Sign the Windows 10 petition, please

If you ever hope to use Windows 10, you should think hard about signing Susan Bradley’s petition.

InfoWorld Woody on Windows

Microsoft clobbers “block Win10 upgrade” settings

Check Win7/8.1 systems to make sure they’re still in place

InfoWorld Woody on Windows

October 2015 Adobe Flash Player & Adobe Reader security updates

This just in from EP:

New Adobe Flash Player security updates for October posted on Adobe security bulletin APSB15-25:

https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-25.html

New Adobe Acrobat & Acrobat Reader security updates for October posted on Adobe security bulletin APSB15-24:

https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb15-24.html

Disable Windows 10 upgrade nagware on Win 7, Win 8.1 computers

This is a general update of all we know (or at least all I know) about safely removing the Windows 10 upgrade nagware.

Particularly timely because, apparently, some domain-joined PCs got infected with the upgrade crapware last night.

I’m still looking for a reliable way to cool the upgrade jets for those who are faced with either the “Your upgrade to Windows 10 is ready” message or the “It’s almost time for your upgrade” message. Best I can do, reliably, at this point, is to recommend rolling back to a restore point – if one exists – for the “Your upgrade to Windows 10 is ready” community.

Do you know of a better solution?

New Windows 10 beta build 10565 brings sanity to activation, a few tweaks

… and a big unanswered question.

InfoWorld Woody on Windows

MS-DEFCON 2: Time to get Windows Update locked down again

Tomorrow is likely to be another Patch Tuesday. 

Here’s the funny thing. (Funny as in strange, not funny as in ha-ha.) I’ve been looking back over the updates that Microsoft’s been rolling out for Windows 7 and 8.1. I’ve found that, recently, they fall into two categories:

1. Security patches, which are invariably (and wonderfully) explained in some detail, in Security Bulletins. For years, these are the patches that have caused the most problems. For the past five months, though, they’ve been relatively benign. Yes, there have been a few stinkers — KB 3045171/3057110 (Win7 crash when using GDI+), 3076895 (freezes Symantec programs), and a couple other lesser problems. But with the exception of IE patches (you use Firefox or Chrome, right?) and Windows 10 patches (a different kettle of fish), the security patches have been doing remarkably well.

2. All others. Microsoft has released a plethora of patches to fix the update stack, install the Diagnostic Tracking Service, and get GWX — the Windows 10 upgrade nagware — working. These patches have had crashes and re-issues galore (5 or 6 or 8 versions). They do absolutely nothing to improve your copy of Windows 7 or 8.1. And they’re a massive pain to block or dodge or subvert.

In a nutshell, except for the security patches, Microsoft has released absolutely nothing for Win 7 or 8.1 in the past five or six months that does anything to benefit you, the Windows 7 or 8.1 customer. Instead, we’ve only seen updates that further Microsoft’s ability to snoop on your computer and/or sell you Windows 10.

Please, if you have any counterexamples, hit me in the comments.

With that as preface, it’s time to lock your machine down. Windows Vista, 7, and 8.1 users should set Windows Update to Notify but don’t download, as described on the tab above marked Automatic Update. Windows 10 users who have WiFi connections can use the metered connection trick.

I’m moving us up to MS-DEFCON 2: Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don’t do it.

Fingers crossed that tomorrow doesn’t bring everything crashing down.

Win10 update blocked with a Restore Point rollback

Just got this from reader SteveA:

Yes!!

1. I restored back to 09/15 overnight.

2. Re-ran the Ultimate Outsider program, disabling operating system updates and removing the icon.

3. Returned to the updater, and found that “critical update” KB3035583 waiting to be downloaded.

4. Turned off automatic updates as you suggest

5. I had already renamed the $Windows file with an x prefix and deleted everything I could – even the setup file.

So, for the moment, I believe I’m cured, though I’m still not ready to attempt any further updates until after this flap hits the news.

Thank you for the great writeup, and directions to the Outsider!

So, at this point, it looks like rolling back to a restore point prior to Sept 15 will get rid of the “late stage” forced update problems we’ve been seeing.

Anybody else able to confirm SteveA’s observations?

(And, yes, I’m painfully aware that Windows 8.1 doesn’t enable Restore Points by default. Ya gotta read my book!)

