Crowdsourced blocking of Windows 10 updates, part 2

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Join me in testing Noel Carboni’s approach to managing updates in Windows 10. I think he has a workable, easy solution to one of the things I hate mos
[See the full post at: Crowdsourced blocking of Windows 10 updates, part 2]

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Does Noel Carboni’s tool work on Win10 Pro?

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Thanks for publishing this, Woody. I believe it will help a lot of folks who really need to take control of when and whether Microsoft installs updates.

Microsoft seems to have forgotten that not everyone is using Windows for frivolous activity, and *everyone* occasionally needs it to remain stable overnight!

As a timely example, imagine leaving TurboTax running overnight with a partially entered tax return, then having found in the morning that Windows Updates installed and rebooted your computer.

Reminder:

If you take manual control of your updates in the way described here, you have to remember to initiate the update check through Settings occasionally!

I’m sure your readers here already know that, though. 🙂

-Noel

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HI Woody

I have windows 10 pro.
Yesterday when the new Adobe update came out.. i had already used the opedit.msc way to group policy of stopping updates. So when i tried to update Adobe it would not update. I went back in today undid the group policy and tried again to update the Adobe program.. no problem it updated. I then went back and put the group policy in effect again . It greys out the “choose how updates are installed box ” in settings windows updates setting. It also puts a red “some settings are managed by your organization” line in the 1st window of update. I am set to see if updates are stopped now. Hope it works for all.

Thanks for the way to try and stop em right away.

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Sounds great…. just change two Registry entries.

Next, Microsoft reads your InfoWorld article.

Soon MS devises a Win 10 patch containing a subroutine that changes the Registry back to MS “politically correct” values.

Eventually I manually download and install that patch. The Registry is changed back.

If I can imagine this being done, surely MS can too. What do you think?

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I doubt that they’ll do it, because the Group Policy settings are used by big customers. Very big customers, who don’t want their systems messed with.

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Absolutely.

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Certainly not changing as this is the officially documented way of managing the updates. Well, not yet fully documented for Windows 10, but let’s say well-known for a long time from all other versions of Windows. If this will change at any stage, it will have to be publicised as it would affect corporate customers.
In fact WU has already been redesigned for Windows 10 because the regular registry keys, not policy related, which used to work previously are implemented elsewhere now. Also the Windows Update applet from the Control Panel has disappeared and this is related.

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Woody, thanks for posting this method and the compiled exe from Noel which is going to make life a lot easier for those less technically minded. Thanks to Noel for putting the effort to compile the executable in an easy to run format.
The method as described ‘should’ work although it has to be tested in the next few days in live conditions for confirmation.
Few observations with potential for enhancing the proposed method:
– In gpedit.msc there is a setting which says “Notify for download and notify for install”. This corresponds to different values in the registry which can be captured if there is interest from those who do not have gpedit available as part of the Windows 10 Home version. If this works as expected and I believe it does, then there may not be a need to use wushowhide.cab at all, unless we want granularity with the updates, instead of installing all or nothing. The effect of the settings in the policy over Defender is news for me and it is good behaviour if the Defender updates are not affected regardless of the policy settings.
– Maybe an alternative to the exe should be presented here or on InfoWorld for making the registry configuration for those who may be reluctant to run executables in particular if an antivirus may issue a warning/false positive. A reg file would be more transparent and can be published as alternative.

And few other things. I think a simple restart will not activate the setting, the user has to click Check for updates once to activate the setting, unless this behaviour was patched and fixed by Microsoft recently. I think this is what Noel is trying to say in his post above about using the settings applet.
The gpedit.msc error can be ignored but can be fixed as well by deleting leftovers from the old policies when Microsoft released 1511. This is not as simple as it sounds though, as someone has to enable the built-in Administrator account, log in as Administrator, take ownership of the files needing deletion, change permissions and finally deleting them. There are 2 files under C:WindowsPolicyDefinitions and C:WindowsPolicyDefinitionsen-US easily identified by date which is different than for all the other files which need to be deleted to fix the warning message.

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Why would an Adobe update be affected? Is this about a Flash built-in Windows 10 update or a third party update from Adobe?

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Just wanted to say, I’m so grateful that you are doing this project – wish I could help by joining in but don’t have Win10 on my machine. However, this is ONE of the stumbling blocks – the manadatory updates that has been keeping me from upgrading to
Win10. Good luck to all .. and thanks again! LT

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Thanks for the notes.

