When the tenth modification of the OS was just presented to the general public, all owners of computers based on the seventh and eighth versions were offered to make a free upgrade to Windows 10, which was constantly signaled in the system tray area. But then you had to wait your turn, but for those who wanted to upgrade immediately, it was suggested to use a special utility called MCT, which could be downloaded directly from the official Microsoft website.
Among other things, at that time, the developers of the new OS declared their "revolution" with might and main, and also assured users that no updates would be issued for it due to complete perfection. As it turned out, the new system was in the main points as unfinished as its predecessors, and all newer and newer packages were downloaded and installed automatically, regardless of whether the user wants it or not.
A striking example of this is the assembly of 1803 (the Windows 10 update could not be undone, and users could only install it by turning off or restarting the computer). In this regard, questions regarding the deactivation of the automatic search and installation of updates were very acute for many users. About how to block updating Windows 10, further and it is proposed to talk more specifically.
Is it advisable to block the installation of updates for Windows 10?
But first, let's briefly dwell on whether it is necessary to completely disable the update system? In theory, mainly for any version of Windows 10, the update most often concerns either strengthening the security system, which (which should be hidden there) has a lot of vulnerabilities, as well as improving existing ones and adding new features to the standard set. But it seems only at first glance.
As it turned out, the main problem is that the same latest update to Windows 10 made a lot of noise in the world. Some computers based on AMD processors failed, giving blue screens, some users turned out to be completely inoperative with the audio system, files from the user documents folder were deleted spontaneously, the function of merging folders failed when copying their contents when it was completely replaced, etc. What Something similar was once observed when installing updates for Windows 7, but clearly no one expected this from the tenth modification. As it turned out, the developers repeated their mistakes of the past, "stepping on the same rake."
Nevertheless, despite all the shortcomings, Microsoft specialists eliminated the problems quickly enough by releasing packages specially designed for this. And if at the time of their installation the automatic update on the computer was disabled, in the best case it would be necessary to install the troubleshooting tools manually.
The fact that disabling automatic search and installation of updates is not worth it may also be evidenced by the fact that the same Windows 10 1803 update (both as planned and as an upgrade to a new build) includes the installation of updated components of important platforms, without which some modern computer games or software packages for working with multimedia simply will not work.
In particular, this applies to the DirectX platform and the .NET framework. Thus, it becomes clear that each user must make the decision to deactivate the automatic installation of updates. But how to block updating Windows 10? The instructions below will help you find out. Further it is proposed to consider several typical situations and the most suitable options for action.
How to avoid installing updates during a clean installation or when upgrading the system to Windows 10
Let's start directly with the first installation of the system, when it is executed, so to speak, in its pure form, or an upgrade of the existing system is performed. Apparently, it’s no secret to anyone that at one stage the installer immediately suggests connecting to the Internet using the discovered network or connection. What is it for? Yes, just to install all the latest updates to Windows 10, since none of the distributions available for download (by the way, at the moment are already paid) does not contain them.
Another important point is that when searching, downloading and integrating updates into the system, the standard process of installing the OS itself stretches for several hours, while a typical installation takes about an hour.
I think it’s already clear how to remove the automatic update of Windows 10 at this stage: you need to either skip this step, which is usually used for secure wireless connections, or simply disconnect the network cable first for cases when using a wired connection.
Yes, but after completing the installation and connecting to the Internet, the update service is activated again! In addition, what if the user did not like the tenth modification for some reason, and he wants to return to using the previous version? As it turns out, there is a solution.
How to roll back to a previous version of the system
Let's see how to remove the automatic update of Windows 10, based on the fact that the upgrade was performed on the user's computer. Surprisingly, the developers took care of this.
To perform such actions, it is enough to use the options menu, in which you need to go to the security and recovery section, and then select the return to the previous version of the system on the "Recovery" tab, after which you will need to go through a few simple steps, and at the final stage answer negatively an annoying suggestion for installing updates that could fix problems with Windows 10.
You can also use the special boot options, go to the "Troubleshooting" section, select the diagnostic item, and then click on the tile to return to the previous system. But keep in mind that such actions can only be carried out after an upgrade within thirty days. In some cases, the same technique will allow you to get rid of new assemblies, since each installed before that is considered a previous version.
How to stop the ongoing update of Windows 10
But suppose that the user does not plan to return to the old OS, but does not want to install updates either. Since the default update search and installation service is active, the update can start at any time. How to stop the process of updating Windows 10 in this case?
If you reboot the system in normal mode, the updates will still be installed, so it is strongly recommended that you first call the command line on behalf of the administrator and write the following commands in it (without punctuation at the end, but with pressing the enter key for each command):
- net stop wuauserv;
- net stop bits;
- net stop dosvc.
