&ia=web

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Noel Carboni, ch100, PhotM

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The moral of this story: wait for the next edition to make it at least into CBB, unless testing the product

1 user thanked author for this post.

PhotM

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satrow wrote:

1511 upgrades did a pretty good emulation of it for some users during the first weeks after the release, machines with multiple logical drives seemed to be worst affected: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=anniversary+update+%2Bfreezing&ia=web

Not a very good emulation of “bricked” as there were multiple workarounds and subsequent fixes (and relatively few users affected anyway).

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b wrote:

satrow wrote:

1511 upgrades did a pretty good emulation of it for some users during the first weeks after the release, machines with multiple logical drives seemed to be worst affected: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=anniversary+update+%2Bfreezing&ia=web

Not a very good emulation of “bricked” as there were multiple workarounds and subsequent fixes (and relatively few users affected anyway).

It’s easy for you to say that but as one of the ‘relatively few’ users who was affected, it took me 5 days to work out the most likely reason for the freeze on my PC, MS had nothing to offer except a rollback or clean install during that period.

Relatively few or not, it must have been a priority for MS to test and release a patch for it within a month. In the meantime, all user affected by it would have wasted hours, if not days, as a result of whatever the causes were.

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Elly, PhotM

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Updating a computer should be as simple as a notification, review of the updates, optionally defer some updates – not for most, then update. If someone needs help, they could always call their informal IT department for advice. With Patch Tuesday, anyone supporting Windows knew to be ready to answer questions.

Linux distros and Apple get it; KISS. Also, all users get all patches and updates none of this using home users as unpaid, untrained beta testers. Do proper testing in house before roll out.

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Windows 10 (though also Microsoft’s policies in general) is the major reason why even though my job is administering a windows network, at home I’m 100% linux. At work, I have no choice but to deal with Microsoft’s antics, at home…NOT going to happen anymore.

Though I still have windows 10 installed on a machine at home (but not for long), I haven’t fired it up in almost a year…and guess what? I haven’t missed it one bit.

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Elly

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Probably means you don’t know what you’re missing, so you complain about the way it was.

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Dk about him, but in my case I know what I will miss when I’m not gonna be able to use Win7 no more.

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Elly, lizzytish

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b wrote:

Probably means you don’t know what you’re missing, so you complain about the way it was.

That sounds a bit disrespectful. A fair number of smart, experienced people who know what Windows 10 currently is and does still don’t think that highly of it. It’s precisely because of what they’re missing that they choose stay on their older operating systems.

-Noel

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Elly, PhotM

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Noel Carboni wrote:

That sounds a bit disrespectful. A fair number of smart, experienced people who know what Windows 10 currently is and does still don’t think that highly of it. It’s precisely because of what they’re missing that they choose stay on their older operating systems.

-Noel

Just pointing out that if people haven’t actually used Windows 10 in a year they’re probably out of touch with its current features.

A bit like you posting screenshots of your Windows 10 calculator and criticizing how it doesn’t work, when you clearly haven’t allowed it to be updated in over 18 months.

Even smart, experienced people need to occasionally take a look at what it is they’re campaigning against.

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b wrote:

Even smart, experienced people need to occasionally take a look at what it is they’re campaigning against.

… and what they’re staying with. Good advice for everybody. I’m continuing to find that Chromebooks are an excellent choice for almost everybody – although I readily admit that the work I do on books would be impossible without a Windows or Mac PC.

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Elly, PhotM

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BTW, “Pause” period is now shortened to 7 days in latest preview build 15048

Microsoft doesn’t give without taking

4 users thanked author for this post.

Elly, woody, radosuaf

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Interesting! The hidden Settings pane in 15048 now says 7 days – but the Group Policy is different.

Pause Feature Updates in group policy is now 60 days.

Pause Quality Updates in group policy now says 30 days.

Pause Updates in the Settings pane (whether it’s hidden or not) now says 7 days.

I think they have a ways to go before RTM….

1 user thanked author for this post.

Elly

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Woody Tweeted:

Those of you running beta build 15048… are you seeing the same disappearing Settings panel I talk about here?

All of these kinds of thing disappear for me almost immediately because of the way I lock down my partition. The Pause on/off button seems to stick around though but nothing else.

I get to see this stuff briefly before I click ‘Update’ the first time. Then the OS sees me as Managed. However the Red Lettering has gone again for about the 4 th time….

--------------------------------------

1. Tower Totals: 2xSSD ~512GB, 2xHHD 20 TB, Memory 32GB

SSDs: 6xOS Partitions, 2xW8.1 Main & Test, 2x10.0 Test, Pro, x64

CPU i7 2600 K, SandyBridge/CougarPoint, 4 cores, 8 Threads, 3.4 GHz
Graphics Radeon RX 580, RX 580 ONLY Over Clocked
More perishable

2xMonitors Asus DVI, Sony 55" UHD TV HDMI

1. NUC 5i7 2cores, 4 Thread, Memory 8GB, 3.1 GHz, M2SSD 140GB
1xOS W8.1 Pro, NAS Dependent, Same Sony above.

-----------------

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Until @teroalhonnen posted that animated GIF of the hidden Settings pane appearing, then disappearing, I was seriously doubting my sanity…

Clearly it’s a bug. But I still have no idea what the intended behavior might be.

