KB 3035583 – the Get Windows 10 patch – is unchecked on my test machines

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I have no idea what’s going on. I’ve been trying to trigger an in-the-wild upgrade to Windows 10. Spent hours performing clean installs and updates. E
[See the full post at: KB 3035583 – the Get Windows 10 patch – is unchecked on my test machines]

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I ran updates on two Win7 machines yesterday, and KB3035583 was Optional and unchecked on both.

Also, the Important updates available on both machines included no non-security updates.

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The last communique on GWX from MS was that they were pushing it out to small businesses. Some small business websites have reported the upgrade coming through as checked, but the sites have been pretty quiet since last Tuesday. I’ll monitor those sites for you over the next few days.

I got the KB sent to me on W7/64 Pro and W7/32 Pro yesterday, both optional and unchecked.

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I have never installed 3035583 and got nervous today when I didn’t see it. It is not in my available, hidden, or installed updates. I do have GWX Control Panel. Win 7.

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They know it’s you and send the innocent one.

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Still Optional, unchecked and labeled as Recommended (therefore italicized) on all Win 7 systems here. Both 64 bit & 32 bit with a variety of flavors.

Maybe it comes as a checked Important update because the “Give me recommended…” option is ticked on those machines?

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Argh, never mind. I opened up WU again and my number of patches was one higher than it had been before. It’s there now, optional, recommended, italicized.

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Maybe it is worth mentioning that on Windows 7 Enterprise KB3035583 is never offered. On WSUS which is the managed Windows Update for businesses there are only 2 patches which are never offered on Windows 7 Enterprise or Pro: KB3035583 and an older one KB971033 – Windows Activation Technologies. Windows Home is not managed by WSUS as it is not meant to be used in business. It may be a good idea for those interested to never install those 2 updates, including on the Home Editions.
Please always use the setting Check for updates but do not download especially if leaving it on over night or Never check for updates and do it manually in which case the system would consume less resources at random times when it would automatically check for updates. I am not recommending disabling Windows Update at least not now.
Another useful thing might be to never hide any updates. I noticed for example that when an update is hidden and later pulled from WU, it cannot be later unhidden. Is it possible that this would cause issues later down the track especially slowing down the Windows Update internal calculations performed by svchost.exe and TrustedInstaller.exe?
Selectively installing updates which may have interdependencies could again cause issues. This is made even more complicated because it is not always well documented which update needs other updates.
Recovering from a broken Windows Update mechanism involves stopping the Windows Update and BITS services, deleting the Software Distribution folder and restart clean by recreating the Windows Update database. The hidden updates would become unhidden again. A word of warning though. By deleting the database, the initial slow Windows Update synchronization will be back taking hours or days in some instances. Computers with 1 CPU core (are there any left other than Virtual Machines?) and less than 6-8 GB of RAM (64-bit OS) are particularly struggling in the early stages of Windows Update or after the database reset.
And a last one in this lengthy post for those interested in experimenting. Please try to install all Important Updates plus Recommended. Recommended Updates are presented as Important if the relevant setting is ticked which is default on most systems and not default on other systems, depending on the version/license type of Windows 7. Leave all unchecked by default updates not installed, do not check anything that is not checked as Woody has been saying for ever. After doing this, I am certain that Windows Update will be quick as good as it can be at the end of the process, but not in the early stages. Optional Updates do not need to be installed, but do not hide them. Windows Update will use them behind the scenes if needed, a good example of this is the prerequisite to IE 10 and IE 11 which is KB2670838.
I personally think that by following Microsoft’s best practices, the issue would not exist or be minimal, but there are lots of variables and specific situations and the good documentation is made not clear on purpose or not and difficult to compile together from multiple sources. Because there is also a lot of noise on the Internet pretending to be good documentation.
Please do not try to find one patch or another which could cause slow or fast Windows Update as there is no such thing. There may be workarounds but it is all part of a complex system named Component Based Servicing which is normally beyond end users control.
As for now, end of March 2016, if there are no special circumstances or software installed, all Important and Recommended patches for Windows 7 and various versions of Office are safe at least in my view. Stay protected from upgrading to Windows 10 with GWX Control Panel if not willing to play with Group Policy as documented by Microsoft. GWX Control Panel will do it behind the scenes.

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Woody
I have KB3035583 on my Windows 7 laptop unchecked and optional.
Sam

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HA! Believe it or not, I’ve considered the possibility….

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hey woody, KB3035583 on my Win7 & Win8.1 PCs are recently showing up as CHECKED and IMPORTANT; no longer showing on the OPTIONAL updates section.

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On two Win7 computers, I have been rejecting all non-security updates since early 2016 and uninstalled a bunch of specific updates that were either previously installed or somehow managed to slip through the screen more recently. Both computers have been running smoothly. Windows Update takes about twenty minutes from start (check for available updates) to finish (installed and time to reboot).

In addition, both machines have GWX Control Panel in monitor mode.

I recognize the possibility that a skipped non-security update may prove to have been needed, but if the price of warding off that possibility is to accept every update that Microsoft chooses to label as Important and to rely solely on GWX Control Panel, then so be it. GWX is only one issue; there is also the call-home activity, which Microsoft almost certainly must be using to target computers that have yet to upgrade to Win10.

