I’ve seen several ways to disable forced updates for Windows 10, including a free app " StopUpdates10"–
If you’ve disabled Windows 10 forced updates, what method did you use?
Thanks for help–
Disabling all network connections will accomplish this.
Is there a particular reason why you want to disable updates?
On my laptop Edge Chromium runs on it’s own, which pisses me off. I had to download an app to uninstall it, but every time windows updates, Edge Chromium is back.
I didn’t know you could disable Win 10 updates. I’d love to disable them.
I wouldn’t. Often those updates are to plug security holes.
This is a Very Bad Idea. Updates fix known and potential security holes. Unpatched machines make crappy internet neighbours.
Yeah, I wouldn’t trust that. It just screams malware.
It used to be that you could go into your network properties and set your internet connection to “metered”, which would disable updates. Unfortunately, that was changed and now this only works for WiFi connections (if that still works - I haven’t checked lately).
Otherwise, there really isn’t a good way to do it, which really sucks.
One good reason is that Microsoft constantly breaks things in updates. Over the years, Windows updates have been the worst problem I have ever had to deal with. One update completely trashed one of my work systems so that it could no longer be used for its intended purpose. I had to create a virtual machine, install the original version of Windows, and made sure it couldn’t update so that I could still run the required software. On my home system, I have two software packages that both have major issues caused by Windows updates. The software is still usable, for now, but it’s miserable. For example, on one of them, every time I go to a particular place in the software, everything that should be displayed is complete garbage. In order to make it usable, I have to click on one entry, click a particular series of keystrokes, then click on a different entry. Once that is done, then I can go back to the first entry that I wanted to edit and then everything works. Until I go to a different part of the software, because then whenever I go back to the first part I have to redo that entire miserable sequence. Thanks, Microsoft!
My worst experience with Windows updates was when we were logged into a manufacturing plant at work (I do industrial controls for a living) trying to resolve an issue. It was taking longer than we thought to get everything back under control, and the laptop that we were using ran out of battery life. This was very bad. We are literally talking about a major facility where an “earth-shattering ka-boom!” is a very real possibility, and we just lost our window into what was going on inside the facility. Getting back into the facility quickly was vital. We quickly got the AC adapter and plugged it in, and Windows decided that it wanted to do an update. And there was no way to stop it. F***ing Microsoft. Fortunately, it all worked out in the end on that one.
There’s a reason Windows LTSC exists. We use it at work since we need the long term stability and can’t take chances with normal Windows and its dreaded updates. If you need long term stability, LTSC is probably worth looking into.
As much as I bitch about updates, I actually agree with you. Most people shouldn’t disable them. I would have no problem if Microsoft made it very difficult to disable updates. And if you disable updates and something bad happens to your system, that’s on you. But I want ultimate control over my system. I should have that option if I am willing to take that risk.
In my opinion, Windows updates are a ticking time bomb. You never know when it’s going to blow up in your face. I delay them as much as possible, which I recommend to everyone. More than one update has been rolled back by Microsoft before I was forced to install it because it broke something major.
The only features I use are the Pause Updates feature and (on Win 10 Pro) the deferred updates option.
It’s generally not a good idea to disable updates entirely. But it is often useful to delay them until a time of your choosing, after they’ve ironed out the bugs.
The guide I use is available here:
No, I know no reason to. I know plenty reasons not to disable them, like the security updates people have already mentioned.
I go into services.msc and disable the updater–I’ll enable it like once a month to allow necessary updates but just letting the fucking thing take up 98% of CPU and 100% of disc and 99% of memory for days is not what I signed up for. I don’t want my laptop running like a crippled cow with a velociraptor clamped to its gut, that annoys me, and I also don’t want the thing just randomly shutting off to install the shitty updates at THE most inconvenient time possible (yes, I’ve set the scheduler but it DOES NOT WORK that way) so I have all update processes nailed down as tight as I can make them. I regret bitterly having reinstalled Windows 10 on this laptop after running Linux Mint on it (updates in Linux take about thirty seconds and update only when you ask for them) especially since I did it in order to run one crucial app that’s Windows only and it still doesn’t work for shit on this computer. I might go shopping for a Linux box sometime right soon. At least Windows has huffily informed me that this laptop doesn’t qualify for Windows 11 so I dodged THAT bullet.