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I am curious Woody,

What happens when you set things in GPO?

I would expect things would be either be Greyed out or disappear. When your testing, don’t forget to Click Update at least once. Sometimes one even needs to exit Settings to get MS intended presentation.

--------------------------------------

1. Tower Totals: 2xSSD ~512GB, 2xHHD 20 TB, Memory 32GB

SSDs: 6xOS Partitions, 2xW8.1 Main & Test, 2x10.0 Test, Pro, x64

CPU i7 2600 K, SandyBridge/CougarPoint, 4 cores, 8 Threads, 3.4 GHz
Graphics Radeon RX 580, RX 580 ONLY Over Clocked
More perishable

2xMonitors Asus DVI, Sony 55" UHD TV HDMI

1. NUC 5i7 2cores, 4 Thread, Memory 8GB, 3.1 GHz, M2SSD 140GB
1xOS W8.1 Pro, NAS Dependent, Same Sony above.

-----------------

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It’s very hard to test!

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PhotM

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You’d better disable all networks before clicking on Check for updates to reset the Group Policy behaviour

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I prefer this, always works for me

close Settings, start admin cmd:
net stop usosvc
net stop wuauserv
UsoClient.exe StartScan

2 users thanked author for this post.

woody, ch100

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I actually tried it based on one of your previous posts and appeared not to be working for me.
Worth trying though.
Thank for reposting for those who may have missed it.

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Also:  GPO settings don’t always take effect until a true reboot . . . (not a fast boot enabled shutdown/restart.)

 

~ Group "Weekend" ~

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b wrote:

Have we heard of many instances of Windows 10 PCs getting bricked by updates, out of the 500 million?

AFAIR the December update broke ALL multi-monitor setups (of course not bricked completely, but made things more complicated) in the World. There must be quite a few of them…

Fractal Design Pop Air * Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W * ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS * Intel Core i9-11900K * 4 x 8 GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4 3600 MHz CL16 * ASRock RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming 16GB OC * XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE 1TB * SanDisk Ultra 3D 1TB * Samsung EVO 840 250GB * DVD RW Lite-ON iHAS 124 * Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64-bit Insider * Windows 11 Pro Beta Insider

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Only for a few 3D full-screen games, I think. Not many were affected and it was fixed fairly quickly.

1 user thanked author for this post.

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b wrote:

Only for a few 3D full-screen games, I think. Not many were affected and it was fixed fairly quickly.

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/241069-microsoft-fixes-broken-windows-10-update-blocked-internet-connectivity-broke-dhcp

In the past 12 months, we’ve seen multiple updates that variously bricked systems, broke Internet connectivity, or caused random crashes when ordinary USB devices (Kindles, in this case) were plugged into the system.

And that is like 10 seconds Google search :).

Fractal Design Pop Air * Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W * ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS * Intel Core i9-11900K * 4 x 8 GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4 3600 MHz CL16 * ASRock RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming 16GB OC * XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE 1TB * SanDisk Ultra 3D 1TB * Samsung EVO 840 250GB * DVD RW Lite-ON iHAS 124 * Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64-bit Insider * Windows 11 Pro Beta Insider

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Well, if one guy says so; thanks for the extensive research.

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ch100 wrote:

The moral of this story: wait for the next edition to make it at least into CBB, unless testing the product  

The moral of this story is: use an operating system that was polished BEFORE its release, not after it (be it earlier Windows versions, Linux or Mac OS).

Fractal Design Pop Air * Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W * ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS * Intel Core i9-11900K * 4 x 8 GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4 3600 MHz CL16 * ASRock RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming 16GB OC * XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE 1TB * SanDisk Ultra 3D 1TB * Samsung EVO 840 250GB * DVD RW Lite-ON iHAS 124 * Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64-bit Insider * Windows 11 Pro Beta Insider

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PhotM

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Funny though that you use one of those operating systems considered bad by almost everyone in the industry which is one of the 8.x versions.
What would you say about Windows 8 if you believe that Windows 10 is not polished enough?
Get used to the new paradigm of using computers, or…

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ch100 wrote:

Funny though that you use one of those operating systems considered bad by almost everyone in the industry which is one of the 8.x versions. What would you say about Windows 8 if you believe that Windows 10 is not polished enough? Get used to the new paradigm of using computers, or…

1. I’m using it because the cure (W10) for the disease (W8) turned out to be even worse :). And I really like the flat interface + improvements to Task Manager and File Manager + Start button right-click menu over Windows 7.

2. The only problem everybody has with 8.1 is Start Screen, really. Some would say Charms are bad, some would say they would like Metro apps windowed but, let’s face it, 90% of the problem is the Start Screen and no Start button in Windows 8. If you look at the whole rest of the system – nobody complains about anything. Or at least it’s not very common. What is funny, though, Start Menu in W10 is no better, if not worse than W8.1 Start Screen – it is just smaller. For me it’s even worse, as, for example, you cannot pin various Control Panel elements to Start and the App list is ridiculously unusable, whereas at the W8.1 App screen you see most of them right away. But it’s a menu, not a screen, and people somehow bought it.

