Windows Update Manager (WuMgr)

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Windows Update Manager (WuMgr) is a open source alternative to the well known WUMT (Windows Update Mini Tool)

it can be found on github: https://github.com/DavidXanatos/wumgr

The tool hast the full functionality of WUMT +

1. ability to auto download wsusscn2.cab
2. GPO to disable windows update on pro/home win10 machines, by setting WSUS urls to ” “
3. ability to hide windows update page from the settings app when automatic update is disabled
4. ability to download updates using direct downloads (wuauserv can be blocked in the firewall)

Planed features to come soon:

1. ability to install downloaded updated without using windows update agent api
2. To better integrate with means of blocking automatic windows update on windows 10 editions which do not respect the Group Policies.
3. To provide an optional user friendly automatic update mechanism which
   • never forces a reboot !!!
     only searched for updates when the PC is not in use (optional)
   • allows the user to select what class of updates to install, for example avoid feature upgrades or only install critical security patches, etc
   • simply put an automatic update mechanism based on consent and not violence, updates are like 6 😉
4. more to come…

 

Cheers

David X.

8 users thanked author for this post.

creem, JC Zorkoff, wavy, BobbyB, Microfix, ch100, zero2dash, abbodi86

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Hi David, nice to see you around 🙂

thanks for the new WU controller
good luck evolving it

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It has evolved fast since last time when I looked at it!
Well done. 🙂

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An Open Source Solution to Win 10 Update Problems
Posted 3 weeks ago

 
Anyone that has had to deal with delivering Windows 10 updates to a fleet of PCs knows what a task it can be. Beyond just dealing with a steady flow of updates, Microsoft continually delivers updates that introduce their own problems. Many organizations delay updating because of the poor quality of updates.

One person has delivered a solution to help manage the updates.
…
Obviously, this is a work in progress with additional features on the way. But as an open source offering, you can help develop this into a solid tool through coding and comment.

 
Read the full article here

1 user thanked author for this post.

Elly

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@DavidXanatos, looks like you’ve got a review over at Ghacks.net by Martin Brinkmann:
https://www.ghacks.net/2018/10/15/update-manager-windows-wumgr/
Sounds promising for the W10 aficionados, nice work!

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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ch100 wrote:

It has evolved fast since last time when I looked at it!
Well done.

I too looked at one or two of your Beta versions which definitely showed a good deal of promise, not wishing to interfere with the development process nor make any superfluous requests but it would be nice if a list of Hot keys and or keyboard CMD prompt switch’s could go with it as it would make it easier to compile a method of running this Prog. with Task Manager so Win10 Home users could get an almost Win7 Control over upgrades/updates. I messed around with this little Trick with WUMT and so far it’s caught the 1803 upgrade just waiting on a successful capture of 1809 and halted the progress of quite a few “half Baked” Win10 update release’s. It would be nice to regain some control as we did under Win’s 7 and 8.1. Anyways just a thought, great work look forward to future developments 🙂

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Many thanks to David Xantos for WUMGR (Windows Update Manager) an excellent utility that gives you quite a bit more control over Win10’s annoying updating and upgrades. Some of you, I know, will already be running WUMT as a way of controlling updates this latest offering gives way more options and flexibility than WUMT did and given the uncertain origins of WUMT, WUMGR offers the potential for upgrades and greater transparency than WUMT did. You can set to Auto run on logon or create an elevated Desktop short cut to run on select same as WUMT did as well as other advanced options. In my mind its better than setting Reg Keys, GPOL’s and other system tweaks that may well be reversed every cumulative update that comes your way and besides rather than disabling Windows update (which you can with this little Util.) you may miss an update that you actually need or want, in any case this gives you an alternative. All done in Win10 1803 Home x64, no reason it cant be used on other editions i.e. Pro and upwards for blocking the impending 1809 upgrade or if you don’t want to set GPOL’s or regular deferments.

First and foremost download WUMGR from the links and info here. Copy the WUMGR.exe in to its own folder on, say, your C:\WUMGR drive/folder open up the Programme as illus. below and select Run as Administrator

Fig 1 Select as above.