I’d rather take a granular approach — use wushowhide — so people have finer control over what gets installed. At this point, it’s academic, except for some drivers, because the cumulative updates include everything and the kitchen sink. But at some point, MS might break out different kinds of updates (at the very least, security vs non-security).

As Noel knows, I’m very leery of recommending that people download and run programs on their machines. I don’t think InfoWorld would sponsor the EXE – I’ve never seen them do that before. I could probably figure out a way to put it on AskWoody, but WordPress doesn’t make it easy. I think. A reg file would be easy for some folks but scary for others. Not sure there’s a good solution.

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Hi ch100,

Without the Windows 8 and earlier Update UI that allows the selection and hiding of updates to install, The “Notify for download and notify for install” setting alone seems insufficient.

I can see how presenting people with “updates are available” reminders might seem like a good idea, but… Does it just check for them or does it download them? Either way, taking control of not only the installation but the download of data is the intent here. Not everyone wants their system downloading things when unattended or while the network connection is needed for other things.

I personally prefer to not have Windows Update doing ANYTHING on its own online until *I* initiate the check, and I run a 3rd party (Sphinx) firewall setup that I have to reconfigure to allow update checking. I also disable the Windows Update service so that it cannot even try to go online between my manually-initiated update sessions.

Running a good deny-by-default firewall setup (opposed to the Microsoft-provided allow-by-default setup for outgoing connections) is a good idea if you REALLY want to be in ultimate control and know what components are attempting communications, but it requires a fair bit of knowledge to set up initially and some ongoing effort to maintain as well.

I did think about the implications of encouraging people to download an executable, but it’s the best way to provide non-technical users the simplest possible way to take control of the update process, and to be able to revert to normal operation as desired.

For what it’s worth, the executable is a compiled script written in the WinBatch language – something which can be used to throw together small utilitarian applications very quickly.

The source code is here if you’d like to look it over:

http://www.ProDigitalSoftware.com/Utilities/ConfigureAutomaticUpdates.wbt

Woody provided the registry entries for those who would prefer to do their own registry changes by hand, and you should use the policy editor if you have a variant of Windows that provides gpedit.msc.

-Noel

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I’m a chess player, and something I learned about chess already very early is that you do not get far if you calculate with the weakest move of your opponent because it so nicely fits into your plan and ideas and would be so comfortable for you if he plays it. But the reasonable thing is to calculate with the strongest move you can imagine him to make. The only thing.

“(…) using Microsoft’s own tool”. This, as well as the assumption that one still can trust into that certain things not even MS will dare to do, is something I have a problem with. Its hoping for Microsoft not playing their strongest move. The sense of safety from that hope, most likely will be temporary and deceptive only. Or in a general’s words: “Hope is no strategy”.

Do not trust. Expect the worst. Its only a question of time, in case of Microsoft. And when it comes – the less your connections to and dependencies on Microsoft are, the better you will be off then. A controlled giving-up of the sinking ship is better than getting caught by the crash-dive by surprise. Microsoft will not dramatically reverse their course, the latest huge announcement of revelation of their future plans and policies spoke a very clear message on that. From their point of view they are doomed to continue on the course they have set.

They will not give up. You accept that – and either surrender to them, or turn your back on them. Anything else you try means you get defeated in a slow war of attrition that you never had a chance to win in the end.

One must not like this. But that’s how it is.

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So far, I haven’t seen Microsoft unilaterally alter the rules of engagement — once we got them to correctly document the rules. That’s been true for the three decades I’ve been watching and writing about them.

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If the events about GWX and mislabelling intrusionware do not qualify for a description of “unilaterally changing the ROE”, then I do not understand what “unilaterally changing the ROE” should mean. 😉 And users of W10 effectively got partially expropriated of their rights of ownership over their machines and additionally deliberately turned into beta testers – no matter whether they agree to become that or not. Choice is no longer the user’s, and certain choices of users are no longer accepted by MS.

I must strongly disagree with you there, Woody. Nothing personal. 🙂 The ROE have been so dramatically changed already that I can only wonder why you deny that.

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Guess it depends on what you mean by ROE. In this case, I’m referring to specific Registry entries that thwart the usual behavior. In the past, if you set those Registry entries properly (and Josh had to figure them out for GWX, before Microsoft changed its documentation), the juggernaut will pass you by.

