Newsletter Archives

• Did your Win10 update blocking experiment work?

  Posted on April 12, 2016 at 13:01 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Mine didn’t. I had Automatic Update set to Disabled, but got the new cumulative update installed anyway. Winver reports 10586.218.

  I think I know the problem. I opened Windows Update before running wushowhide (and I clicked “Check for updates” Oops). That’s an important detail I need to emphasize in the instructions – people need to run wushowhide before they check for updates. Else, they’ll get the update. It’s like the Heisenberg certainty principal – if you know it’s in the Windows Update settings app’s list, you’re already too late.

  In retrospect, that should’ve been obvious. But for me it wasn’t.

  Dummy +1

  Windows Patches/Security Windows 10 forced updates

• How to block forced updates to Windows 10 without borking your machine – Part 1

  Posted on March 10, 2016 at 12:57 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Now up on InfoWorld, Woody on Windows.

  Windows Patches/Security Windows 10 forced updates

• If you’re participating in the Win10 update blocking experiment, here’s what to do next

  Posted on March 8, 2016 at 13:41 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has just released its March 8 cumulative update for Windows 10, which brings version 1511 up to build 10586.164.

  If you’re participating in the blocking experiment (see my next post), use Wushowhide to go into the list of available updates and check the box next to “Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-basied Systems (KB 3140768)”. Click Next, and Windows will tell you it’s “fixed” the problem with that patch.

  At that point, you can just wait overnight and see if it gets installed. Or you can go into Windows Update (Start > Settings > Update & security and click Check for updates) and try to force Windows to install it.

  Any time you want to back out of the experiment, go back into Wushowhide, click to Show hidden updates, check the box next to “Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-basied Systems (KB 3140768)”. Click Next, and Win10 will be back to its old forced updating ways.

  Thanks for participating! Post any comments or observations you may have here, please – and remember you can post anonymously, no need to enter any identifying information.

  UPDATE: I’m testing on three Win10 machines, two with Pro, one with Home.

  On the Home machine, I didn’t run Wushowhide soon enough – by the time I got to it, Windows Update had already downloaded. Windows Update was set for a restart. After restarting, I confirmed that KB 3140768 had installed — running “winver” in the Cortana search box revealed that I was at 10586.164.

  On one of the Pro machines, manually running Windows Update “Check for updates” brought a long list of Office updates, but there was no Windows 10 update (not even the “non-security content” Update for Windows 10/KB3141032, or Dynamic Update for Windows 10/KB3142588). I assume those two are running late.

  On the other Pro machine, running Windows Update “Check for updates” brought no listed patches. Oddly, the top of the Windows Update pane says “Some settings are managed by your organization,” although the PC isn’t connected to a domain.

  Windows Patches/Security KB 3140768, Windows 10 forced updates

• Help me test a method for blocking Windows 10 forced updates

  Posted on March 8, 2016 at 06:58 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Check InfoWorld Woody on Windows for details.

  If you’d like to join in, here’s what to do:

  Step 1: Go to KB 3073930 and download Microsoft’s Wushowhide tool. (Click the link marked Download the “Show or hide updates” troubleshooter package now.) Drag the downloaded file, Wushowhide.diagcab, to any convenient location. I put mine on the desktop.

  Step 2: Wait until this afternoon – after the cumulative update is released. Watch @gabeaul or @woodyleonhard on Twitter, or check AskWoody.com for the go-ahead.

  Step 3: When the patch is out, but before your machine has a chance to swallow it (presumably on Tuesday afternoon or evening), double-click on Wushowhide.diagcab to run it. Click the link marked Advanced. Uncheck the box marked Apply repairs automatically. Click Next.

  Step 4: Wait for Wushowhide to look for all of the pending updates on your machine. When it comes up for air, click Hide Updates. There should be a box marked “Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems (KB xxxxxxx)” or something similar. Check that box, click Next, and “X” out of Wushowhide.

  Then wait. Let’s see if Wushowhide can delay a Windows 10 forced update before it happens – and if there are any unforeseen complications. Watch here and join in the reporting.

  NOTE 1: After talking with a few people, I want to emphasize that this change is completely reversible. Just wait overnight and confirm, on Wednesday, that the new Cumulative Update wasn’t installed. If you then feel comfortable installing the CU, simply re-run Wushowhide and use the program to unhide the update.

  Windows Patches/Security Windows 10 forced updates