OT: How to disable annoying Widows 10 upgrade nag box

[Willsy]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/08/windows_10_upgrade_blocker/

 

The instructions are official from Microsoft. Neat. Do it before Windows 10 is pushed onto your system as a mandatory update, which, according to the article above, is going to happen soon.

 

From what I've seen of windows 8 and 10, Windows 7 is my last dance with the Microsoft operating system. It's Linux or Mac OS next.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Willsy

[Asmusr]

I find that for the end user Windows 10 works almost like Windows 7 but there are a few improvements like the Quick access folders.

[+OLD CS1]

Upgrades from Windows 7 have proven to be a problem in a number of cases. In one case I am working an upgrade from 8.1 broke just about every Windows function (including the start menu.) YMMV. Some programs which rely on Internet Explorer will not function under 10. Some will not run at all even with a compatibility setting.

 

Look for a program called "GWX Control Panel." It will disable the app, deleted the pre-staged installation cache, and continuously monitor for changes made by MS. I have seen on my own machines changes happen every so often. On one I installed this on I saw the "OS upgrade" switch reset several times within an hour.

 

Starting with the next Patch Tuesday, Microsoft will more aggressively push the upgrade. I have heard tell of only being given the option to delay the upgrade rather than refuse it. I have had more than one customer inform me, and I got to witness myself, that an innocent reboot was enough to install Windows 10... and you cannot abort the installation.

 

It used to be enough to uninstall update 3035583, but MS has re-released it at least twice, each time with more settings to try to force the upgrade.

[Shift838]

I don't recommend to do the upgrade option but to download it to install separately as a stand alone.

 

Backup all your data and do a fresh install then restore your data you want to keep and it works just like it should.

[+Schmitzi]

.

Hi,

 

my advice is not to use Windows 10, as it compromises your privacy, your data, and it risks some of your software.

And Microsoft intentionally uninstalls unwanted software from your system, software that they don´t like.

 

In Germany it does not seem to be an forced updated, as Micro$oft is being sued right at this moment.

And if they loose, this may be a historical expensive penalty. A real financial hurt for MS, as never was seen.

I hope so. This may be a revenge for the upcoming US´ Volkswagen penalty, I don´t know.

 

I have fully stopped windows- and microsoft-updates on more than thousand machines here,

and I am sure that many other admins have done as well in the EU. At least I can read that on german boards,

that no update is better than "this" update.

We want to restart the updates again, of course, but it must be guarantied that the GPOs for surpressing Windows 10

and the WSUS-server really work in that way. As this is no fun that MS is raping our installations, to get our data,

it will be hard to trust them once again in future. Me, not. Never ever again. Not for all money in this world.

i.e. they "sold" us the KB3035583 and some more as an "urgent security-update", and what you get is a piece of shlt.

Microsoft is cheating.

 

And they activated the tracking from Win7 and 8, what you could see in the lasts month here an AA too.

(These messages concerning the users/friends location on this global AA-map)

This is due to Telemetry-Tracking-Updates KB3021917, KB3068708, KB3080149, KB3075249, KB3022345, KB2990214(W10-enabler)

If you see this updates on your machines, you can uninstall them. I also wrote a small batch to automate that.

But this is no guaranty that there won´t be a "workaround" for that from Microsoft tomorrow

 

Yes, there are many people here who don´t care about, but I think the invoice will come.

Similar to Win Millenium and Win Vista.

 

xXx

[RXB]

I agree Windows 10 is a BETA at best and unreliable.

More then 8 times Windows 10 has bricked itself with loading useless drivers.

 

User Friendly means a Operation System that is easy to use and requires less hand holding, Windows 10 is not that Operating System.

 

I have had more Black Screens of Death on Windows 10 then any other OS I have ever used.

 

Imagine having 3 hard drives on the same computer with Windows 10 installed and all are bricked exactly the same way in a week from downloads?

[Retrospect]

I agree Windows 10 is a BETA at best and unreliable.

More then 8 times Windows 10 has bricked itself with loading useless drivers.

 

User Friendly means a Operation System that is easy to use and requires less hand holding, Windows 10 is not that Operating System.

 

I have had more Black Screens of Death on Windows 10 then any other OS I have ever used.

 

Imagine having 3 hard drives on the same computer with Windows 10 installed and all are bricked exactly the same way in a week from downloads?

Would you consider using a Linux computer or Apple just to get away from all this? .... I am. I'm considering dual-booting my Acer Touchscreen with a Linux distro once it's warranty is run out.

[RXB]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/08/windows_10_upgrade_blocker/

 

The instructions are official from Microsoft. Neat. Do it before Windows 10 is pushed onto your system as a mandatory update, which, according to the article above, is going to happen soon.

