Question Any way to set Windows Update to manual or disable temporarily?

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riviere_one

Nov 17, 2023
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From what I have seen on other forums, there is no answer to this that won't run a risk of corrupting my system. But since the threads I've seen are a bit dated, I want to see if maybe that has changed.

I have tried all the articles, none seem to work. I've set my wifi to metered, edited via Group Policy Editor, added the Windows Update/AU/NoAutoUpdate in registry, and had trouble with "Access is denied" trying to disable Windows services.

Really, I am just tired of having to disable Windows search service (Use OpenShell), disable about 20 useless services, and a bunch of other Windows bloatware every week or so when its time to update.

Obviously I don't want to brick my PC, but are there really no ways to pause updates indefinitely? If not, are there ways to minimize Windows from adding a bunch of crap and undoing my settings each time?
 
Is this the only option? I guess a safe on/off manual option is out of the question.

What about the second part, are there ways to prevent or minimize the services/settings being reset after update? Particularly the stupid news thing. I doubt any way to stop the Edge ads
 
riviere_one said:
Is this the only option? I guess a safe on/off manual option is out of the question.

What about the second part, are there ways to prevent or minimize the services/settings being reset after update? Particularly the stupid news thing. I doubt any way to stop the Edge ads
Click to expand...
There is no universal On/Off. Only Pause for X weeks.

Selective application of things? Not that I know of.
 
Think I'm going to start learning Linux, really I should have a long time ago, tired of the limitations of Windows. Not how this thread started, but suggested Linux version to dabble in on extra HD?
 
Zerk2012 said:
Could be I just use the pause updates button 7 days is what it does. W10
Click to expand...
Win 10:
The first is Pause for 7 days.
Then you get the option of "Pause updates for 7 more days"

Today, being 17 Nov...22 Dec would be 5 weeks.
Or, in Advanced option, pick a date (within that 5 weeks)

In Win 11, the dropdown gives you a range of weeks, 1-5.
 
@riviere_one

I use Sledgehammer to manage Windows 10 Updates. It lets me install updates when I want and it lets me pick through the updates so I can choose what I want to install. You do not have to install anything if you do not want to. No more being force fed updates that I do not want.

www.majorgeeks.com

Download Sledgehammer - MajorGeeks

Sledgehammer (formerly WUMT Wrapper Script) is used to launch Windows Update MiniTool and disable Windows Updates until you run it again avoiding unwanted reboots.
www.majorgeeks.com
 
riviere_one said:
From what I have seen on other forums, there is no answer to this that won't run a risk of corrupting my system. But since the threads I've seen are a bit dated, I want to see if maybe that has changed.

I have tried all the articles, none seem to work. I've set my wifi to metered, edited via Group Policy Editor, added the Windows Update/AU/NoAutoUpdate in registry, and had trouble with "Access is denied" trying to disable Windows services.

Really, I am just tired of having to disable Windows search service (Use OpenShell), disable about 20 useless services, and a bunch of other Windows bloatware every week or so when its time to update.

Obviously I don't want to brick my PC, but are there really no ways to pause updates indefinitely? If not, are there ways to minimize Windows from adding a bunch of crap and undoing my settings each time?
Click to expand...
Hi, ( Sorry my english i'm using google translate 😛 ) I have Win10 home, I followed many guides on the internet and in the end they were either useless or temporary, but I found a working and permanent method.

It simply involves deleting the wuauserv folder from the system registry, the one you find at this path:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv], once you delete it and restart the system, Win 10 will no longer be able to make updates in any way.

To restore the folder in the system registry and the related win update, simply activate a .reg file, which restores the wuauserv folder and you can go back to making updates, this does not create any problems for the system, it is 100% safe, I have been doing it for a long time.

I do the updates once a week, and this is much better for me because before, if I started the PC and was in a hurry, the automatic updates would start and slow down my PC, the temporary suspension that Windows offers is not enough, because when the deadline expired I'm forced to make updates to whatever I was doing, but with this method I decided when to do them, for me it's the best thing.

