Monday, 2 November 2015

Stop Windows 10 getting on your computer

Windows 10 is getting a very mixed reception and since it's launch I have taken it off more computers than I have prepared computers for the upgrade. Let's be clear. On good enough hardware, it's good but if you are already using a machine that is not very fast then it's likely going to struggle and even argue with some programs on your pc. It's still early days yet and for many of us the windows 10 notification is still nagging us on a daily basis to take action and get the upgrade.

The update in question is : KB 3035583. You can remove it from your computer and once you have Windows will no longer be nagging you to get Windows 10, but only untill the next batch of updates come through - then that update will be getting installed again. You can then selectively choose not to install it and even right-click  the update and choose 'Hide' but every time I do this it simply marches straight back in next time. Clearly, in my view Microsoft is determined to get Windows 10 on all our eligible computers whether we want it or not. So, what can we do?

I have recently come accross a small utility called the 'GWX Control Panel' from a 'Ultimate Outsider'. It's a very small tool that stops the Windows 10 upgrade nag screen, stops Windows upgrading, and if your machine has already downloaded the windows 10 installation files it has an option to remove them. As always I do recommend that you always back up your important files and create a system restore point before using GWX Control Panel. It's a good precaution anyway and especially before using software that makes changes to your system. I have used this without any issue and now my Windows 7 laptop has no sign of Windows 10 anywhere. Below I have included three screenshots of what I did with GWX Control Panel.



In the above screenshot I did not need the third option as my laptop had not downloaded the Windows 10 files.

Reboot and all is good. Remember to keep the GWX Control panel on your computer. It does not install, it simply runs with a double click.

Yellow Boat Computers: Closed

 It has been quite a journey. Thank you to all who have engaged my services over the years, it's been a pleasure working with you. This ...