 

From what I've seen of windows 8 and 10, Windows 7 is my last dance with the Microsoft operating system. It's Linux or Mac OS next.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3073930

 

This should solve some of your issues.

[JamesD]

I renamed the folder the upgrade utility was in... it hasn't nagged me since. If I decide to upgrade, I can just name it back.

[Tursi]

Everyone who's considering Linux -- just do it! You don't have to commit whole-hog. Boot off a live CD and just run like that for a few weeks and see if you really do like it more. You will still be able to access all your data and save everything to that same hard drive, no worries.

[JamesD]

Everyone who's considering Linux -- just do it! You don't have to commit whole-hog. Boot off a live CD and just run like that for a few weeks and see if you really do like it more. You will still be able to access all your data and save everything to that same hard drive, no worries.

I use a dual boot system. For a programming environment, Linux is so much better IMHO... but then I spent a few years as a Unix/Solaris/Linux programmer.

If my games all worked on Linux I'd dump Windows in a heartbeat.

[+OLD CS1]

Confirmed: How to stop Windows 10 forcing itself onto PCs – your essential guide
Official from the Redmond horse's mouth

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/08/windows_10_upgrade_blocker/

 

Had my head buried in Exchange all day so I missed this.

[+mizapf]

Another way to check out some alternatives: Leave your Windows as is, install VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/ ) as an application, and then you can install anything you want inside. You set up a virtual drive (which is basically the same as a disk image) which appears as a file in your file system, so anything you do only happens inside that file. Also, you can connect to your real drives so that you can exchange data. For instance, you can easily install some Linux distribution in that virtual drive, see how it feels, use it for your online banking business etc. If it does not suit you, remove that virtual machine again.

 

You can think of VirtualBox a bit like an emulation, but the difference is that an emulation actually replaces all lower levels down to the hardware, while a virtualization makes use of the existing hardware; thus, virtualization is much faster.

 

Here, I have a Linux OS as the host, and Windows 10 as a guest inside VirtualBox.

[+arcadeshopper]

this is the simplest way:

 

http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/GwxControlPanelSetup.exe

 

I've used it on many pc's.. you can also set it to watch for microsoft's inevitable re-enable try

 

Greg

[Omega-TI]

Windows 10 Nag box? Simple solution really...

[JamesD]

I renamed the folder the upgrade utility was in... it hasn't nagged me since. If I decide to upgrade, I can just name it back.

FWIW, Microsoft figured out people were doing this and reinstalled the upgrader with the last windows upgrade.

[+arcadeshopper]

FWIW, Microsoft figured out people were doing this and reinstalled the upgrader with the last windows upgrade.

 

Glad i am running that control panel that watches for that

[+Schmitzi]

.

yes, but it sadly only watches the known ways intruding systems.

If MS is quick (or: badass again), they push another update to work around any "monitors/panels".

(like firstly just repeating KB3035583, what was just a very cheap manouver)

 

That´s the reason why we totally stopped the updates on "masses" of PCs (via GPO and manually)

...not to suddenly get extremly horror news one morning as we experiences on some single systems...

This would bust any support-capacities, and many clientsystems as well.....I am sure.

 

so let me say: windows-security-updates are the worst securiy-risks on computers these days

[+OLD CS1]

.

so let me say: windows-security-updates are the worst securiy-risks on computers these days

 

Pick your poison: Microsoft's abusing what should be a safety mechanism by slipping shifty shit into it, or the inevitable take-over of your machine by not getting patched.

 

I am tired of hearing/reading the raging BS about how x-browser or y-operating system is any more secure than the other. They all suck and they all have vulnerabilities. You can go check out the CVE archives and various services out there which monitor and analyze this stuff.

[Retrospect]

I think my two favourite OS's would have to be WinXP and Linux Ubuntu 10.04. Win10 , I've not been troubled by it as such but it just keeps popping this cloud setup thing up everytime I go to open a file on an emulator (cant remember which one but it wasnt classic99)

 

lol ... i DID have Win8 ... Win10 nagbox came up and i thought "ooh , this'll be a good idea...."

[JamesD]

 

Glad i am running that control panel that watches for that

I saw the app was running again so I killed it and deleted the folder. I'll probably have to do that with every Windows upgrade now.

[+OLD CS1]

I saw the app was running again so I killed it and deleted the folder. I'll probably have to do that with every Windows upgrade now.

 

That GWX Control Panel is really good and light-weight. I am about to kick the author a few bucks for his work.

[RXB]

Would you consider using a Linux computer or Apple just to get away from all this? .... I am. I'm considering dual-booting my Acer Touchscreen with a Linux distro once it's warranty is run out.

