[Closed] Help me manage Windows 10 updates?

If there isn't a good reason why you are on capped internet (like it isn't 1999 ), then upgrade your internet and let Windows 10 keep itself working and up to date.

Click on your Wifi properties then select "set as a metered connection"

What they both said.

Plus, "when it feels like it" should be once a month. Deferring updates isn't going to help with your metered connection much unless you plan to never update, and in any case not installing patches has generally been a bad idea for the last 20 years.

Capped internet is our reality.

I thought Mrs S had selected "metered connection" previously but could no longer do so. I'll check.

My work PC has been trying to download and install the anniversary/creators update at least once a day for the past 9 months. Fails every time. HOS.

The big updates are twice a year, aren't they? It's version upgrades. The little weekly ones you shouldn't notice really.

I'll keep an eye on what comes up. Hopefully, as you say, the big ones aren't every month. I wasn't really paying attention until she mentioned it to me as having "failed twice". We can do without that!

The big updates are twice a year, aren't they? It's version upgrades. The little weekly ones you shouldn't notice really.

Unless you keep deferring them and eventually have to do a marathon update session 😉

What's really unhelpful is when it auto restarts zapping whatever is open at the time. How can I configure it to require me to specifically OK any restarts? Sorry for the slight hijack...

It has to be said the most recent creators update (I think) was a spectacular pain. Both in terms of hogging resources whilst it ran and then taking an age to actually update... it's a good job I wasn't in a rush to use the machine.

Every time Win10 updated on my PC, I lost the graphics settings - reverted to VGA. Managed to reset it most times, then the last time I had to find which update had caused it, uninstall that update and then reset the screen resolution again.
I decided that the small chance of getting a virus and that virus causing me any more disruption than the Microsoft updates, was worth the risk, so turned off updates. Over a year later, no issues and my screen res has remained correct meaning my pc has remained usable.

I like Windows 10, but the approach to what constitutes updates and how it goes about installing them is totally unreasonable.

What's really unhelpful is when it auto restarts zapping whatever is open at the time.

You can change that. Just press windows key and type 'update' and you'll get the update settings box (from memory). Or you could ask Google the same question.

boblo - Member
What's really unhelpful is when it auto restarts zapping whatever is open at the time. How can I configure it to require me to specifically OK any restarts? Sorry for the slight hijack...

zomg - Member
I like Windows 10, but the approach to what constitutes updates and how it goes about installing them is totally unreasonable.

As for the OP
Some of the big updates come as separate downloads
https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-anniversary-update-iso-available
So maybe somebody could mail you a CD

After that take the hit and get it all up to date then apart from any massive updates that are really well advertised you should be fine for bandwidth using a metered connection.

I've got windows 10.
It gave me a message earlier on telling me it had a big update to do and asked me when to do it.
Take your laptop to the pub if you can't afford broadband.

I've just spent a week trying to install an update to W10 version 1709, I tried the metered connection thing too, but that didn't help
I ended up flattening the lot and starting from a new copy
I tried Linux early on but couldn't get that to install thanks to a BIOS that really doesn't want you use anything other than Windows

This is a pain for me as well.

I have unmetered but very slow (1-2mbps) broadband which frequently drops out completely. I do however get a good 4g signal so I have a 10gb data package and I use the phone as a mobile hot spot when the broadband is rubbish.

A couple of weeks ago the win 10 update burnt through 6gb in an evening. So any way of getting notifications of the size of update and schedule would be very welcome.

Might be of help to some.

Windows 10 (and Server 2016) update page:
[url= https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4043454 ]https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4043454[/url]

At the bottom of each individual update description there's a link to update catalogue where you can download (and see the size) the update package, e.g.
[url=www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4054517]www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4054517[/url]

I'll have a look at that beej - knowing the size of updates is essential.

We don't seem to have any problems with the laptop after downloading and installing - although installing takes an age.

She's going to have to keep a closer eye on what's going on and plan things accordingly. . . . . .

It is driving me nuts. Me and my brothers family share a phone line and 1.5 mbs broadband (half way up a welsh mountain and no mobile signal. That is it, it isn't going to change). He has just bought a laptop with Win10 and now as soon as he turns it on in the evening the internet is dead for everyone. I cannot even access text based forums. There surely must be a way to manually reschedule the downloads for overnight and not when the computer is in use?

The windows store is far orse than the actual OS updates. That kills our broadband. Open the store and pause all the downloads.

It's a bad idea for MS to assume everyone has unlimited high speed internet access.

Years ago I read a book about MS where they said that developers were made to use slow machines, because Gates wanted Windows to work on "worst case scenario" machines.

This seems to be at the other end of the scale.

Well like I say the updates use at least some sort of traffic management, however the store is awful and downloads at max. And not only that it saves up all the updates into one huge load for some reason. And you can't control it either. I think that's more by cock-up than design.

