Windows 10 to Force Updates

[MysticSlayer]

Would there be anything stopping people from just disabling the update service? That's what I've been doing since XP, I disable all the services I don't need like windows updates, windows firewall, windows defender, security center (I don't need a fucking anti-virus installed), etc.

As far as I know, it's Microsoft's intention that it shouldn't be shut off. Whether or not that means it will be possible through some work-around is another matter.

That said, as long as you stay away from the Home edition, then there should be a better level of control.

It's Microsoft's intention that you don't turn off anything, use Internet Explorer, use Bing, etc. If Windows updates are a service like past Windows, then you can simply disable the service which is a pretty basic thing for most users.

As noted in the first link I gave:

Security Updates, Features and Fixes are automatically applied.
There is no option to delay or customize these updates.

And for Pro, Enterprise (that aren't on the LTSB), and Education, this is the less desirable aspect:

Updates cannot be deferred indefinitely.

And as the second link mentions:

Windows Update in Windows 8.1 has four options for Windows Update's behavior: download and install updates automatically; download updates automatically but choose when to install them; check for updates but choose when to download and install them; and never check for, download, or install updates. This last option is, obviously, not recommended, but it's there if you really need it.

In Windows 10, the options are cut to two: check, download, install, and reboot automatically; and check, download, install automatically and then choose to reboot.

In short, Microsoft is building in limited options regarding their updates that are more restrictive that past versions. While some users may find work arounds, it's clear that Microsoft is taking steps to make this more difficult than downloading Firefox to replace Internet Explorer.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Security Updates, Features and Fixes are automatically applied.
There is no option to delay or customize these updates.

And for Pro, Enterprise (that aren't on the LTSB), and Education, this is the less desirable aspect:

Updates cannot be deferred indefinitely.

I read the links. I understand there won't be an option in Automatic/Windows update to forgo getting updates in the Home version of Windows 10. However, everything component of Windows has an associated service, and by disabling the service, you stop the component from running. You can type "services.msc" in the run command to view and change any services even in Windows 8. I don't see why you would not be able to simply disable the update service to not get updates in Windows 10. That's one of the 1st things I did with XP and Win7 as Windows really doesn't use that many resources when you disable all the shit you don't need.

 

[SmugFrog]

Glad you posted this - I found it a few days ago and was going to post it too. This is just not a good way to go about doing business - if you have an update that is in some way broken, you're not going to be able to prevent breaking more computers by users opting out of their updates. I also wonder what type of updates could come down that we don't have the option of not taking. Free, forced updates, comes with Candy Crush... I'm just highly skeptical about the whole thing.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I read the links. I understand there won't be an option in Automatic/Windows update to forgo getting updates in the Home version of Windows 10. However, everything component of Windows has an associated service, and by disabling the service, you stop the component from running. You can type "services.msc" in the run command to view and change any services even in Windows 8. I don't see why you would not be able to simply disable the update service to not get updates in Windows 10. That's one of the 1st things I did with XP and Win7 as Windows really doesn't use that many resources when you disable all the shit you don't need.

Sorry, I'm thinking more about the average Windows user. And that doesn't just mean someone's Grandma who is happy as long as she knows where to view her Pictures and get onto Facebook. It includes the people who can work their way around Windows without necessarily having a deep understanding of it.

Basically, it falls under the category of: Great if you know that, but what percentage of people do?

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Sorry, I'm thinking more about the average Windows user. And that doesn't just mean someone's Grandma who is happy as long as she knows where to view her Pictures and get onto Facebook. It includes the people who can work their way around Windows without necessarily having a deep understanding of it.

Basically, it falls under the category of: Great if you know that, but what percentage of people do?

It'll be as simple as Googling "how to stop windows 10 updates" and follow like 3 steps or so, it's not like you'd have to edit the registry or even use the command prompt. That's how I basically learned most things. I understand most people don't do that type of stuff but it really is rather basic stuff that most users should know IMO.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Sorry, I'm thinking more about the average Windows user. And that doesn't just mean someone's Grandma who is happy as long as she knows where to view her Pictures and get onto Facebook. It includes the people who can work their way around Windows without necessarily having a deep understanding of it.

Basically, it falls under the category of: Great if you know that, but what percentage of people do?

It'll be as simple as Googling "how to stop windows 10 updates" and follow like 3 steps or so, it's not like you'd have to edit the registry or even use the command prompt. That's how I basically learned most things. I understand most people don't do that type of stuff but it really is rather basic stuff that most users should know IMO.