To quickly interrupt the upgrade for Windows 7, you need to restart the computer, press the F8 key several times to call up the start menu, and then boot in Safe Mode (safe start) with command line support, and then register the above commands.
How to block the installation of Windows 10 updates partially?
Another frequently asked question. Now let's look at how to block the Windows 10 Update Center if the user is not going to change the system or roll back.
You can deactivate the installation of updates from the corresponding section of the options menu partially, indicating to the system that the installation of updates should be delayed (the maximum period is 35 days). It is advisable to simultaneously disable the installation point for updates for other Microsoft software products.
You can also easily “trick the system” by changing the period of activity, for which the time of using the computer is indicated, when the system is allowed to install updates. Set the time period when you are not using a computer. But keep in mind that for such a ban, a stationary terminal or laptop will have to be completely turned off permanently, and not put into hibernation or hibernation, because in this case the system will look for updates in the background.
Disabling the "Update Center" on systems without installed upgrades
As for how to block Windows 10 updates on systems without the latest upgrades (Anniversary Update, Fall Creators Update, Redstone 5), as in previous systems, you can use the most common “Control Panel”. Calling it with the control command from the Run console, go to the corresponding section and set the required prohibitions. But this method does not work in the latest builds, since there is not even an “Update Center” item in the “Panel by the Board”.
Features of deactivating the main update service in assembly 1803
Despite the fact that most of the elements of the "Update Center" in this assembly have been moved to the appropriate section of the options menu, there is nothing to rely on. How to block updating Windows 10 in this case? The most primitive method is to prohibit downloading updates via limit connections, as well as setting your own Internet connection as a limit.
In addition to these parameters, you must separately set a restriction on the download and installation of update packages from other computers connected to the local or virtual network, using delivery optimization settings for this.
Deactivating Services in Group Policies
Now let’s see how to block the “Update Center” of Windows 10 not partially, but completely and completely, using cardinal methods.
The first way is to enter the group policy editor (gpedit.msc), through the computer configuration, administrative templates and Windows components, find the "Update center management" section, find the automatic update control option in the right window, double-click to open the editing window options and set the disabled state for this component. Then you just need to save the changes and, just in case, although it is not necessary, restart the computer terminal or laptop.
Stopping services
Another quite effective method of deactivating the automatic installation of updates is to disable all services responsible for performing such actions in the corresponding section for managing them (services.msc). The most important mistake of most users when using this approach is that they only disable the "Update Center" itself, forgetting about related services.
For absolutely complete deactivation of automatic actions taken by the system additionally, it is necessary to stop the Windows installer services, modules and delivery optimization by clicking the corresponding button in the editing window, and then select the disabled state in the drop-down list with options, such as "Start" (not manual, not delayed start, namely shutdown). Restarting is optional, but, for complete certainty, it will not hurt.
Method for blocking updates in the registry
Finally, consider how to block Windows 10 updates as efficiently and forever as possible. To do this, use the registry editing (regedit), which in all Windows-systems has the highest priority. It means that the options set in the services section or in the policies can be changed through the registry, but if some parameter related to the mentioned components is set in the registry, you won’t be able to change it in the sections of the service and policy settings management itself in what way (the system will give either an error or a ban).
As for the actions to be performed, in the HLKM branch, you need to find the WindowsUpdate folder in the AU subdirectory through the policy settings sections.
In the right editor window, through RMB, you need to create a new DWORD parameter with a resolution of 32 bits, name it NoAutoUpdate, double-click to edit it and set the unit to the current value. When working with the registry, restarting upon completion of all actions is performed without any reservations and without fail.
Blocking updates with third-party utilities
All of the above to the average user may seem quite complicated. To simplify the operations performed, it is much easier to use specially designed utilities for this.
So, for example, in the portable Win Updates Disabler program, the executable file of which should be run exclusively with administrator privileges, you just need to select the Disable Updates blocking point and click the apply button for the applied Apply parameter.
How to get rid of already installed adapter packages?
With the automatic update blocking system sorted out. It remains to give some advice on the removal of already installed packages, if for some reason it was not possible to stop the update, or the service itself was disconnected at the wrong time. The simplest technique is to use the programs and components section from the usual “Control Panel”, where you need to go to see the installed packages, select the unnecessary and just click the delete button.
It is much more efficient to remove system updates (and even programs embedded in it) by using special uninstallation utilities (for example, iObit Uninstaller). In addition to the most complete removal of everything that is possible, in addition, the user receives the ability to batch delete.
In the active program, just select all the unnecessary packages, click the uninstall button and check the box for automatic cleaning of residues.
Note: to block the reinstallation of problematic updates when automatic updating is enabled, you can use the "native" utility from Microsoft called Show or hide updates.