Windows updating despite manual setting

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It has happened both on a laptop and PC, most recently with at least some of the March updates.

The laptop was set to download but let me choose installation (I have changed that to check but let me choose to download); the PC  was already set to the latter. The laptop, which gets shutdown or restarted more frequently when I (infrequently) use it, has now installed all eight important March updates; the PC has only installed four of them and seems to have stopped at that. Why, I have no idea.

I do notice that each time I open the Windows Update dialogue, all the checked-for updates are selected, even after I deselect all, close the dialogue and reopen it.

Since I typically do not use the admin account, for safety reasons, all user accounts are set to be allowed to update, but that shouldn’t affect the choice of manual or automatic.

Any idea what’s going on here? I want to wait for Woody’s green light before installing anything.

Thanks.

 

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Cthru wrote:

I do notice that each time I open the Windows Update dialogue, all the checked-for updates are selected, even after I deselect all, close the dialogue and reopen it.

Yes, unless you HIDE the updates, they will return to the default setting when you leave the window. It has always been that way.

Cthru wrote:

Since I typically do not use the admin account, for safety reasons, all user accounts are set to be allowed to update, but that shouldn’t affect the choice of manual or automatic.

Have you checked that all the non-admin accounts are set to “Check but let me decide when to download and install” in Windows Update?
Are they clicking on “Install”?

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There is only one user account in each case. I guess it’s possible that another family member using the computer briefly made the error of clicking on install, but I have explicitly cautioned both potential other users not to. And I’m not sure why the PC would still have some waiting and the laptop have installed all of them, most in one fell swoop and one in a subsequent pass after a shutdown. I guess I’ll see what happens going forward.

If I wish to uninstall updates, is there an easy way to do it? I’ll bet this site has posted a guide on it somewhere.

Thanks.

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The laptop installed all of them because “Download but let me choose when to install” really means “install when I choose when to reboot” because, once downloaded, the updates will install on the next reboot/shutdown unless you intervene.
By setting “Check but let me choose whether to download and install,” if the updates are not downloaded to the computer, they cannot install.

You can uninstall updates by going to Control Panel/Windows Update. In the lower left click on “View installed updates.” Click on the title of the “Date” column to sort them by install date. Highlight the update you want to uninstall, right click and choose “Uninstall.” If you are not familiar with the implications of an install, educate yourself on the update contents and what it does before uninstalling. Rollups are CUMULATIVE.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Cthru, woody

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Why not leave all accounts set to Never Check for Updates until you’re good and ready to install this month’s patches? That way, you won’t get any nasty surprises.

3 users thanked author for this post.

SueW, woody, Elly

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I guess so. But I’m still trying to figure out what happened. I know aggressive-invasive W10 is looming in my future, but W7 is not supposed to behave this way.

Thanks.

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It’s exactly as @PKCano describes. “Download but let me choose when to install” doesn’t mean what it says.

Could be worse. If you were on Win10, “Check for updates” doesn’t check for updates.

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This is not a new behavior- and I remember PKCano explaining the same thing to me, when I got bit. It seems to me, that even check but let me choose to download resulted in unexpected updating, because when I looked at the available updates, the important ones are checked… and Windows will interpret you as approving them, if you haven’t unchecked and applied, before shutting down.

You can make an immediate decision about wanting to install, or uncheck (remember to check apply, or they will recheck themselves and install on reboot). Or, you can set Windows Update to Never Check, and apply a manual check at your convenience. I, too, had that sense of betrayal by Microsoft… but at least Windows 7 has a way to control updates. It did take a little getting used to having the Action Center flag Never Check as needing to be changed… but now I take comfort in seeing it, as reassurance that updating is under my control.

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

1 user thanked author for this post.

Cthru

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Thanks, and — Wow! “Let me choose” means “Okay, if I happen to reboot — or the machine has to reboot for any reason — that means I’m choosing.” It’s like one of those phrases in the fine print of your bank statement, and, for years now, the bank statements  have been entirely in 4-pt Arial Narrow (and still 5 pages).

Thank goodness for this site!

1 user thanked author for this post.

Elly

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