I understand that that is a possibility. But, at the same time, I know plenty of people who would stop once they noticed that the option isn't where Microsoft directly shows them the option is yet complain about the constant updates. Then again, I've seen quite a few odd complaints even from relatively experienced users, which just for humor includes:

-"Thunderbird had trouble setting up with my GMail account. It must be that Thunderbird sucks!" (Despite the fact that there are numerous tutorials online that show this is an issue with GMail's settings)
-"I can't find the file. It must not have Downloaded properly." (In the meantime, they've never used the search bar nor looked in the hard-to-miss Downloads folder).
-Doesn't check the log file an error told them to check and then feels it is a lost cause.
-"I installed Adblock. Two days later, I got a virus. Adblock must be a virus." (Note: This is not me advocating Adblock.)

And the worst part, none of these came from some old person who doesn't understand technology. They were all people who grew up with computers, used computers on a daily basis (sometimes in semi-advanced ways), and yet still got tripped up by the simplest things that would take two minutes worth of searching to fix.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I understand that that is a possibility. But, at the same time, I know plenty of people who would stop once they noticed that the option isn't where Microsoft directly shows them the option is yet complain about the constant updates. Then again, I've seen quite a few odd complaints even from relatively experienced users, which just for humor includes:

-"Thunderbird had trouble setting up with my GMail account. It must be that Thunderbird sucks!" (Despite the fact that there are numerous tutorials online that show this is an issue with GMail's settings)
-"I can't find the file. It must not have Downloaded properly." (In the meantime, they've never used the search bar nor looked in the hard-to-miss Downloads folder).
-Doesn't check the log file an error told them to check and then feels it is a lost cause.
-"I installed Adblock. Two days later, I got a virus. Adblock must be a virus." (Note: This is not me advocating Adblock.)

And the worst part, none of these came from some old person who doesn't understand technology. They were all people who grew up with computers, used computers on a daily basis (sometimes in semi-advanced ways), and yet still got tripped up by the simplest things that would take two minutes worth of searching to fix.

I know how most people are. I learn how to properly use things because I know in the long run, it saves time. Most people don't even know how to Google properly using something as basic as quotes to greatly narrow down the search results.

I'm not really liking this whole "Windows as a service" thing Microsoft is trying to sell. For the consumer, updates for just about anything are very inconsequential for security purposes while being having a chance of fucking up their shit. As long as you have a firewall up and behind NAT, you really can't get anything bad unless you download it yourself. I run just Windows 7 SP1 with a 5 year old firewall and no anti-virus installed, and there isn't a trace of spyware or a virus on my machine. I really only update anything if something doesn't work. Last time I updated Firefox the UI changed and it took me a half hour of finding extensions that made Firefox look the way I had it.

 

[lacktheknack]

This is why I'm very proud to use Lubuntu at the moment. I can ignore updates all together if I want, auto update always asks before it does an update. Also I've never had a Linux update break anything.

How is that for gaming? Every year I tell myself "This year ... this year I'll check it out ..." but I'm too fundamentally lazy, I guess.

Keep an eye out on this forum for the near future. Something relevant to your interests is going to appear.

 

[Olas]

It pleases me , every screw up and mistake every inconvenience its all baby steps to the day were willing to trash windows and use something else , then as one we can turn around and give M$ the finger for the 20 year ass fucking.

Nobody's forcing you to use windows now, or ever. There are other Operating Systems, why don't you just use them instead of complaining?

 

[Foehunter82]

The point is: It's only a matter of time before Microsoft does something so monumentally bad that people won't just complain, they'll look into actual class-action lawsuits.

Also, if Microsoft force-uploads either Windows 10 or any bloatware onto my computer, I'm definitely going to consult a lawyer. My computer's not here to be their software storage dump. I expect to get paid for that privilege.

The truth is, Microsoft has been on the decline for a while now. It really is only a matter of time before there are legitimate alternatives to Windows (sorry, but Linux isn't there yet).

 

[zumbledum]

It pleases me , every screw up and mistake every inconvenience its all baby steps to the day were willing to trash windows and use something else , then as one we can turn around and give M$ the finger for the 20 year ass fucking.

Nobody's forcing you to use windows now, or ever. There are other Operating Systems, why don't you just use them instead of complaining?

Unfortunately thats not true is it? over the last two decades of monopoly abuse , under handed to down right illegal practices theft and coercion none of the other options have been allowed to compete fairly. A couple are getting close and the day your statemenet is actually true ill happily do as you say.

