Settings/Updates & Security/Windows Update/Advanced Settings

Delivery Optimization

Group Policy

Explanation – In Advanced Options
SAC – gives you Patch Tuesday Security Cumulative Updates (no Previews which are meant for testing).
Defer Feature Updates = 365 holds off UPGRADES for 365. This can be set wherever you want. I set it at 365, then I can choose when to upgrade by lowering the number when I’m ready
Defer Quality Updates = 0 allows Monthly CUs to be seen immediately after release. I set this to zero, b/c I want to be able to see what’s out there. If you set this to a number, the updates do not show up in the queue for that many days.
No Pause – if you pause updates, at the end of the pause whatever is out there installs (whether you want it or not).

Delivery Optimization
If you set this your network it’s OK, but you probably don’t want updates coming to your PC from any PC out on the Internet

Group Policy
Windows Update = Enabled, value = 2 (notify download/install)
This prevents the updates from downloading to your PC until you click on download. If the updates are not on your computer, they can’t install. Quality updates deferral = 0 allows you to SEE the pending updates so you know what to hide if you don’t want it. But they do not download automatically.

Use wushowhide to HIDE the updates you don’t want and the procedure in our Knowledge Base AKB2000013 to clear the Windows Update queue of the updates you hide.

berniec wrote:

I’ve read about being able to “pause” updates for a week, but I’ve looked everywhere and I have no such setting [at least none that I can find].

Unfortunately that functionality is introduced with the forthcoming 1903 version:

Many people use Sordum.org’s portable, freeware Windows Update Blocker (recently updated to v1.2 to deal with the Windows Update Medic Service, Microsoft’s recent attempt to stop you having control over the Windows Update service and related services)

Just run it, choose the Disable Service option and tick the Protect Service Settings checkbox then click on the Apply Now button… then exit WUB. Note that this will also prevent definition updates to Windows Defender, if that’s the anti-malware solution you use.

Hope this helps…

PKCano wrote:

Strange. I’ve had “Pause” on my 1809 Pro ever since. See screenshot above.

You’re right. I thought the OP was talking specifically about the ‘7 day’ pause, i.e. 1903’s default pause interval without going into ‘Advanced options’.

This looks like win10 Home     whats your winver show?

If you have Win 10 Pro

For some reason it looks like the Pause is missing so (just a suggestion), try going to search and type cmd and in the search box when cmd shows up, right click and choose Run as Administrator. OK the box to allow and then type in chkdsk /f then enter, then type Y and then enter and close it out and reboot to see if it will fix the missing pause in advanced. It doesn’t take long so it’s worth a try. It has fixed a few installation problems for me.

Hope this helps

Looks like you have Win10 Pro 1809.

You need to scroll down farther in the Advanced Settings page, and set it to look like what I describe every month in Computerworld. Here’s the latest:

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3394684/patches-are-coming-tomorrow-make-sure-windows-update-gets-locked-down.html

(PKCano’s description above is entirely accurate. You can’t one-click Pause in 1809. But you should read the Computerworld and MS-DEFCON references!) 🙂

berniec wrote:

I note that patch tuesday went by and there’s no sign of any updates for my win10 system

Go to Windows update history to list the latest updates installed (just type in search box : update history.

(Facepalm. Ouch.)

I apologize. I’ve had a lot on my plate lately, but that’s no excuse. @berniec please forgive me for handing you a stock answer when I should’ve been looking at the evidence you provided.

On reflection (thx, @PKCano), here’s what I see. You have Win10 Pro 1809. In the Windows Update settings, Advanced Options box, you do not have a section marked “Choose when updates are installed.” That seems to be the crux of the problem.

I’ve searched high and low and found several cases where “Choose when updates are installed” has gone missing. I don’t see any Group Policy setting that removes that section entirely – only policies that gray them out.

Ends up that this is a known bug in Win10 1809. On the MS Answers Forum, “Sumit (Independent Advisor)” says:

This is being reported by many that options disappear after a clean install.

Please add feedback and share the feedback with me so that I can escalate:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/27932/…

Sumit

Predictably, the Feedback Sumit refers to is just the general Feedback page. I went into Feedback (which is its own UWP app – ugh – not accessible to, or indexed by, Google Search) and found a few hits on

missing “choose when updates are installed”

but, again predictably, there’s very little there.

So here’s what I figure: Your system’s screwed up. I don’t know why. The only solution I can think of is to do a non-destructive “Reset this PC” (Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery) but I have no idea if that’ll work or not.

So again apologies. Please keep us updated on your results!

On the 1903 ver does use of the ‘pause’ cause a forced update when the pause period ends as the one is 1803?

berniec wrote:

AHA!! I think I’ve discovered my problem. In the ComputerWorld article you say to run settings>Update as *administrator*. I *never* run as administrator and so what I see [and showed you all] is what the non-admin user sees. I just switched to my admin account and sure enough: there are a *ton* of settings for update, including, I expect now I can do the settings that everyone has recommended.

So, as a VERY new Win10 (Pro) user, still going through initial set up, this inspires me to ask:  when working with Windows Update should we always be logged on to an administrator account rather than to a standard account elevated with administrator password?

With Win7 HP I always did everything that required administrator privileges while logged on to my standard account elevated with the administrator password unless specifically instructed to do otherwise.

Thanks!

I am new to Windows 10 and on my new Windows 10 Pro version 1909 computer, not too long after February update, I have set the number of the quality update can be deferred to 30 with the thought that when the green light is given I will change the deferred day to 0 day, restart the computer and wait for the system to install the March update. If I want to use the Group Policy (#2) do I have to wait till after the March monthly updates are installed then make the switch, to use the Group Policy (#2), or can I do it now? If I can do it now, could you please show me step by step on how to do it?
Thanks!