Is there a way to stop windows builds from updating

[MoonlightSylv]

Windows Sets has been removed from the most recent insider build but I'd like to keep it. Is there a way to prevent my computer from updating builds?

[Sir Asvald]

I turned off Windows Update completely. Not the safest. But Stops me from getting my PC messed. I have to reinstall windows twice because it got messed up

[MoonlightSylv]

1 minute ago, Abdul201588 said:

I turned off Windows Update completely. Not the safest. But Stops me from getting my PC messed. I have to reinstall windows twice because it got messed up

You gotta link to the guide or something?

[Frankenburger]

Go into your services menu and disable the Windows Update service.

[Sir Asvald]

2 minutes ago, Sylvie05 said:

You gotta link to the guide or something?

Search services, then locate "Windows update" right click it and disable it

[MoonlightSylv]

3 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

Go into your services menu and disable the Windows Update service.

Is that all you have to do? Completely disables it?

[Frankenburger]

2 minutes ago, Sylvie05 said:

Is that all you have to do? Completely disables it?

Yep yep. Keep in mind it also disables your computer's ability to automatically install drivers, but yes, it will completely stop Windows from updating without your permission.

[Sir Asvald]

5 minutes ago, Sylvie05 said:

Is that all you have to do? Completely disables it?

Yes. Just that.  

[Delicieuxz]

47 minutes ago, Abdul201588 said:

I turned off Windows Update completely. Not the safest. But Stops me from getting my PC messed. I have to reinstall windows twice because it got messed up

The same happened to me: Twice in a row, the large feature updates for Windows 10 completely broke the system, making me have to completely re-install anything.

 

Microsoft fired many thousands of their testing engineers since Satya Nadella became Microsoft's CEO in 2015, and Microsoft simply doesn't have the personnel or skill-pool to produce quality and robust designs and releases anymore. Things are so bad that people are more at risk of having their PCs and Windows damaged due to Microsoft's updates than they are from viruses and malware. Actually, there's not all that great a distinction between Microsoft updates and viruses and malware, these days.

 

Having Windows Update running in Windows 10 is like walking through a minefield without any protection: Sooner or later, something's going to go boom.

 

43 minutes ago, Abdul201588 said:

Search services, then locate "Windows update" right click it and disable it

Which version of Windows 10 are you running? Since build 1709, I think, the Windows Update service is intermittently reset by a scheduled task, which you also need to disable.

 

To disable the scheduled restarting of Windows Update, open Task Scheduler, then in the left-side panel in Task Scheduler, navigate to: Task Scheduler Library -> Microsoft -> Windows -> WindowsUpdate. Disable any scheduled tasks listed in the middle panel by right-clicking on them and then clicking Disable.

 

Also, you can more precisely edit or disable their trigger conditions by right-clicking on them and then clicking Properties for detailed configuration options.

[homeap5]

Delicieuxz solution may works or not - Microsoft has really good protections against disabling automatic updates and it's probably more complicated than just disabling scheduled tasks to made it works. There is also new service called "Windows Update Medic Service" and will be more and  more "update protections" every built.

 

Two services are obvious - Background Intelligent Transfer Service and Windows Update. But you can disable them only temporarly. When Microsoft wants, it enables them. People who recommend this method for disabling updates just thinks that they have control of their system, because Windows let them disable it. Wrong.

 

But there are service crucial for update that may stay disabled, because Windows doesn't check it, even when using their tool for check what is wrong with updates. It's "Windows Firewall" (in last builds - "Windows Defender Firewall"). Disabling it is not that easy, but possible. And you can switch to third party firewall like Comodo Firewall. Without built-in Windows Firewall, updates returns error. But keep in mind that without that service, you cannot install anything from Windows Store also.

 

Extra protection is to made your own task that disables BITS every time system enables it with 5 seconds delay (and after windows boots too).

 

And that should be enough for now. We will see in the future what changes.

 

You may also use third party software for blocking Windows Updates or change system settings. It may be even easier, since that software (for example StopWinUpdates) has on/off options, so you can revert your changes.

 

Of course I made updates, but I made them when I want, not when Microsoft wants. I work on my computer and have no time for wait until Windows finishes installing updates.

[Delicieuxz]

Here is a new guide that offers a method involving a local Windows account (the only type people should be using anyway to minimize, at least to some small degree, the amount of personal data that Microsoft harvests about them) to permanently disable Windows Update:

 

https://www.wintips.org/how-to-turn-off-windows-10-updates-permanently/

 

I think there is also a registry tweak that can be done to disable Windows Update.