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Oy. I dunno what’s going on. I just ran through two VMs and they both had 3035583 as unchecked optional.

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Consider the possibility that Microsoft is intentionally causing confusion to deflect some of the ill-will they have been getting over forced upgrades. Maybe only every 3rd download results in the patch being recommended and checked while others are only optional. When downloader #1 starts screaming that his computer was upgraded without their permission, downloaders 2 and 3 come in and say that isn’t what’s happening at all. That would keep the numbers moving up for them and cause enough confusion that our friends like Woody can’t definitively say whether it’s really happening or not.

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Here’s an explanation of the differences in the appearance of KB3035583.
It is a “Recommended” update.

Under Windows UpdateChange Settings:

If “Give me recommended updates the way I get important updates” is checked (the default) KB3035583 will appear under “important” updates and checked – that’s the way you get important updates.

If “Give me recommended updates the way I get important updates” is unchecked, it will not show up under the “important” updates. It will show up under “optional” updates, italicized (signifying it is recommended) and unchecked because the above box is unchecked.

WORD OF CAUTION. I have SEEN it show up under the “optional” updates, CHECKED. It is always a good thing to to be sure all optionals are unchecked before you pull the trigger on updates. Because if it’s checked you get it. SURPRISE!!!!!

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That is entirely possible. Or there’s some other trigger, or combination of triggers.

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That’s likely the explanation.

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wdburt1 ‘I recognize the possibility that a skipped non-security update may prove to have been needed, but if the price of warding off that possibility is to accept every update that Microsoft chooses to label as Important and to rely solely on GWX Control Panel, then so be it.’

I think your approach is perfect as long as you are aware of the potential implications.
In all my posts I am not trying to influence anyone what to install or not, this is what the MS-DEFCON system is about and Woody does far more research than I do in relation to what each update does and implications. I am also following Woody’s advice and information provided here and on Infoworld, at least for the first few weeks after various types of updates are released.
I am only trying to provide technical insight into why something is happening or not in a certain way or another. This is why I claim that Recommended Updates may be useful, only from a technical perspective, taking in consideration supersedence and so on.

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A pox on Microfail! I’m using the GWX Control Panel, and only installing so called critical updates, and I’m even checking THEM out!

So long as my computer is running ok, I’m staying with Woody’s advice.

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Just to let everyone know GWX Control Panel has been updated to version 1.7.3.1 on the
28th March ’16. LT

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I believe you are 100% correct here PCano and that’s exactly what I suggested in post #5.

I have three systems I use daily all having a different combination of Windows update settings and the ONLY one that shows this update as Important and pre-selected is the system that has “Give me Recommended…” enabled. This system also shows zero updates in italics under Optional updates, which reinforces the suggestion that only Recommended updates are shown in italics. For the record two of these systems are set to notify only and the third is set to never check for updates.

EP claims in post #8 that it’s showing as checked and Important… I’m inclined to believe that the “Give me Recommended…” option is ticked on that system.

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Turned my test Windows 7 Pro VM on for testing the latest and greatest of the KB3035583 versions being offered, did a scan on WU and found it under Recommended Updates, size 721KB – 820KB, published 23/03/2016 (Australian format, which means 23rd March 2016) and unchecked.
This VM did not have any version of KB3035583 installed previously.

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@LT @Woody.

Saw your post this morning and decided to download-install the new version of GWX Control Panel.

My W7 SP1 x64 machine has been very clean, GWX CP installed since Woody first rec’d it and never a sign of the GWX nagware.

Long story short, I installed the 1.7.3.1 version of GWXCP and immediately it detected and “fixed” ten W10 related files. Wow.

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Now that’s impressive. Wonder what it caught?

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@Woody,

No idea what it caught…and I right clicked-chose the “Save Diagnostic Info” GWX CP menu item immediately after the notification popped up but it does not retain what files/folders/actions were taken. That may be something Josh might want to include in his next version, or, it may be proprietary on his end.

That said, I was running the previous version in monitor mode so I was very surprised the new version caught 10 items. Just goes to show how insidious this GWX thing really is.

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@Woody,

One last thing…when I opened the GWX CP right after the new version was installed, and after the pop up had indicated ten W10 items were found, the control Panel warned that I had “Get the W10 App” enabled. That setting on previous versions was NOT enabled.

Why would I get the GWX CP to prevent W10 nagware and yet enable “Get the W10 App”? I wouldn’t. No one would.
So, MS was up to no good, possibly even during the INSTALL of Josh’s GWX Control Panel.

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Can anyone explain how I update GWX Control Panel? I have the previous version running (before 1.7.3.1). When in the context meny I clik Check for updates, I am led to the downloadpage. Do I have to remove the previous version I have or just run the new installer?

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KB3035583 ALWAYS seems to unhide itself, but so far I’ve NOT had it come up checked.

Was it another “oops” by Microsoft that just happened to put GWX on another few million machines?

-Noel

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I don’t think so. Looks like it’s hooked into the “Give me Recommended updates” setting.

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Just run the new installer.

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Apply Occam’s Razor.

MS desperately wants wholesale upgrade to W10.

Big bucks depend on it.

Any and all means to achieve that goal wil be used.

That includes deceit, deception, confusion, covert surveillance and reporting etc., etc.

PP

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