This is my file reg in text version, copy and paste in txt file and save in .reg :
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv]
"DependOnService"=hex(7):72,00,70,00,63,00,73,00,73,00,00,00,00,00
"Description"="@%systemroot%\\system32\\wuaueng.dll,-106"
"DisplayName"="Windows Update"
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"FailureActions"=hex:80,46,7e,33,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,14,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
"ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,00,\
74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,73,\
00,76,00,63,00,68,00,6f,00,73,00,74,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2d,00,\
6b,00,20,00,6e,00,65,00,74,00,73,00,76,00,63,00,73,00,20,00,2d,00,70,00,00,\
00
"ObjectName"="LocalSystem"
"RequiredPrivileges"=hex(7):53,00,65,00,41,00,75,00,64,00,69,00,74,00,50,00,72,\
00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,\
65,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,47,00,6c,00,6f,00,62,00,61,00,6c,00,50,00,72,00,69,\
00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,00,\
61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,50,00,72,\
00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,63,00,\
62,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,\
00,41,00,73,00,73,00,69,00,67,00,6e,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6d,00,61,00,72,00,\
79,00,54,00,6f,00,6b,00,65,00,6e,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,\
00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6d,00,70,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,6f,00,\
6e,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,\
00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,51,00,\
75,00,6f,00,74,00,61,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,\
00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,68,00,75,00,74,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,6e,00,50,00,\
72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,44,00,65,\
00,62,00,75,00,67,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,\
00,00,53,00,65,00,42,00,61,00,63,00,6b,00,75,00,70,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,\
00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,52,00,65,00,73,00,74,00,\
6f,00,72,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,\
00,53,00,65,00,53,00,65,00,63,00,75,00,72,00,69,00,74,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,\
69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,00,61,00,6b,\
00,65,00,4f,00,77,00,6e,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,68,00,69,00,70,00,50,00,72,00,\
69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4c,00,6f,00,61,\
00,64,00,44,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,65,00,72,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,\
6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4d,00,61,00,6e,00,61,00,67,00,65,\
00,56,00,6f,00,6c,00,75,00,6d,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,\
65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,45,\
00,6e,00,76,00,69,00,72,00,6f,00,6e,00,6d,00,65,00,6e,00,74,00,50,00,72,00,\
69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,\
00,61,00,74,00,65,00,53,00,79,00,6d,00,62,00,6f,00,6c,00,69,00,63,00,4c,00,\
69,00,6e,00,6b,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,\
00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,42,00,61,00,\
73,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6f,00,72,00,69,00,74,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,69,\
00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,00,00
"ServiceSidType"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000003
"SvcMemHardLimitInMB"=dword:000000f6
"SvcMemMidLimitInMB"=dword:000000a7
"SvcMemSoftLimitInMB"=dword:00000058
"Type"=dword:00000020
"DelayedAutostart"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\Parameters]
"ServiceDll"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,\
00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,\
77,00,75,00,61,00,75,00,65,00,6e,00,67,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00
"ServiceDllUnloadOnStop"=dword:00000001
"ServiceMain"="WUServiceMain"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\Security]
"Security"=hex:01,00,14,80,78,00,00,00,84,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,30,00,00,00,02,\
00,1c,00,01,00,00,00,02,80,14,00,ff,00,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,\
00,00,02,00,48,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,9d,00,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,\
05,0b,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,\
20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,\
01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo\0]
"Type"=dword:00000005
"Action"=dword:00000001
"Guid"=hex:e6,ca,9f,65,db,5b,a9,4d,b1,ff,ca,2a,17,8d,46,e0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv\TriggerInfo\1]
"Type"=dword:00000005
"Action"=dword:00000001
"Guid"=hex:c8,46,fb,54,89,f0,4c,46,b1,fd,59,d1,b6,2c,3b,50
Remember that when you want to update google chrome browser for example, you may need to restore win update via the registry key, because in my case it is like this, if you don't use google chrome browser, but you have problems updating anything, it could be because win update is disabled, so re-enable it, update whatever you want and then delete the wuauserv folder again.

I hope it can help you, bye.

Mod Edit: Moved registry code to a spoiler.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
USAFRet said:
Windows Update Blocker

AKA, a seriously bad idea, that does not address the original question.
Click to expand...

Reading this web site of Windows Update Blocker V1.8, it says that it can create problems, and it suggests using the windows tool for troubleshooting.

The method I use is simply to delete the wuauserv folder from the system registry, because windows update starts from there and without that folder in the system registry win update will not start in any way, and then I restore wuauserv folder with the registry key, restart the system and I'm done, never had any problems, I've tried many methods but it is the most reliable for me.
 
I have not tried to delete this entry so I can't say if it's safe or not.

Always make a backup of the registry before editing or deleting entries.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-au...-windows-855140ad-e318-2a13-2829-d428a2ab0692

The entries that are posted above are not going to be the same for everyone. In fact, looking at my registry right now (with fully working Windows Update), some of my registry entries are different. It would be best to export the wuauserv registry tree to a file and use it to restore Windows Update rather the code posted above (if this works at all, which like I said, I have not tested).
 
gardenman said:
I have not tried to delete this entry so I can't say if it's safe or not.

Always make a backup of the registry before editing or deleting entries.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-au...-windows-855140ad-e318-2a13-2829-d428a2ab0692

The entries that are posted above are not going to be the same for everyone. In fact, looking at my registry right now (with fully working Windows Update), some of my registry entries are different. It would be best to export the wuauserv registry tree to a file and use it to restore Windows Update rather the code posted above (if this works at all, which like I said, I have not tested).
Click to expand...
Hi, I didn't think about the fact that the system registry was different from user to user, I found that registry key online on a site that proposed restoring the wuauserv folder, so I thought it was the same for everyone, you did well to clarify this point.

In general I have never had any problems, I do it every week, so having not had any problems I shared this method here.

I understand that editing the registry can be risky, and following this method blindly can lead to doubts, those who are interested and don't want to take risks, as you said, can export that entry and also make a restore point to be more safer.

I understand why Microsoft It does not give full control of update systems, but only time deadlines, so as to have the all Windows 10 ecosystem updated, but updates are always a problem, in my case as in many, they slow down my PC, and on many occasions I have to postpone what I had to do and wait for the updates to be done.

Not to mention that every time I find the compacttellrunner.exe file restored after some updates, and that telemetry always slows down my PC, I have also followed many guides in this case but the only thing that really works is physically removing that file from the system32 folder, that's another topic, just a mention beacose it's a consequence of the updates.

So in the end, even if ms gives the possibility to postpone updates, or minimize the sending of data from the options, for these and other things, what really works is to remove executables, folder or any files from the root that start these mechanisms, if I had understood it before, I would have saved myself a lot of time looking for very complicated solutions widespread on the internet.

But who becomes an expert without trial and error? :)
 
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