 

[duwenbasden]

Okay fine, but if I am force-fed an update, you are not allowed to ask me to restart my computer more than once per week. I am sure company Accounting loves it when my timesheet has a 0.5 hour "Windows updates restarted my computer again" entry in it.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Lubuntu is probably one of the better (x)buntus for gaming because it's so light weight. For games with natives for platform it's really good, I mean so long as there is a Linux port, or the game is naturally cross compatible like say FTL. You'll need WINE to run windows games on it otherwise, which is fine so long as you have a powerful enough computer usually, but there are always going to be problems you'll need to fix first. Mostly just downloading dependencies, which front ends like PlayOnLinux and utilities like Winetricks help with. Though you'll notice far lower performance playing windows games on any Linux with WINE.

That said, you can always dual boot, which is my plan as soon as I can get a Windows 7 OEM. Linux is better for most everything, save windows for exclusive programs and games.

Edit: One thing to watch out for with Linux is proprietary drivers, as both video card makers have holes in their support for some model series of cards, or specific GPUs. Also Nvidia cards will have a much easier time of it than AMD/ATi cards will, as Nvidia makes better Linux drivers generally speaking, while AMD's are garbage.

I am going to wholeheartedly second this. I'm running Lubuntu alongside Windows 8 and I'm a big fan of it. It requires some tweaking to get it doing everything you want but it's really customizable. I'm enjoying it considerably more since I got the window snapping working in it.

But yeah, it's really lightweight and what games work on it tend to run a good deal smoother on Lubuntu. However, strangely, I've noticed that it has a higher battery consumption. Don't ask me why.

 

[MysticSlayer]

It pleases me , every screw up and mistake every inconvenience its all baby steps to the day were willing to trash windows and use something else , then as one we can turn around and give M$ the finger for the 20 year ass fucking.

Nobody's forcing you to use windows now, or ever. There are other Operating Systems, why don't you just use them instead of complaining?

Unfortunately thats not true is it? over the last two decades of monopoly abuse , under handed to down right illegal practices theft and coercion none of the other options have been allowed to compete fairly. A couple are getting close and the day your statemenet is actually true ill happily do as you say.

Yeah, I've run into plenty of situations where I'm forced to used to Windows. My choice for years has been to use Mac, and that recently changed over to using Linux. While both of these are all I need about 95% of the time, there always seems to be a catch at some point where I'm forced to Windows for something.

Now, maybe to the Windows user, we have choice, but that's just ignorance (in fact, that's basically what one of my professors who unintentionally forced us to use Windows said). You're never going to understand just how little choice there is at times until only one choice is provided and it isn't the one you wanted, and Windows users simply don't have to deal with this. And while I will say that both Mac and Linux are at a point where they can serve a vast majority of people's needs just fine, they definitely aren't at a point where a person can choose them while also ditching Windows all together.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I haven't updated my Windows 8 in over a year now. Wanna know why? Because last time I did so it completely broke my PC down for two weeks, cost me a hundred dollars, and I had to completely reinstall Windows and all of my other applications.

If you couldn't guess, I'm very against forced-updating. I'm already pissed that they hid the update options so deep in your computer you need a map and torch to find it. Forcing me no matter what to update can just fuck the right off.

Word.

Microsoft wants to own us, basically. They wanted that for years. Everything they have ever done was try to control users. Remember their original Xbone reveal? It was just that. Another attempt at controlling every single aspect of user experience. They don't want us to make any decisions on our own. They keep making that abundantly clear over and over again, and I'm sick of it.

They're forcing updates on users knowing that they might fuck up our PC's just so they could test those updates and release fixed ones for businesses. So we're essentially guinea pigs for them. It's a shitty way to do things. There's no fuckin' way that I'm relinquishing control over my machine to Microsoft.

I read the links. I understand there won't be an option in Automatic/Windows update to forgo getting updates in the Home version of Windows 10. However, everything component of Windows has an associated service, and by disabling the service, you stop the component from running. You can type "services.msc" in the run command to view and change any services even in Windows 8. I don't see why you would not be able to simply disable the update service to not get updates in Windows 10. That's one of the 1st things I did with XP and Win7 as Windows really doesn't use that many resources when you disable all the shit you don't need.

Only if the service is standalone. If I was an evil fuck like those guys at Microsoft, I'd make sure that you can't disable Windows Update because it's tied to a mandatory service that either can't be stopped or if it stopped, the PC won't work properly.