3. You can clear out 99% of Metro UI right away with PowerShell in W8.1 and then the only issue is the Start Menu, but then again, you get Start button right-click menu, which is what I really started to miss in Windows 7 when I got used to using 8.1 at work. You don’t have 3D Builder, Candy Crush Saga and other bloatware. You don’t have forced updates, you have fully functional Control Panel and so on…

4. As far as I remember, apart from repairing the interface, which was the obvious flaw, with 8.1 I do not recall any serious issues being resolved with updates – when you look at Windows 10, with each build you get a long list of issues resolved, a bit shorter issues still remaining and major overhauls of interface – which would suggest RTM was nowhere near the final version of the system.

4. What is the new paradigm of using computers? Making them touch-oriented toys? No, thanks. I need Windows only for games and if things will go this way, I’ll double boot Linux with W10 being used only to double-click game shortcut on desktop – which will be what basically what MS wants Windows to become – an Xbox game console, only in a different package.

Fractal Design Pop Air * Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W * ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS * Intel Core i9-11900K * 4 x 8 GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4 3600 MHz CL16 * ASRock RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming 16GB OC * XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE 1TB * SanDisk Ultra 3D 1TB * Samsung EVO 840 250GB * DVD RW Lite-ON iHAS 124 * Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64-bit Insider * Windows 11 Pro Beta Insider

2 users thanked author for this post.

PhotM, HiFlyer

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woody wrote:

….
… and what they’re staying with. Good advice for everybody.

Woody, I am curious,

Is it a campaign against W 10, to wish it could be better and live up to it’s full potential?
Is it a campaign against W 10, or a campaign against Microsoft for their manipulative Egos, and using W 10 in their despotic intrusion of peoples lives, just because Phones appear to them, to work that way?

I don’t want to get into a rant here, put I do find SOME opinions to be curious at best. In short all one has to do is read/listen/watch enough of the media to form a healthy opinion of what MS is doing to and using W 10 for, they don’t need to use it. Just look at all you have written and TWiT has broadcast, 100’s if not 1000’s of hours, about W 10, and MS hardware since W 10 ‘TP’ Launched(to name two).

I only advocate, W 8.1 Pro, as I have said before about, what’s under the hood not the Hood Ornament. I feel ill every time I have to left click the Start Button(Right Click is great) which is very rare, since I could port my work way directly from W 7 to W 8.x and W 10.

These considerations seem to get lost, in the friction(drama) oriented topic, where ever it happens.

woody wrote:

I’m continuing to find that Chromebooks are an excellent choice for almost everybody

I am so glad, though I have never used a ChromeBook, that they didn’t turn out to be a the dreaded “Netbook”.

--------------------------------------

1. Tower Totals: 2xSSD ~512GB, 2xHHD 20 TB, Memory 32GB

SSDs: 6xOS Partitions, 2xW8.1 Main & Test, 2x10.0 Test, Pro, x64

CPU i7 2600 K, SandyBridge/CougarPoint, 4 cores, 8 Threads, 3.4 GHz
Graphics Radeon RX 580, RX 580 ONLY Over Clocked
More perishable

2xMonitors Asus DVI, Sony 55" UHD TV HDMI

1. NUC 5i7 2cores, 4 Thread, Memory 8GB, 3.1 GHz, M2SSD 140GB
1xOS W8.1 Pro, NAS Dependent, Same Sony above.

-----------------

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b wrote:

Well, if one guy says so; thanks for the extensive research.

Gosh, I can keep you loaded with dozens of links, should you wish. Well, and if I also had time and willingness to. Honestly, defending what has happened a few times with W10 updates is simply pointless.

Fractal Design Pop Air * Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W * ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS * Intel Core i9-11900K * 4 x 8 GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4 3600 MHz CL16 * ASRock RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming 16GB OC * XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE 1TB * SanDisk Ultra 3D 1TB * Samsung EVO 840 250GB * DVD RW Lite-ON iHAS 124 * Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64-bit Insider * Windows 11 Pro Beta Insider

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Elly, PhotM

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It started with “borked”, which I took to mean “bricked”; perhaps that was incorrect on my part.

But no one has so far pointed to a shred of evidence of any Windows 10 PC bricked by an update.

Even Woody said, only three months ago; “I’ve seen many reports of cumulative updates that refuse to install and quite a number of miscellaneous broken pieces — Start won’t appear, apps crash, settings get clobbered, programs get uninstalled. I have yet to see widespread blue screens and bricked systems that used to accompany Windows patches. [before Windows 10]”

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Why do you want evidence only of bricked PCs? The reference is normally used for motherboards where a failed BIOS flash has rendered the machine (hardware) inoperable, an OS update/upgrade would normally only bork some data on the system drive.

I suspect only MS’ own devices (Surface/xBox/’phones, etc.) would be likely to be bricked in that sense.

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Elly, PhotM

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