If you’re talking about forcing-and-upgrade-down-regular-user’s-throats, then ya, you’re absolutely correct. Microsoft has never pushed crapware like this onto paying customers’ systems. Ever.

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Don’t forget to document how much time or trouble this really saves you over uninstalling a troublesome update (if/when that happens).

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I expect to upgrade to Win10 PRO within the month. Updates has been the sticking point for me thus far. So I am a daily reader of Woody. Sorry I didn’t think of this in my first post but does Noel’s utility also reverse the process?

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Shouldn’t the program or source code refer to Windows 10 somewhere?

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Hi Noel

Thanks for clarification. It was not in my intention to doubt your solution to taking control of Windows Update in Windows 10. The solution proposed by you and presented by Woody looks very good to me.
I only added some notes which may offer alternatives and I understand why you prefer to block completely the Automatic Update until there is an intention to update. However going beyond that and disabling the service it is likely that it will disable the Defender updates too. I don’t know and I will have to test, as I have always thought that the definition updates for Defender and all other related Microsoft Antimalware products are linked to all the other updates.
I may try to use the Sphynx firewall as I was looking for an easy solution to do some network monitoring and controlling the activity of the OS even if my purpose is only for testing and learning. Since the old Sygate Firewall killed by Symantec after purchasing it and now obsolete, I didn’t find a comparable solution except maybe from the offering from Comodo.
I think posting the source for the executable will make more people confident in using your solution.

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Yes Woody, I was looking for something to avoid using wshowhide.cab to reduce complexity and as you mentioned the granularity is more academic at this stage, but the comprehensive way to address the issue is the one proposed by Noel and you.

I think the driver behaviour is more or less sorted for now as I explained in another comment. Briefly, the driver updates are pushed automatically only if:
– There is no driver available for a device in the system
– There is a critical driver update (security, functionality) as considered by Microsoft – this is extremely rare

Otherwise, if new drivers are available, they are installed only if the user right-clicks the device in Device Manager and asks for scanning for updates online.

PS Availability of new drivers can be identified in the Windows Update log. The log entries will show if updates are identified but not installed. By comparing the GUID in the log with what is available in Windows Catalog, one can decide if there is a case for upgrading. This last procedure is redundant and is better avoided.
If there is a need for new drivers it is almost always better to download from the manufacturer’s site or from the computer manufacturer’s site.

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Hi Marc

I used to be a chess player too but I very rarely play now, mostly against computer software when I have time 🙂
I think this is not the case of if Microsoft can or cannot do something. It is more about their intentions, declared or only guessed based on experience in the field. Like in chess, you have to apply heuristics to a certain degree as it is impossible to calculate everything.
To summarize, Microsoft intends and is determined to have the home users automatically updated for multiple reasons among which very important is the security of the Internet as a whole. The non-technical non-power users are known to carry most of the malware without even being aware of it. Running an antivirus and a firewall is not enough in many situations. This is the main reason why there are so many hurdles in blocking Automatic Updates for the users of Home Edition. And it is very likely that as long as Microsoft will provide documented alternatives in the more advanced versions of Windows 10 (Pro, Enterprise) they will get away with this approach for the Home Edition.
For the other users more technically inclined, or corporate users, Microsoft provides the tools to modify the behaviour of Windows Update and there is no intention from the company to change it. They have to sell a usable product after all and most of their customers are corporate customers which cannot easily move away from Windows and Office unless there is a compelling reason. It happened years ago when corporate customers moved from Novell Netware to Windows NT.

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Yep. Completely reversible. See the end of the article.

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Of course, the biggest problem is with updates that either brick the machine or do something that’s basically irreversible. I don’t have an example with Win10 yet, but I have at least two recent examples of irreversible problems with Office Click-to-Run.

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Microsoft has not yet as of this posting issued a flash player patch for Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 with “embedded” IE 11 or Edge.

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If this proves to be effective and safe (and reversible for when the updates are deemed safer), this is the best tip I’ve read about Windows 10 in all the time I’ve been reading about this OS version.

Thanks Woody and Noel, for developing and testing this feature which Microsoft should have had the decency to include in Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise from the very start.

If only the Wushowhide tool could be integrated with the Group Policy settings and all of this could be displayed in the Control Panel Updates Settings Applet, Windows 10 Pro might at long last become a safe version to operate.

But alas, this is the New Microsoft, and simple, direct solutions are a thing of the past.