 

[Olas]

It pleases me , every screw up and mistake every inconvenience its all baby steps to the day were willing to trash windows and use something else , then as one we can turn around and give M$ the finger for the 20 year ass fucking.

Nobody's forcing you to use windows now, or ever. There are other Operating Systems, why don't you just use them instead of complaining?

Unfortunately thats not true is it? over the last two decades of monopoly abuse , under handed to down right illegal practices

Citation please? What illegal practices? I'm not saying you're wrong, but that's a pretty bold accusation to make without being specific.

theft

Of what?

and coercion

In what manner?

none of the other options have been allowed to compete fairly.

How are they not being allowed to compete? Who's preventing them from competing and why?

A couple are getting close and the day your statemenet is actually true ill happily do as you say.

So are you saying Windows is better than Mac and Linux? Either it's the best operating system that exists, or there's a better one you can use. Either way you have no reason to complain about it.

 

[Olas]

It pleases me , every screw up and mistake every inconvenience its all baby steps to the day were willing to trash windows and use something else , then as one we can turn around and give M$ the finger for the 20 year ass fucking.

Nobody's forcing you to use windows now, or ever. There are other Operating Systems, why don't you just use them instead of complaining?

Unfortunately thats not true is it? over the last two decades of monopoly abuse , under handed to down right illegal practices theft and coercion none of the other options have been allowed to compete fairly. A couple are getting close and the day your statemenet is actually true ill happily do as you say.

Yeah, I've run into plenty of situations where I'm forced to used to Windows. My choice for years has been to use Mac, and that recently changed over to using Linux. While both of these are all I need about 95% of the time, there always seems to be a catch at some point where I'm forced to Windows for something.

Now, maybe to the Windows user, we have choice, but that's just ignorance (in fact, that's basically what one of my professors who unintentionally forced us to use Windows said). You're never going to understand just how little choice there is at times until only one choice is provided and it isn't the one you wanted, and Windows users simply don't have to deal with this. And while I will say that both Mac and Linux are at a point where they can serve a vast majority of people's needs just fine, they definitely aren't at a point where a person can choose them while also ditching Windows all together.

My school district used Macs exclusively all throughout middle school and high school. I hate Macs. But it was the hand I was dealt and I made due. Any situation where people aren't given options, some people are going to be unhappy. I'm not ignorant of what it's like, but I'm also not going to direct my anger at Apple for it.

 

[MysticSlayer]

My school district used Macs exclusively all throughout middle school and high school. I hate Macs. But it was the hand I was dealt and I made due. Any situation where people aren't given options, some people are going to be unhappy. I'm not ignorant of what it's like, but I'm also not going to direct my anger at Apple for it.

I don't think Microsoft deserves all the blame. A lot of it definitely gets put on the people that don't give the option. It's like I told one of my professors, "The fact that you can, in 2015, expect every student to be running Windows baffles me. The fact that you walked in on the first day of class, saw that 1/4 of the people had Macs, and expected everyone to be running Windows baffles me more." Furthermore, in at least one case, it wasn't even a Microsoft program.

However, at the same time, I won't fault people for directing anger at Microsoft. Did Microsoft have to spend the last couple decades setting things up so that so many of their products were so tied down to Windows that it essentially forced people to use it? No, they didn't. That's what they chose to do, and now people who don't want to use Windows are paying for it. It's the same issue with Apple, and I'm not going to fault someone for being angry at Apple for those decisions, despite the fact I've mostly enjoyed my own experiences with Apple products. It's the same reason I wouldn't fault someone for not liking Google for essentially monopolizing so much of how we use the Internet.

But to give credit to Microsoft where it is due, they do seem to be opening up. Azure doesn't force people to use Windows and even now has an approximately 20% Linux userbase. Microsoft Office is now available to anyone with Office Online, and Visual Studio Code actually released for more than just Windows (granted, it's still yet to be seen if Visual Studio itself will ever be available beyond Windows). Microsoft has also begun to invest some time, money, and knowledge into open source projects and recently made the .NET Core open source. And these are just things that affect me very directly with my own work.

Sure, Microsoft can still do more, but they seem to be at least moving in a more open direction. And despite the fact that it may be that they're just following the Apple and Google routes (though more Google's methods) of getting you into their ecosystem so heavily you have trouble leaving, I, personally, would call it a step in the right direction.