How to remove Windows 10 upgrade updates in Windows 7 and 8

[ThrashZone]

Unless this thread is locked I'll update my list here
My list is on the bottom I added 1 week ago and it's still accurate
Also keep in mind I only focus on the Important section I don't even look at the Optional section anymore
http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-...ade-updates-windows-7-8-a-53.html#post3174719

 

[bigmck]

Thanks for keeping the list for us.

 

[ThrashZone]

Some of those updates are not related to win-10.

 

[jadinolf]

Thanks for keeping the list for us.

 

[jelson]

just found 12 " important " updates listed. They were not there Yesterday but appeared now, dd 12 Th of January 2016, so two days late;

Thelma, I got the same ones (except the Visual C++ update). Here's what they are (sorted by number):

1. KB3126036 - Silverlight: stop remote exploit via malicious links

1. KB3108664 - stop elevation-of-privilege (EoP) attacks
2. KB3109560 - stop elevation-of-privilege (EoP) attacks
3. KB3110329 - stop elevation-of-privilege (EoP) attacks
4. KB3121212 - Kernel Security Update
5. KB3121918 - stop elevation-of-privilege (EoP) attacks
6. KB3123479 - Deprecation of SHA-1 hashing algorithm
7. KB3124000 - Kernel mode drivers Security Update
8. KB3124001 - Kernel mode drivers Security Update
9. KB3124275 - Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 11
10. KB890830 - Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - January 2016

I only got a single Win10-related one this month: KB2952664. Re-hid it once again.

 

[jelson]

Aug article updated on Jan 13: How to manage Windows 10 notification and upgrade options https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3080351

Has Micro$oft decided to be helpful...? Or, maybe... has it been embarrassed by GWX Control Panel?

In short, the article provides info (except item 4) that was provided months ago in the thread and elsewhere:

1). "manage the Windows 10 upgrade"

a). Automatically by installing KB3035583 and (KB3065987 / KB3065988)

b). Stopping it via​

• Group Policy: "Turn off the upgrade to the latest version of Windows through Windows Update."
• Registry: "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" | DWORD value: DisableOSUpgrade = 1

2). "Hide the Get Windows 10 app"

a). Automatically done on Enterprise/RT/Embedded editions of Windows 7/8/8.1

b). Suppressing it via registry: "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Gwx" | DWORD value: DisableGwx = 1​

3). "Enable the Get Windows 10 app." Instructions include creation of a scheduled Task to

• "determine whether your device meets all the prerequisites" (checks for installation of KB3035583 and (KB3065987 / KB3065988),
• "and then it will turn on the Get Windows 10 app as appropriate." (deletes "DisableGwx” registry key)

4). "How to bypass the Unattend screen in Windows 8.1 Update" that runs when KB3065988 is installed:

Instructions given for modifying the "Unattend.xml file" that causes the system prompts users to reserve a copy of Windows 10 as part of the OOBE process that occurs at the first startup cycle."​

 

[jelson]

FYI, on Jan. 11, Woody Leonard posted a highly interesting article: How 'Get Windows 10' sets its hooks into Windows 7 and 8.1 (link)

It takes a look at some of the things the notorious KB3035583 update does behind the scenes. Especially noteworthy are 7 processes set to run by Task Scheduler. Of particular interest, Woody reports on what the creator of GWX Control Panel has discovered:

Mayfield found that the DisableGWX Registry entry merely prevents the Get Windows 10 icon in the system tray from appearing. "Having this entry in place does not prevent the KB 3035583 patch from being installed, and it doesn't prevent the other background tasks associated with the patch from running."

More damning, Mayfield found that the refreshgwxconfig-B task resets the AllowOSUpgrade setting every time it runs. ....

Most damning: Uninstalling KB 3035583 doesn't uninstall any of the files in the GWX folder or remove the scheduled tasks. Uninstalling it merely rolls you back to an earlier version of KB 3035583.

In short, I've never seen such a robust "Potentially Unwanted Program."

This underscores a point that a poster here attempted to communicate back in Nov. To wit:

I was simply attempting to highlight the potential problem with removing all of those Windows Update Clients AND depending on that GPO setting. As you mentioned, there have been posts where people had various registry settings* and yet they had W10 ready to install. ....

*that GPO is just another registry setting.

Little wonder then that M$ just published an article (see my previous post) on "managing" Windows 10 Upgrade which suggests it's sufficient to set the "DisableGWX" registry key.

Smells like nothing more than PR to me. Color me "shocked"... NOT

 

[UsernameIssues]

jelson,

"I looked at installation of KB 3035583 on brand-spanking-new Windows 7 SP1..."

"Then I ran exactly one update -- KB 3035583 -- on all of the PCs."

"Uninstalling KB 3035583 doesn't uninstall any of the files in the GWX folder or remove the scheduled tasks. Uninstalling it merely rolls you back to an earlier version of KB 3035583."