(sigh) ( 🙁 )

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Irreversible? You linked to a single command which reverted to a previous Office version.

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New version irreversibly renamed normal.dotm and many others:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/3017791/microsoft-windows/windows-10-update-kb-3124200-clobbers-word-customizations.html

POP3 mail irreversibly deleted:
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/updates/outlook-2016pop-problems-update/

These were ultimately reversible:

New version made Office Click-to-Run impossible to launch:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/2607889/microsoft-windows/another-botched-patch–error-30145-4-plagues-office-2013-click-to-run.html

New version froze Word, Excel or PowerPoint:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/3035712/microsoft-windows/patching-delays-raise-red-flags-for-microsoft-as-a-service.html

That’s just a cursory look.

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You posted links to workarounds for the first two too. None of them were irreversible.

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How so? The renaming of normal.dotx to an arbitrary name made macros in normal.dotx permanently inaccessible. (They could be retrieved, but only through a complex series of steps, which would be very hard to automate across many machines.) The deletion of POP3 email made those messages disappear.

Did I miss something?

I’m not saying the problems were irreparable. A person with sufficiently detailed knowledge could work around the problems. But they weren’t reversible, with normal.dotx permanently changed and the mail permanently gone.

IMHO, what we’ve seen is a congenital problem with forced updating – and one that’s not adequately addressed in either Office C2R, or in Win10.

But I’d be very interested in contrary opinions!

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Woody,

As total computer novices, my daughter and I installed Noel C’s tool tonight. Due to our lack of computer abilities we created restore points before and after installing it.

We are also finding that installing Win 10 updates does not automatically install restore points. This bothers us, but we don’t know how to fix it.

It did seem to install a few automatic restore points when something takes place such as the windows defender downloads, we presume. But, several automatic restore points that were there in March, before we installed the March build update are now gone.

Originally all the factors for System Restore were not in place. It was not turned on for C, but I eventually caught that and turned it on. Still we didn’t get restore points.

Then I discovered in services the 1. Volume Shadow Copy was not on automatic and was not running (set to manual) 2. The Task Scheduler was on automatic and running, but the 3. Microsoft software shadow copy provider was not running and not on automatic. So I switched the two that were off on. It was after that change we got the a few Automatic Restore Points, still none prior to Win 10 build updates or office updates for March. That seems strange to me.

Is it normal not to get restore points prior to a Win 10 and/or office set of updates?

At least with the metered WiFi trick, the wushowhide tool and now Noel C’s program, we can create our own restore points. Windows updates in 10 and 7 are now becoming a lot of work.

Do you have a suggestion for novices like us regarding where to keep Noel’s tool? Right now it is in our download folder and that doesn’t seem to be the best place for it.

Thanks Woody and Noel.

We will let you know if it works for us when we get to the second step after the Black Tuesday updates come out.

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I’d stick it on the desktop….

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Please be aware that many services now are ‘Triggered’ which means that there are triggers which start them and stop them. Even in Windows 7 the Windows Time service is triggered by a scheduled task once every 7 days on a standalone machine and triggered differently for domain joined machines.
Modifying the default state of the services require very high level skills and a lot of testing to be done correctly and is not recommended for normal (non-admin type) users. If the state of the services is modified from the Services console, then the scheduled tasks associated are likely not to complete correctly and this can be a cause of instability for the system.

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I have been in computers for almost as long as there have been computers.

Long ago I settled on creating C:Bin, adding it to my path, and putting miscellaneous utilities in there.

-Noel

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Got 4 updates today. Hid the cumulative update and installed the other three: malicious software removal tool, definition update, and adobe flash player (I use Chrome, the plug in was already updated but ran it anyway). Restarted and showing up to date with the cummulative update still hidden. I have the WUSHOWHIDE right on the desktop as a reminder.

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That way worked – but the block-with-Automatic Update set to Disabled approach didn’t, at least for me.

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Okay, I am lost regarding the last two replies.

Will this triggering of scheduled tasks create an issue for the relatively computer ignorant family after downloading Noel C’s program to my daughter’s Win 10 laptop?

We don’t want our lack of training create problems in spite of trying to use what looks like a great solution to the Win 10 forced downloads.

Although she has not restarted her computer yet, she did copy Noel’s program and a screen shot of the program in Word, and Woody’s directions in a folder–all located in the download folder. She the copied that folder from the download folder and put it on her desktop. Now Win 10 says the program or file is open in the download file so that copy cannot be deleted. Is that just a fluke that will be taken care of after she restarts the computer?