Fig 2 Other features Illus.
Then follow the provisions of the WUMT trick/method in the following link: https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/windows-10-home-etc-set-wumt-to-auto-check-updates/?view=all#post-210689 as you can see WUMT and WUMGR share the same
-update Switch and behave exactly the same.
Create Elevated Shortcut on Desktop
first create an new shortcut on desktop, then, Create new task pointing to WUMGR pretty much the same as before until you get to the illus. below:

Fig 3
Don’t forget to leave a space between the -update and the -NoUAC CMD’s. and that’s it. There’s lots more features and different ways to set a combination of Task Scheduler and WUMGR to suit user preferences those are just the basics no doubt most of you will experiment according to preference, please let me know if I have missed anything or any little nuances that may improve on things. In closing this worked in regularly stopping Updates/patches on Win10 last year with WUMT and I imagine the same with WUMGR. In addition it did stop Win10’s upgrade to 1803 from 1709 although as 1809 is just about doing the rounds (although yet to show its face here yet) its likely it will stop it if your not a Seeker

Thx to @microfix for the download links, I heard it was out but couldn’t seem to track it down after trying one of the early Beta’s from David, and thx again David 🙂

6 users thanked author for this post.

Elly, Cybertooth, JC Zorkoff, Lars220, wavy, Microfix

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Thanks for the latest update, specially OptionalInstallation support 🙂

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abbodi86 wrote:

Thanks for the latest update, specially OptionalInstallation support

Could you explain this — what does this support do?

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Just found this great tool.  It gives much more detail on installed updates compared to what native windows update tools usually show.  I had one 1909 install that didn’t show the May cumulative update KB4556799 – showing the most recent from January when I last updated it, but update checks showed nothing for monthly updates since then; i spent hours trying to figure out why. This tool showed it as installed, which is why update checks didn’t show it.  Control Panel’s installed updates show KB4556799 only as an “update”, not a security update, so I missed it.

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@DavidXanatos

Could you provide us with a end-user-friendly document with a summary of what services, processes, tasks, etc. are getting blocked or disabled under the Options tab and under the Auto Update tab?

An AskWoody member has posted a very basic Guide to WUMgr at Topic: Guide to using WUMgr, but we still have questions about the icons (example, what is the ‘link’ icon for?) and what each of the check boxes under the two tabs are for.

Thanks in advance!

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Cybertooth

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You should ask this on his github site, not here. (We do have a registered user called DavidXantos, but it is 2 years old and has never posted anything.)

cheers, Paul

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He started this thread though.

3 users thanked author for this post.

WCHS, Microfix, Kirsty

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Dormant accounts are culled from time to time. If your account hasn’t logged in and you haven’t viewed any Lounge page in a while, the account may be deleted.

Da rules stipulate why this has happened 🙂

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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Correct. But not accounts that have published, in normal circumstances.

While @davidxanatos started/posted this topic, it’s unlikely he is monitoring it for comments and feedback, let alone support 🙂

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The thread at MDL forums was the source and contain most info and discussions
https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/77736/

but you can’t see most of posts (replies) without account

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WCHS, Cybertooth

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abbodi86 wrote:

MDL forums was the source and contain most info and discussions

I didn’t want to go down a rabbit hole by creating an account and getting entangled in details that only experts can understand. But, one “take” in reading the visible posts is that in WUMgr, clicking the Update button will not yield any listing for a major Feature Update (i.e., 2004) or a minor Feature Update (i.e., 20H2)? Even if you have set the trigger for this (such as re-setting TRV to 2004 from 1909). Is that right?

Also, I am wondering whether WUMgr will list CU Previews? and .NET Previews? I am using 1909 right now and the FU deferral of 365 days keeps CU Previews from showing in WU. And since I do not install .NET CUs when they are released but instead wait until MS-DefCon=3+, .NET Previews don’t show up either, since, as of late, the superceded .NET has to be installed before the superceding .NET Preview can be offered.

