Replies

Bob99 – Thanks for the help. After clicking on Resume Updates the response was immediate and Feature Updates to Windows 10 version 22H2 was downloading and installing taking only minutes.  Speed I had never seen before but the file was only 196 MB and including the restart I was done in 30 minutes.

Many thanks.

bsqrd

Thanks Bob99. I am not aware of having made other update-blocking settings. I really don’t understand the ‘technology, I tread carefully and make notes for each update or change I make  .I try to follow the same steps each time i.e I do a manual update in an an attempt to see what goes on and try to reject things  Microsoft wants  and I don’t.

Will give it a shot and hope by the 7th I have achieved my goal.

bsqrd

@Microfix ( and others) I owe you an apology. I noticed traffic on this thread had gone quiet so I went back to Master Patch List and now see there has been a revision since I last looked at it and made a screen print on 3 Jan 1130am.

I now see the change and I was incorrect making my earlier comments in #2514669  where I said my earlier screenprint matched your link in #2514404.

I have checked my C:\Windows\System32 folder and happy to see it does not contain the hidparse.sys file. Since I only have 1  location of the file I see this as a go ahead to do my December updates.

Thanks

@Microfix (and others) “Looks like a typo in the Master Patch List”

Thanks for your input. However all my comments in this thread are based on my reading of ‘Master Patch List Status of 12/27/2022’ which I made a screenprint of on 03 January 2023. I used this to make my checks and have repeated them several times since when checking other responders comments. This print matches your link MASTER PATCH SUMMARY and the entry in Master Patch List this morning. Any error  corrected was before my checks and would not influence my decision.

bsqrd

John, thanks for the comment.

I have re-read Susan’s Master Patch List. What I see are two folders mentioned.

C:\Windows\System32\drivers,  this is the one with my hidparse.sys file.

C:\Systems 32, this does not exist on my machine.

Any comments?

bsqrd

1 user thanked author for this post.

Microfix

Wow, I went looking for a simple answer to “hidparse.sys file” and did not expect to see all of these comments.

I have a Dell laptop running Win 10 Pro, 21H2. I do not have a C:\System32 folder on my machine and do have C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ folder containing the file  hidparse.sys. I am following Susan’s simple repeated advice – only one hidparse.sys then OK to install December updates.

bsqrd

Thanks folks for  your guidance. I will work through the links  and see what I can get out of them.

Susan -Thanks, but if $329 is typical price for fire walls I guess they are beyond my Canadian pension and at 82 yrs old probably way beyond my computer skills anyway.

bsqrd

Hi Susan
I am looking for a confirmation on this topic. Your initial text January 2 at 1:22am last paragraph after entering Windows 10 in the box, you state “you can then leave the feature release version blank. This implies it is optional.
You earlier issued an Ask Woody Plus Alert Issue 18.37.1 2021-09-28 and under Consumer and home users, 2nd para, Last sentence, Click on Enabled, fill in the product version in the first box (“Windows 10”) and then the feature release version you want to keep.
I have no interest in Windows 11 at this stage and will probably stay with Win 10 until 2025. I have recently used entering the Target Version for Feature Updates and letting Microsoft tell me when ready for download.
I am ready to go for 21H2 now. So I enter Windows 10 and then 21H2 and wait?. I am not the impatient type when It comes to Microsoft/Windows.
Thanks in advance for any guidance.
Bryan Booth(bsqrd)
Dell Inspiron 15-3567 laptop 8GB memory, 1TB HDD Win10 Pro, Version 21H1 Build 19043-1415

Hello Susan. I received a copy of Alert issue 18.20.1 by email last Friday and was very interested to read the section on disabling News and Interests. In fact I made a print of it because I planned to update my Win 10 version 1909 to 20H2 on the weekend and had already made up my mind to disable News and Interests. Came as a surprise when my attempt failed – no response to right click on Weather. I have just been looking on the Forum for the Alert and its different to my email copy. It’s now just a one liner about ‘fully enabled to your task bar this month’. What happened to the ‘use our registry key link’.
Thanks and by the way update to 20H2 not a pleasant experience. Its there’ but dont like the version.
bsqrd

Hi Paul – think this message is directed at me. As recommended by Susan Bradley I have been setting Pause Updates under Advanced Options until about a week before the next Patch Tuesday. Has worked OK so far this year I only do one update each month. When not being used my Win 10 laptop is shut down. I am not a heavy user and as an octogenarian have no pressure to use it. Win 10 intimidates me. I do very little computing and rely on my Win 7 machine to keep me going but that is getting more difficult as support companies drop out – Malwarebytes being the latest and I had just renewed on my subscription.