On Win10 Home I’ve tried to disable them multiple times but they always come back eventually. I personally find value in delaying them as long as possible because I think they’ve fixed some of the worst problems with the update by the time I download it. Don’t want to be an early adopter of Windows patches. But if you’re prone to viruses and malware I’d download updates ASAP.
Either you have a laptop from 1995 or you have a seriously fouled up machine / Windows installation. Or a bad case of hyperbole.
| System Model | Inspiron 3785 |
|---|---|
| System Type | x64-based PC |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 2500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx, 2000 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s) |
| 12 GB RAM |
No, it’s not from 1995 and it’s been stupid slow like this ever since I installed the bog standard Windows 10 covered by its license. When I originally got it I installed Linux Mint on it at first boot up and it was fast and fun and went from dead off to desktop in under a minute. Going from dead off to desktop in Windows takes over ten minutes. I know this because I timed it. It has ALWAYS taken ten minutes, from the first time it booted with Windows.
And that intense usage shit is not unique to me, every time there’s some process fucking things up I do a google search and usually find a post on the Microsoft forums of people complaining of exactly the same issue I have. Hundreds of posts, all complaining of the exact same processes taking the exact same resources and bogging down systems exactly the same way. It’s how I learn which services to disable to keep the fucking laptop more or less functional.
Do you have an HDD rather than a more modern SSD or NVMe? Windows 10 and macOS both are painfully slow on mechanical drives. PAINFULLY SLOW!
Win and macOS on 5400 RPM drives will make you want to watch tar pitch drip for fun.
That probably has a lot to do with it, I’ve considered upgrading to an SSD but then again, I did that on the Win7 media box and y’know what? Didn’t really appreciably quicken the boot time–not as slow as Win10 but still nowhere near as speedy as Linux. Next laptop is gonna be Linux all the way–I’ve been struggling with trying to network between Win10 and Win7 computers and that’s so annoying it’s become easier just to hotswap a USB drive between them (because there’s no Homegroup any more and apparently the VPN gives Windows the pip or something because it refuses to see the computer that’s RIGHT THERE unless I drop the VPN on both boxes, which is a PITA when all I want to do is transfer a pretty wallpaper from the laptop to the media box, so stupid) so not knowing how to do networking between Linux and Windows is less of a barrier than it used to be. If I had a couple grand to spare I’d probably just replace both computers with brand new Linux only SSD equipped boxes and just move all the media onto USB 3 external drives or something. Or a NAS. I dunno, I’m tired of dealing with the entire mess lol.
Something’s wrong with your laptop that’s not necessarily Windows 10 then. I’ve got a Ryzen 5 3600X, which is admittedly faster than a Ryzen 5 2500U, but they’re still in the same general product family and are contemporaries. And I’m running Windows 10 Home for what it’s worth.
Mine boots in something like 5-10 seconds from the SSD. Even with a 2500U and a 5400 rpm disk drive, you should likely be booting in less than a couple of minutes, and probably quite a bit faster than that to be honest.
That said, laptops are a cesspool of shitty, half-baked drivers and hard to diagnose nonsense that desktops rarely have, so maybe that’s the issue.
It likely has something to do with it, this is the first Dell I’ve had and I have to say I’m not impressed. Wasn’t all that impressed with the Acer it replaced either, but that one was slow as well AND the charging port crapped out and had to be replaced which was irritating. I wish I liked desktops more but I’m a couch sloucher and hate sitting in proper chairs lol.
I have an MSI Raider GE76 laptop running Win 11, that boots in a few seconds. I, also am a couch sloucher.