Is WUMgr equipped to handle these nuances? If WUMgr reads the WU queue and the contents of the WU queue is determined by deferral settings and the superceded-.NET condition, then it seems to me that it does. But, if WUMgr finds its information from somewhere else, maybe it doesn’t filter them out.

Does anyone know about these three issues with regard to WUMgr: Major and Minor Feature Updates, CU Previews, and the superceded-.NET condition?

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WUMgr is the first (and probably the only) tool which support OptionalInstallation updates, aka Features Update / Preview CU

the behavior of .NET supersedence only applies to built-in WU (setting page)
WUMgr will show the .NET Preview CU regardless

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WCHS, georgea

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abbodi86 wrote:

WUMgr is the first (and probably the only) tool which support OptionalInstallation updates, aka Features Update / Preview CU

meaning that even if FU deferral has been set in WU, Feature Updates and Preview CUs will show up in WUMgr?

I want to get clear on this because the info in #2317887 seems to be to the contrary:

Alex5723 wrote:

WUmgr runs Windows Update and won’t show updates not shown by Windows Update due to block/deferrals.

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No, OptionalInstallation updates will show up (in WU or WuMgr) only if no deferrals are set

if you set deferral, then WuMgr will show the same updates shown by WU
#2317887 is correct

2 users thanked author for this post.

WCHS

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WCHS wrote:

But, one “take” in reading the visible posts is that in WUMgr, clicking the Update button will not yield any listing for a major Feature Update (i.e., 2004) or a minor Feature Update (i.e., 20H2)? Even if you have set the trigger for this (such as re-setting TRV to 2004 from 1909). Is that right?

Also, I am wondering whether WUMgr will list CU Previews? and .NET Previews? I am using 1909 right now and the FU deferral of 365 days keeps CU Previews from showing in WU. And since I do not install .NET CUs when they are released but instead wait until MS-DefCon=3+, .NET Previews don’t show up either, since, as of late, the superceded .NET has to be installed before the superceding .NET Preview can be offered.

In my experience, WUMgr shows Feature Updates, but not Previews of any kind.

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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Hmm, my experience is a little different.

I’ve just started using Windows Update Manager (WuMgr) due to the November 2020 .NET Preview downloading and installing with this month’s updates – despite the fact that I have already installed the “proper” (i.e. non preview) November 2020 .NET update with last month’s updates (???).

After “rolling back” with a Macrium image and using WuMgr this time instead of Windows Update here’s what I get:

There’s that darn pesky November .NET preview again. And, what’s with the Silverlight and Intel driver updates? They didn’t even show up when I ran Windows Update yesterday prior to restoring my Macrium image and then using WuMgr.

I have hidden everything except the Security update (KB4592438) with WuMgr and just installed that update.

Oh, and I also don’t appreciate MS recreating and re-enabling the 2 scheduled tasks and re-enabling the 3 services for Edge that I have specifically disabled every time I do the monthly Windows Updates. I like to update Edge when I’m good and ready seeing as I rarely use it anyway.

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Cybertooth wrote:

In my experience, WUMgr shows Feature Updates, but not Previews of any kind.

Maybe, @abbodi86 can explain this behavior in WUMgr.

I’m not using WUMgr yet. I DO know that, for me in 1909, with the settings you see in my signature, I get neither Feature Updates nor CU Previews. And since WUMgr and WU behave the same with respect to Feature Updates and CU Previews, deferrals or non-deferrals, WUMgr should be showing the same thing. And I do not get .NET Previews, either, because at the time the .NET previews are released, I have not yet installed the superseded .NET CU.

I don’t think being on 1909 or 2004 or 20H2 makes a difference in this regard, because instead of the 1909 GUI for setting deferrals and GP for the TRV, with 2004 and 20H2 you can use the GP – Windows Update for Business (if a Pro user) or registry settings (if Home user) for deferrals and TRV.

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The Registry settings for TRV seem to work now for Home if manually set. But Home has no Group Policy, and there is a question as to how long the Registry settings in the Policy area will continue to work.

I believe Home does not have use of/access to any deferrals. I believe Windows Update just ignores Group Policy Registry settings in Home Edition for the most part.

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WCHS

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