When working on school projects she doesn’t like to restart, but just pick up where she left off.

Thank you for clarifying the two comments by ch100 and Noel C ahead of time!

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My results:

I followed the instructions and everything worked as described.

I used Noel’s tool, then used the Wushowhide tool to hide the cumulative update.

I then checked for updates and received this month’s Malicious software removal tool (KB890830) and Flash player update (KB3154132), but NOT the cumulative update.

Thank you, Woody and Noel!

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Excellent report. Thanks.

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The services which are triggered show in the services console as such, being labelled in addition to the well-known state of Manual or Automatic. For many services in Windows 10 the defaults are different than they were in Windows 7, many of the services being now configured in such a way that they depend on other events – the so called triggers.
I suggest that for most users who want to use the computer as a productivity tool and not get into the technical details behind the scenes to stick with the supported configuration and not change the defaults unless completely understanding the consequences and also taking backups and making sure that it is easy to revert to the original configuration.
There are tools like ‘sc’ which show the services configuration and also by inspecting the registry more details can be found.
The actual configuration is beyond the purpose of this discussion and my previous post only tried to raise awareness that some configuration which seems easy may have undesired effects.

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PS The services configuration is not related in any way to Noel’s software, it can create issues by itself.

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Ch100,and hopefully Woody and Noel C.

I am sorry, but I am a novice.

We have not done step of 3 of this process ro hide the cumulative update–using the WUshowhide tool.

Are you saying that novices such as myself and my daughter should undo what we did with Noel C’s tool– If so, how do we do that? If other than by going back to the tool he made, and clicking the box “Configure Automatic Updates to Not Configured”

Prior to that though, should we try to go through with Steps 3 and 4 since we are midway through the process?

Should we then wait to apply the cumulative update when Woody gives us the okay?

Once we get the okay to apply the updates, should we go through the steps of undoing Noel’s tool and then deleting it from our computer.

You have to be very blunt and clear with those of us not in this field.

Please could Noel C and Woody weigh in on this too? I am pretty confused at this point.

MS is creating lots of stress and anxiety on many home users with this Windows 10 rammed down our throats in Windows 7, and Windows 10 being bricked due to cumulative updates.

Woody’s suggestion to use Noel’s tool seemed one way to remove this anxiety in one system. If it is so dangerous for novices like us to be doing this, there should be a warning on Woody’s post, should there not? Or perhaps someone should have chimed in that novices should not be doing this before people tried it. So many people read AskWoody that I probably am not the only one concerned at this point.

Could we please give some input in addition to that by CH100. I don’t want to panic, but at the same time, I don’t want to create issues with my daughters new Win 10 computer either.

I’d appreciate any help at this point especially because I am at the point midway in this test process.

Thanks all!

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Naw, unlax. Hang in there another day or two while we see if the cumulative update crashes everything. If so, you’ll be glad you blocked the update. If not, I’ll give the all-clear, along with instructions about how to install it if you blocked it. Easy as pie.

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Ch100, Perhaps I read what you are discussing about system settings incorrectly because you really didn’t state which subject that you were talking about from my post.

Are you referring to the fact that I said our Windows 10 system is not creating restore points? If so I would like to know if that is the topic to which you are referring for the novice.

Once I found out that the Volume Shadow Copy, etc., were not on automatic,and mostlikely should have been I called Microsoft.

Although difficult to understand, the woman hopped on my daughter’s computer and started doing stuff to it, in spite of my requests to explain what she was doing as she did the things she did. I told her I wanted to learn and understand.

She is the one who started-up those services. I just check them now and then because there still seem to be no restore points made just before installing KB’s or cumulative updates of any type. A couple of automatic restore points were installed, I think for defender downloads, but now two are gone. Only one from early April and the manual ones I installed are there although the system settings are as the woman from MS set them.

At least with the metered WiFi trick and the wushowhide tool I have been able to create manual restore points before updates take place.

However, after reading your post, I am not sure if computer novices like me, should not be using Noel’s tool, or if we should just stay away from adjusting services without help from an expert.

However, no matter how you look at it, if the WIN 10 OS is not creating restore points before updates, and if some are disappearing (and there is plenty of space set aside for them), we could have lots of issues on our hands.