[Edit: This in from reader TD, who rolled back to a Restore Point from a couple of weeks ago:

I can confirm that when i ran windows update this morning there were no signs of windows 10 wanting/telling me it was ready to install. Just Windows 7 stuff. The only sign of 10 is the regular icon in the system tray. I may turn auto updates back on later to test again but as of now i seem to be out of no man’s land. I dont know if it was the system restore or not but this was awesome to me.]

Related Windows 10 “forced update” question

Have any of you deleted the Windows 10 download folder (probably using GWX Control Panel), then immediately after clicked the “Install Windows 10” or “Get Started” button?

If so, what happened?

Thanks!

A possible solution to the forced “Upgrade to Windows 10” Windows Update dialog?

In my earlier post, I asked for ideas about blocking the Windows 10 upgrade from Win 7 or Win 8.1, in a very late stage. For most people, running GWX Control Panel from Josh Mayfield will keep Win 7 or 8.1 from installing Windows 10. However, it doesn’t work for everybody. In particular, people in a very late stage of the Windows 10 forced march will see the dialog shown here whenever they go into Windows Update. It’s scary because it looks like you have no option except to install Windows 10.

Two of you kindly chimed in with a possible solution. If you’re currently in the late stage – you see this dialog box in Windows Update – I’d like you to verify if this works for you.

Per reader Erik:

When I try to download and install updates, I get a downloading Windows 10 progress bar. However, it doesn’t download Windows 10. It actually downloads the updates I selected and installs them, but it doesn’t have the status bar (1 of 12 etc). So functionally it does work like it should, but cosmetically it looks like it downloads and installs Windows 10.

Reader DeWayne:

So as an experiment I unchecked all the updates and picked a small one clicked download. Downloading Windows 10 came on screen I watched for about 30 sec and it changed to updating. When I rebooted WU correctly identified a small critical update as installed. I went ahead and checked the critical updates available and installed and confirmed nothing related to Windows 10 was installed. But every since all WU updates the screen displays downloading Windows 10

That’s a tremendous (and reassuring!) discovery, if I can get it confirmed on enough machines.

If you have a Win7 or Win 8.1 machine that’s stuck in the “Upgrade to Windows 10” dialog – the one shown here – could you do me (and about a million other people) a huge favor?

Click on the link to Show all available updates.

Check the box on one of the updates.

Uncheck the box that says “Upgrade to Windows 10”

Install updates.

Your machine should show that it’s installing Windows 10 – but in a minute or two or three, it’ll come back showing that it’s installed the one update you selected, and not the Windows 10 update. It may even show that one of the selected installations has failed – the Windows 10 update.

(If the update goes on for more than a few minutes, the experiment failed – Cancel the update.)

LarryH, on a separate thread, reported something similar. I’ve asked Larry to drop by here and see if this synopsis accurately reflects what happened to him.

If you’re stuck in the final stages, or know someone who is, could you have them try this approach and see if it works?

Any solution to the “Windows 10 must update” problem?

I’m getting more and more plaintive cries for help from Win7 and Win8.1 users who find that they can’t get Windows Update to perform any update, other than installing Windows 10. They can view available updates, they can even uncheck the “Upgrade to Windows 10” item. But as soon as they try to apply any updates other than Windows 10, their machines start downloading (and presumably installing) Windows 10.

I’ve asked a couple of people who are in that position to move to an earlier restore point. Other than that, I can’t think of – or find – any solutions.

Does anybody out there know how to derail the Windows 10 Update train? That is, to take a machine that won’t let you apply any updates other than Windows 10, and shake some sense into it?

Microsoft pulls botched two-week-old Surface Pro 3 firmware update

No notice, no warning. But there is a multi-page workaround if you got stung by the Sept 29 firmware patch.

InfoWorld Woody on Windows

Windows 10 installation problems – and what to do about them

Ever get a “Something Happened 0x80070005-0x90002” error?

How about errors 0xC1900101-0x20017, -0x30018, or -0x20004?

Some solutions exist.

Wonder if you answered correctly when asked “Who owns this PC?” Any idea what the question means?

Screw up your Windows 10 activation?

Having trouble setting up a local account?

Can’t get Windows Store to Start – or can’t even see the Start menu?

You aren’t alone. See my latest article for InfoWorld.

Credit: Becky Houtman, flickr, Oude Kerk (Amsterdam) bread wall art installation