Those statements must not apply to the same W7 computer. I don't see how the term "roll back" can be applied to a computer that only has one version of KB3035583 installed. It would have been nice if Woody Leonard would have mentioned where he saw this older version KB3035583 (e.g. in the list of installed updates).

When I attempted to duplicate Woody Leonard's findings on a fresh install of W7 pro 64bit SP1, uninstalling KB3035583 DID remove the windows\system32\GWX folder AND all of the scheduled tasks that Woody Leonard mentioned.


Also, Woody Leonard states that he applied four registry settings...

I looked at installation of KB 3035583 on brand-spanking-new Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 Update 1 PCs. I adjusted the Registry settings as prescribed on fresh installs of Home and Pro. Then I ran exactly one update -- KB 3035583 -- on all of the PCs. Sure enough, the Get Windows 10 icon didn't appear in the system tray, but all of the Get Windows 10 accoutrements (described below) are installed and fully functional.

...but did not install the updates that actually read some of those settings.

For example, how would you expect DisableOSUpgrade to do anything if KB3080351 is not installed?

This was the point that I was making in the post where you quoted me: "I was simply attempting to highlight the potential problem with removing all of those Windows Update Clients AND depending on that GPO setting."


Edit:
It would have been nice if Woody Leonard had mentioned where he got KB3035583 from. If it came from the Windows Update process, then what version of the Windows Update Agent/Client was installed at the time? W7/SP1 will not update until you update the WU Agent/Client:



The image below is from a previous post of mine.

That Windows Update Agent seems to be pre-SP1 ("7600"). The Windows Update software is now called the Windows Update Client. Many people hoping to avoid all things related to W10 and telemetry are not installing any of the newer versions of the WU Client. MS can install any update to that WU Client without any user approval/interaction.

 

[jelson]

jelson, ....
Also, Woody Leonard states that he applied four registry settings...

I looked at installation of KB 3035583 on brand-spanking-new Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 Update 1 PCs. I adjusted the Registry settings as prescribed on fresh installs of Home and Pro. Then I ran exactly one update -- KB 3035583 -- on all of the PCs. Sure enough, the Get Windows 10 icon didn't appear in the system tray, but all of the Get Windows 10 accoutrements (described below) are installed and fully functional.

...but did not install the updates that actually read those settings.

For example, how would you expect DisableOSUpgrade to do anything if KB3080351 is not installed?

This was the point that I was making in the post where you quoted me: "I was simply attempting to highlight the potential problem with removing all of those Windows Update Clients AND depending on that GPO setting."

Yep... I immediately thought of your previous posts when I read the article.


P.S. Thanks for sharing your research on the claims in the Woody article. Perhaps, you might consider posting what your found in the article's Comments.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Thrashzone -- I have your list of Updates above to avoid, but is there a running list anywhere that adds to the list if new ones are issued by Microsoft?

I asked the same when I joined the thread and the answer was no. Many have posted their own list of hidden updates but these generally include KBs which were not installed for reasons other than Win 10 and telemetry.

These are on everyone's list:

KB 3035583 - According to Microsoft, this update enables "additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications when new updates are available".

KB3068708 - Described as "This update introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to existing devices. By applying this service, you can add benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights."

KB3075249 - Described as "This article describes an update that adds telemetry points to consent.exe in Windows 8.1 Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1." Consent.exe is the User Account Control (UAC) feature that asks your approval for disk access.

KB3080149 - Described as "This package updates the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to existing devices.
This service provides benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet upgraded. The update
also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights."

KB 2952664 - Labeled a compatibility upgrade for upgrading Windows 7, its purpose is to "make improvements to the current operating system in order to ease the upgrade experience to the latest version of Windows".

KB 2976978 - A compatibility update for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 which "performs diagnostics on the Windows system [..] to determine whether compatibility issues may be encountered when the latest Windows operating system is installed.

KB 3021917 - Does the same as KB 2976978 but on Windows 7.

KB 3044374 - This update for Windows 8.1 enables systems to upgrade from the current operating system to a later version of Windows.

KB 2990214 - Does the same as KB 3044374 but on Windows 7.

KB 3022345 - Update to enable the Diagnostics Tracking Service in Windows (Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8

Every few pages someone will post their current lists, so if ya read last few pages you should get a decent idea of what others are not installing.

 

[jadinolf]

Thank you for this.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Looks like "Win anything but 10" will not be supported on Skylake and newer chips

Microsoft updates support policy: New CPUs will require Windows 10 | ZDNet

In today's blog post, Microsoft says it's seeing "unprecedented demand from our enterprise customers" in Windows 10.

The major "demand" seems to be MS demanding that everyone who doesn't want it install it anyway. And yet buy an OEM copy of say Win 7, it costs a lot more than Win10. So if 10 is so much better, why are they charging less for it ?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Looks like "Win anything but 10" will not be supported on Skylake and newer chips

Microsoft updates support policy: New CPUs will require Windows 10 | ZDNet

In today's blog post, Microsoft says it's seeing "unprecedented demand from our enterprise customers" in Windows 10.