I am using a Apple Mac Pro 2009 with 4 1 TB hard drives.

Mac OS X

Windows 10 upgraded from Windows 8

Windows 7

Ubuntu

 

The very coolest thing about the Mac is that the BOIS considers any drive a valid drive.

Windows BLOWS as without a C DRIVE it will refuse to boot to other drives and if the Sector 0 (zero) goes bad on a Windows computer the drive is a brick!

(That bad idea came from 1960's Main Frames and Windows never fixed it. But they now copy Apple EFI Bios now.)

Edited January 12, 2016 by RXB

[+OLD CS1]

Ugh. Not just Windows, the x86 ecosphere as a whole adopted that boot-sector paradigm. And you will find the UEFI system in use by Intel Macs today descend from Itanium EFI systems, anyway.

 

It was a bit of a culture shock for me going from the Amiga to PC world of boot drives and what not. While Solaris requires a boot block be installed, it can be installed on any drive and the OpenBoot PROM can be set to boot off set drive. Along the same jive, in the spirit of Mac's OpenBoot/OpenFirmware roots, OSX can boot with or without an EFI partition on the drive.

 

As much as it sucks, and has befuddled many a user and tech alike (which aggravates the hell out of me on a professional level,) while Windows will not boot with a corrupted boot block it is actually fairly easy to fix with the boot media or recovery console.

[RXB]

Ugh. Not just Windows, the x86 ecosphere as a whole adopted that boot-sector paradigm. And you will find the UEFI system in use by Intel Macs today descend from Itanium EFI systems, anyway.

 

It was a bit of a culture shock for me going from the Amiga to PC world of boot drives and what not. While Solaris requires a boot block be installed, it can be installed on any drive and the OpenBoot PROM can be set to boot off set drive. Along the same jive, in the spirit of Mac's OpenBoot/OpenFirmware roots, OSX can boot with or without an EFI partition on the drive.

 

As much as it sucks, and has befuddled many a user and tech alike (which aggravates the hell out of me on a professional level,) while Windows will not boot with a corrupted boot block it is actually fairly easy to fix with the boot media or recovery console.

Hmm Apples have always been this way. I had 3 drives in my Apple using OS 6.3 and I could boot off any drive.

 

This is from Wikipedia:

There was no Apple DOS 1 or 2, per se. Versions 0.1 through 2.8 were serially enumerated revisions during development, which might as well have been called builds 1 through 28. Apple DOS 3.0, a renamed issue of version 2.8, was never publicly released due to bugs. To the dismay of many programmers, Apple published no official documentation until release 3.2.[2][3]

Apple DOS 3.1 was publicly released in June 1978, slightly less than one year after the Apple II was introduced, becoming the first disk-based operating system for any Apple computer. A bug-fix release came later, addressing a problem with its MASTER CREATE utility, which was used to create Apple DOS master disks: The built-in INIT command created disks that could be booted only on machines with at least the same amount of memory as the one that had created them. MASTER CREATE included a self-relocating version of DOS that would boot on Apples with any memory configuration.

Apple DOS 3.2 was released in 1979 to reflect major changes in computer booting methods that were built into the successor of the Apple II, the Apple II Plus. Instead of the original Integer BASIC, the Apple II Plus firmware included the newer Applesoft II floating point BASIC. The new firmware also had an auto-start feature which would automatically find a disk controller and boot from it when the system was powered up—earning it the name Autostart ROM.

Apple DOS 3.3 was released in 1980. It improved various functions of release 3.2, while also allowing for large gains in available floppy disk storage; the newer P5A/P6A PROMs in the disk controller could read and write data at a higher density, so that instead of 13 sectors (3.25 kB), 16 sectors (4 kB) of data could be stored per disk track, increasing the capacity from 113.75 kB to 140 kB per disk side — 16 kB of which was used by filesystem overhead and a copy of DOS, on a DOS 3.3-formatted disk, leaving 124 kB for user programs and data. DOS 3.3 was, however, not backwards compatible; it could not read or write DOS 3.2 disks. To address this problem, Apple Computer released a utility called "MUFFIN" to migrate Apple DOS 3.2 files and programs to version 3.3 disks. Apple never offered a utility to copy the other way. To migrate Apple DOS 3.3 files back to version 3.2 disks, someone wrote a "NIFFUM" utility. There were also commercial utilities (such as Copy II Plus) that could copy files from and to either format (and eventually ProDOS as well). Release 3.3 also improved the ability to switch between Integer BASIC and Applesoft BASIC, if the computer had a language card (RAM expansion) or firmware card.