My Anniversary Update kept failing - turned out to be lack of disk space

I still fail to see how not updating can be any more hassle than updating. No-one has stolen my credit card details, hacked me, infected me or in any way inconvenienced me more than Microsoft ever did!
You have AV, you have a firewall, you don't click on stupid things in spam mails... (you don't visit (many) dodgy sites... what are the updates [i]for[/i]??
I used to install them for my job and I still don't know the answer.

There surely must be a way to manually reschedule the downloads for overnight and not when the computer is in use?

Set it as a metered connection and manually run update when it suits you.

There surely must be a way to manually reschedule the downloads for overnight and not when the computer is in use?

set your active hours.

[img] [/img]

OP, if you have more than one W10 pc in the house you can get them to "share" the update locally too (and stop them from effectively joining in some sort of torrent that updates other people's computers). Advanced sharing settings under service delivery or something

molgrips - Member
Well like I say the updates use at least some sort of traffic management, however the store is awful and downloads at max. And not only that it saves up all the updates into one huge load for some reason. And you can't control it either. I think that's more by cock-up than design.

That checked maybe? Just guessing here btw.

[img] [/img]

DezB - Member
I still fail to see how not updating can be any more hassle than updating. No-one has stolen my credit card details, hacked me, infected me or in any way inconvenienced me more than Microsoft ever did!
You have AV, you have a firewall, you don't click on stupid things in spam mails... (you don't visit (many) dodgy sites... what are the updates for??
I used to install them for my job and I still don't know the answer.

Firewall and defender won't catch everything. E.g. the ransomware that affected the NHS earlier in the year.

For example:

https://thehackernews.com/2016/12/image-exploit-hacking.html

There have been various other bugs of this type, in the GDI library code for example. IIRC Some of these have also been exploited to gain ring 0 privs.

ETA: that's not the right link, I can't find the one I meant, but corrupted images could be used to execute code

Interesting analogy Cougar. But in the words of Mr. Jillette - "Bullshit!"

[i]So far, the Stegano exploit kit has pushed various trojan downloaders, the Ursnif and Ramnit banking trojans, backdoors, spyware, and file stealers.[/i]

OK, but banking is all done on my phone. File stealer? Ohnos! Spyware? To what ends?

the ransomware that affected the NHS earlier in the year.

was that not just xp and mibbe w7 machines? I don't think 10 was affected by that?

seosamh77 - Member
was that not just xp and mibbe w7 machines? I don't think 10 was affected by that?

It was just an example, yes W10 was immune. As was W7 _IF_ the updates were applied.

hit services.msc

scroll to service where it says "windows update"

right click

where it says "startup type" set to disabled

hit apply

no more automatic updates

^^ That 😆

I know! They could steal my Paypal password! Hasn't happened yet.

Well, that's interesting - switch on the PC last night and despite updates being disabled, the service has been re-enabled and I have a Windows 10 "Feature update" waiting to install! Plus a load of other updates (which I know will wreck my graphics display!) Bastards.
I shall Google and find out why/how they've done this...

[i]Bastards.[/i]

I though I was being paranoid, but there does seem to be a high degree of Heavy Handedness going on here.

Mrs S also insisted that she had disabled auto-updating but that they happened anyway.

Does anyone else have an issue with Win10 updates where the computer gives a near perfect impression of having gone wrong (dead start menu / loss of icons on desktop and taskbar / unable to start programs) for just long enough that you think the evening is to be spent fixing the damn thing - only for it to eventually revert to normal? Really annoying, though less so than actually going wrong.

Well, that's interesting - switch on the PC last night and despite updates being disabled, the service has been re-enabled and I have a Windows 10 "Feature update" waiting to install! Plus a load of other updates (which I know will wreck my graphics display!) Bastards.
I shall Google and find out why/how they've done this...

theres a registry edit but really ...i think there be demons in that one

i have never had any updates after disabling but i never got to 1709 release which is the creators super dooper fall update or something?

I'm getting the impression that if you put less effort into buggering about with it then it would give you less hassle in return. Windows does not update every day, once a week if you're lucky. If it's having trouble getting updates to stick perhaps letting it do them may help.

Out of interest, are these upgraded or preinstalled versions? My desktop was a virgin build and has been flawless whilst my laptop was preinstalled and has occasional moments. Never broken an update but does run badly on occasion.

Welshfarmer - look at your brother in laws OneDrive settings. Penny to a pound it's the synching on startup that's hogging your bandwidth. Either synch it manually or disable it altogether.

@DezB
Windows 10 will reverse some personalised settings when it updates, which might explain your issue

@speckie
Try running Linux Mint "live" from USB/DVD
It'll cost you 1.8GB for the full download (you can buy the media too), or get someone to do it for you
If you like it, install it from the same media; the updates are all graded with the security updates clearly marked, and you choose which ones to install
Not all computers will let you run it easily due to security settings so it can be a faff to sort that out initially