At this point in time I will only let my daughter store bookmarks on this computer and no documents or information. I just don’t trust a system that fails to create restore points. I have her putting everything on thumb drives which she is copying weekly onto an external hard drive for back up.

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Ruth, please follow Woody’s advice, he is the authority for all of us.

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Yes, it was about System Restore and changing the default state of the services. My considerations apply to services in general though. It may be useful to have a clean installed PC as reference if possible and compare if you suspect that something is not in order with the current settings.
My post about services has nothing to do with Noel’s tool and deals only with a certain part of your previous post as mentioned above.
Sometimes it is difficult to get through accurately what we try to express in writing on the Internet.
Sorry for any misunderstanding.

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Thanks.

We just ran the wushowhide and hid the Win 10 cumulative update (KB3147458), and saw an update to Silverlight (KB3126036), the MSRT (Malicious Software Removal Tool), the Adobe Flash player security update for Win 10 version 10.1511, and five updatese for our old MS Office 2007.

Strangely, when the system checked for updates it only listed three to download: the Flash Player and two of the MS office 2007 updates. It did not even list the MSRT which I would think everyone should get.

Can anyone surmise why the MSRT would not be listed as an update ready to download?

We are doing the metered WiFi trick, so we aren’t installing these 3 now unless you think we should Woody.

I am curious what you will have to say about the servicing stack update you recommended we keep hidden from last month’s updates (KB3140741) Has anyone else received it, installed it?

Thank you

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Now I have to take back what I wrote. I just wentt back and checked. The last few times a scroll bar showed up to see all updates. This time there was no scroll bar. I just hit the details link and it shows all but the Silverlight update.

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I’m a novice and an idiot. I applied the Carboni Method from Infoworld on my Win 10 home Ed., and it worked. I apparently I have only KB3140741 and a Realtek update awaiting the all clear from Woody, then the metered connection gets flipped off!

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Monday I readjusted my setup accordingly.

Tuesday evening, wushowhide scanning found 3 updates available (the CU, the Adobe Flash update, the Malicious Software Removal Tool one) I hid all three and did Check for Updates: Windows Update found nothing to do. I used wushowhide to unhide the Flash and Removal ones. Check for Updates then caused those to install (I don’t use IE/Edge, and the scan tool doesn’t change Windows components). Plan to wait a couple of days before letting the CU go to watch for bad press first.

I’m fine with keeping an eye out for new arrivals using wushowhide.

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Excellent.

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I know this is 10 days late, but I just noticed at the same time we downloaded Noels Win 10 tool a WBDNB44I.dll file showed up in my daughters downloads file folder. What is it? Why would this happen? Nothing else was downloaded that day.

Thanks Woody!

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On a different note, I am not seeing the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Version 1607, appearing on my system.

Before I turned off automatic updating per Woody’s post,
the last update installed on 10-August was “Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems (KB3176493)”.

Any idea how long it might be before the anniversary update finds me?

Thanks,
David W.

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My main machine still hasn’t been offered the update. Chances are good that we both have machines that are, somehow, higher risk – MS must have some way of deciding which machines get the Anniversary Update sooner, and which later.

That’s why I recommend that people who want the Anniversary Update (by no means a given) wait for it to come to them.

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I only recently got a Win 10 machine (a cheap one) just to learn the lay of the land before even considering converting my production machines. It came with 1511 and I didn’t want the forced 1607 update… being aware of the recent AU fiascos from reading this site.

I had disabled Windows Update completely until I could determine the best way to deal with updates. I came across this post, so I used Noel’s .exe and the Wushowhide tool. They worked perfectly!!

Thank you, Woody and Noel!

Would these tools or something similar work for Win 7 when those CU’s start in October?

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Naw, but you won’t need them (unless something really weird happens). You’ll still be able to turn off Automatic Update and manually hide patches, so the wushowhide functionality won’t be needed.

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Hi, I’m confused.

Still have not received any notice of attempt to deliver the Windows 10 Anniversary Update 1607 to my Windows 10 Home machine.

However, despite my having disabled auto updates with Noel’s .exe and using Wushowhide to periodically check updates, I’m now getting a demand from Windows 10 to schedule a restart of my machine to install Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems (KB3185614).

This update is listed as Hidden in Wushowhide.

???

Thanks,
David W

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First time I’ve seen that – a patch listed in Wushowhide is asking for a reboot, to install it?

If you don’t have any alternatives, install it, then immediately go into Update & security and uninstall it.