The major "demand" seems to be MS demanding that everyone who doesn't want it install it anyway. And yet buy an OEM copy of say Win 7, it costs a lot more than Win10. So if 10 is so much better, why are they charging less for it ?

I just thought I was P.O.ed with M$py. Now, I'm furiously enraged with the miserable, misbegotten, no good for nothing, cotton pickin', stinkin', rotten, dirty, pieces of work! (Actually, my feelings are stronger but Mama and the TOS here told me not to use those words). I was looking forward to Skylake-e and it's reputed increased number of PCI-e lanes and SATA ports. I wonder if Skylake (Cloudlake, considering M$py's penchant for cloud computing?) will allow Win 7 to run in a Linux VM?

Nutella and his cretinous cronies can go south! I'll even provide the handbasket!

 

[groze]

Just a note the new cpu will also work with some Linux distro's for those that also use a Linux system

Early Intel Skylake Linux Users May Run Into A Silly Issue - Phoronix

 

[jelson]

.... Many have posted their own list of hidden updates but these generally include KBs which were not installed for reasons other than Win 10 and telemetry.

These are on everyone's list:

KB 3035583 ....
KB 3068708 ....
KB 3075249 ....
KB 3080149 ....
KB 2952664 ....
KB 2976978 .... / KB 3021917 ....
KB 3044374 .... / KB 2990214 ....
KB 3022345 ....
​

Every few pages someone will post their current lists, so if ya read last few pages you should get a decent idea of what others are not installing.

Nicely done! Your list has all the W10-related updates for Win7 that I've hidden except for

KB 3046480 (helps determine if .NET Framework 1.1 will be migrated during W10 Upgrade)
​

... yet it only lists the first of the Windows Update Client (WUC) updates: 3044374 & 2990214

I didn't document the Win 8/8.1 ones, but this is my list of all the Win7 WUC updates (I've hidden them all):

• KB 2990214 - Apr '15 - WUC: enables ability to upgrade to Win10
• KB 3050265 - Jun '15 - WUC: allows Group Policy to set "DisableOS Upgrade" key (replaces 2990214)
• KB 3065987 - Jul '15 - WUC: unspecified "improvements" (replaces 3050265)
• KB 3075851 - Aug '15 - WUC: fixes mess due to KB3065987 [cuts down WUC memory usage, but hides Update notifications if GWX app is active] (replaces 3065987)
• KB 3083324 - Sep '15 - WUC: unspecified "improvements" (replaces 3075851)
• KB 3083710 - Oct '15 - WUC: unspecified "improvements" (replaces 3083324)
• KB 3102810 - Nov '15 - WUC: fixes slow updates & high CPU usage (doesn't replace any previous updates)
• KB 3112343 Dec '15 WUC: fix for issues with 3050265, e.g., "8007000E" error message (doesn't replace any previous updates)

P.S. FYI, before I grew sufficiently wary of M$, I did install 2990214 and later 3075851. Later I uninstalled them and found that doing so cleared my WU history.

 

[UsernameIssues]

KB 3112343 Dec '15 WUC: fix for issues with 3050265, e.g., "8007000E" error message (doesn't replace any previous updates)

I understand that the website that you linked to states...
"This update doesn't replace a previously released update."
...but Windows Update Catalog states that it does:



Also, the list of files that are updated indicates that it replaces previous WUCs.

 

[jelson]

KB 3112343 Dec '15 WUC: fix for issues with 3050265, e.g., "8007000E" error message (doesn't replace any previous updates)

I understand that the website that you linked to states...
"This update doesn't replace a previously released update."
...but Windows Update Catalog states that it does:

Also, the list of files that are updated indicates that it replaces previous WUCs.

Hahahaha... just goes to show that Microsoft's descriptions of their updates leaves something to be desired.

BTW, thanks for pointing to a way to check which updates are being replaced... but it appears I'd need to be using "XP or Windows Server 2003 and later" to access the Microsoft Update Catalog site.

 

[UsernameIssues]

IE11 on W7 should work with the Windows Update Catalog. That is what I'm using to get there.

 

[neru]

Looks like "Win anything but 10" will not be supported on Skylake and newer chips

Microsoft updates support policy: New CPUs will require Windows 10 | ZDNet

In today's blog post, Microsoft says it's seeing "unprecedented demand from our enterprise customers" in Windows 10.

The major "demand" seems to be MS demanding that everyone who doesn't want it install it anyway. And yet buy an OEM copy of say Win 7, it costs a lot more than Win10. So if 10 is so much better, why are they charging less for it ?

I'm guessing the 'demand' is M$ demanding to the makers that newer chips only work with Win10 and nothing else. :sarc:

 

[jelson]

IE11 on W7 should work with the Windows Update Catalog. That is what I'm using to get there.

Thanks... working for me now in IE11 Much obliged.