Anyway – latest on 1909 to 20H2. This morning I sat down to give it a go selecting Resume Updates. Silly me, I share an ethernet cable with two machines and forgot to switch it to Win 10 laptop. I got the message “Error encountered, your device is missing important quality and security fixes. We could not check for updates because you are not connected to the internet. Make sure you have a cellular or wi-fi connection and try again.”

So shut down laptop, ( an old habit of not making  connections to live computers) connected cable and came back up. Checked Network and Internet and all OK. Same message as before but Retry  had replaced Resume Updates. Checked Advanced Options and under Pause Updates got the message-The Pause limit has been reached. You’ll need to install the latest updates on this device before you can Pause again. Pause until-select date is greyed out.

So I am faced with Check for Updates under Windows Update  – something Ask For Woody  has always warned against. Is there something else simple  to do? I am at the end of  1909 updates in 1909 Master Patch List. I checcked TRV and it still shows 20H2.

bsqrd

Hello Paul T, I have a similar situation- moving from 1909 to 20H2.

Dell Laptop Inspiron 15, 3000 series running Windows 10 Pro, version 1909, Build 18363.1500. Memory 8 GB, hard drive 931 GB. TRV1909, Ethernet set as metered connection is OFF. Feature updates deferred 0 days, Quality updates deferred 0 days. No Connexant drivers.

Updates are paused until June 7, 2021. According to the latest Master Patch list I have one build  left recommended for install on 1909 – KB5003169.

I have used Group Policy Editor to change Target Release Version to 20H2. I highlighted 1909 and then deleted it- I have since read you should double click to change TRV. Will what I did also work? TRV showing Enabled. I have been back in a couple of times and 2H2 is still showing.

I have been waiting for 30 hours to see if Microsoft will pick up and download 20H2 for installation- nothing yet except Activity Monitor shows 992.8 MB downloaded since 2021-06-01.

So do I have something in my settings which is holding things back?

Do I need to download and install the last 1909 update- build 18363.1556, KB 5003169 before moving on to 20H2?

If I select Resume Updates , will I skip 2004 going straight to 20H2?

Do I need to just wait until the Pause period ends and see what happens?  I would like to get on with installing  20H2

Your review of the above and any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.Thanks

bsqrd

As a rookie I have no idea what this is all about and after reading some of the responses from people, I get a sense you seem to be behaving like Microsoft ( remember those people you are constantly criticizing about their approach to treating clients, lack of testing updates, giving them changes they did not ask for etc.
I ask the question – what happens if I just ignore the blue bar and neither opt in nor opt out? Do I still have access to Ask Woody. I have renewed my subscription for 2021 but if one day I lose contact so be it. It’s difficult enough to wrestle with Microsoft Windows 10 but not with those people you hope will be your source of assistance.
bsqrd

JC Zorkoff, thank you for your response on January 14.

bsqrd

Hello JC, bsqrd here. I found this conversation whilst browsing Ask Woody for help with upgrading my Dell laptop from 1809 to 1903. I have been waiting for two days for Microsoft to pick up the ball to get to 1903. Currently I have feature update deferral set to 180 days( per Woody’s article in Computerworld Jan 10- which refers back to another article in November) and quality update deferral set at 10. I’m a newbie and not confident in my computer skills when it comes to wushowhide , batch files and such like.

Are you able to confirm 140 is still a good number for setting the feature update deferral? If so I could try your method tonight involving Check for Updates and get in before MS releases updates tomorrow. Woody has called foe MS-DEFCON 2

Many Thanks

PKCano, thanks for your response. Based on your value of 120 back on December 8 and 32 days from then gives 152.  I note that in his January 9 article in Computerworld, Woody links back to an article on November 25 -” Running Win 10 Version 1803 or 1809? You have options. Here’s how to control your upgrade” where he quotes 180 days for feature update deferral to upgrade Win 10 Pro 1809 to 1903. His January 9 article indicates that value is still valid today.

Going to give it a shot this weekend.