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Thanks.

Perhaps I didn’t explain clearly re the patch from KB3185614.

Before receiving the notice to restart to finish installing that update, I had NOT hidden it in Wushowhide, because I had not checked for updates using Wushowhide for several days. I did hide the update using Wushowhide after receiving the notice to restart to finish insalling. So, I suppose that hiding it “after the fact” is of no use. Duh.

But, if I have disabled automatic updating with Noel’s .exe, how did KB3185614 get through?

I now also see that a number of security patches for Microsoft Office, etc., and a Win 10 patch (KB3161102) were installed automatically without requiring restarts today, Sep 14.

Are there categories of patches/updates that Noel’s .exe will not block?

Thanks again,
David W

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Hi, the “Feature update to Windows 10, version 1607” finally was made available to my Windows 10 Home system over the weekend, but I have hidden the update using wushowhide.

I’m assuming from your MS-Defcon 2 rating that installing this update is still unadvisable. Correct?

When the time comes (eventually) to accept some iteration of version 1607, won’t there likely be a later/greater/improved iteration than the one that I’ve just hidden? How will I be able to tell what/which to install?

Thanks,
David

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Yep, I definitely don’t advise installing 1607.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3120737/microsoft-windows/whats-been-fixed-and-whats-still-broken-in-windows-10.html

Highly likely there will be a newer version of 1607 when you succumb. The latest will be installed automatically.

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Hi,
I downloaded and ran ConfigureAutomaticUpdates.exe, and checked that the indicated registry entries were present and set correctly. It seemed to work for a while, even resulting in a message in the update tool indicating that “some settings have been set by your system administrator”.

Recently, however, that message is gone and I am once again receiving forced updates despite the registry entries still being there and correctly set.

Has MS issued a patch in one of the updates that now ignores these settings?

Thanks!
David

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Does this method work for v1703 Home Edition?

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Tip: From Fixing Windows 10 Automatic Updates Installation Problem:

‘BUT there is a small glitch. Since Microsoft has completely replaced old Windows Update program with a new modern app in Windows 10, the Group Policy or Registry tweak to change Windows Update settings don’t work immediately. Even after restarting your computer or executing gpupdate /force command, the changes are not applied in Windows Update window.

Then how to force Windows 10 to apply our Group Policy or Registry changes? Its actually very simple! You just need to click on “Check for updates” button in Windows Update.

As soon as you click on the button, Windows will immediately apply the changes.

So you need to let Windows Update check for new updates at least once after you make changes in Group Policy Editor or Registry Editor.’

ch100 has also mentioned this.

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I had MS disable Updates on Windows 10 to prevent update to 1703 Creators due to a driver incompatibility. They went in and modified the registry as follows:

1/ using regedit Navigate to KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\

2/ If it does not exist, add New Key and label it OSUpgrade

3/ Add New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it DisableOSUpgrade. Value=0

Restart.

HTH

 

2 users thanked author for this post.

smayer97, MrBrian

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That’s really interesting, and is similar to “Method 2” at https://www.askvg.com/how-to-prevent-or-skip-feature-update-installation-in-windows-10/.

Are you using the Home edition?

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If I’m not mistaken, this was the same method John Mayfield used in GWX Control Panel to prevent the forced Win10 upgrade.

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“If I’m not mistaken, this was the same method John Mayfield used in GWX Control Panel to prevent the forced Win10 upgrade.”

Right, and almost all web references seem to mention only that scenario. I didn’t know that it could also be used to prevent features updates for those already using Windows 10.

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Yes, I am using Home.

Method 2 at the link apparently no longer works in Home versions, based on what I have read online. YMMV.

1 user thanked author for this post.

smayer97

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The method used by MS tech works with Home version.

1 user thanked author for this post.

smayer97

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P.S. To moderator…I tried registering on website but never received any link to complete it. Trying again says that my username/e-mail is already registered…

smayer97

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You should receive a confirming e-mail with a link at the address you gave  when you registered. If you did not get it, look in your spamfolder or junk mail. Sometimes it gets redirected. If you still can’t find it, email Woody at Woody@AskWoody

1 user thanked author for this post.

smayer97

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Anyone tried Windows Update MiniTool, found here?

https://wumt.blogspot.ca/

Any feedback?

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https://askwoody.com/2017/in-praise-of-windows-update-minitool/

1 user thanked author for this post.

walker

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