Guide – Block 10 Windows updates on your corporate network (and also at home) – ZDNet France

Microsoft wants you to Windows version montiez 10. Really, the publisher takes very, very, very hard to ensure you
Windows 10.

We are almost half of the year in which the publisher provides users of Windows 7 and 8.1 to have free Windows 10. And as the months pass, Microsoft still shows more insistent.

Personally, I think Microsoft has done a good job with Windows 10 and I recommend consumers to make the update. The OS is actually significantly more secure than Windows 7, with features such as Secure Boot, encryption of the terminal and the integrated anti-virus software, not to mention the dozens of changes in architecture. Windows 10 also overcomes most complaints (justified) of the users vis-à-vis the Windows Start menu 8.x

But some people have legitimate reasons for not wanting migrate to Windows 10 and continue to use a previous version of Windows still in support. For these, the continual update notifications are a nuisance.

And some systems, you will find Windows 10 on standby in Windows Update. This is useful if you want to upgrade, but boring otherwise (no, the OS will not be installed automatically, but the installation process could begin.)

I would have been very pleased that Microsoft is a less unpleasant way to push the Windows Update 10. Even something like a return button in 30 days would be a step forward compared to the current notifications.

But until Microsoft decides to integrate possibly, here’s how you can stop these invitations. The procedure takes 30 seconds and involves two simple changes to the registry. No need for third party software that is not trusted, what most do not recommend security experts. If you are an IT professional or consultant managing a fleet of PCs in a small business, you can also automate the process, as I explain in this article.

Accuracy : none of these procedures does not apply to Microsoft’s corporate customers. If your company has Windows 7 or 8.1 Enterprise, offering updated and the associated icon “Get Windows 10″ (GWX) do not exist. This is also true for Windows machines 7 Professional or Pro 8.1 connected to a domain.

For non connected to a Windows domain companies, or for home users not willing or unwilling migrating to Windows 10, the following two changes to apply

(Note:.. Editing the registry is not for beginners If you are not comfortable with the is to directly modify the registry, then you should not open Regedit. At the end of this post, I’ve included links to .reg files that you can use instead.)

First step: disable automatic updates via Windows Update. To perform this task, you must navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsUpdateOSUpgrade

Trouvez the value “AllowOSUpgrade” and change there in the from 1-0 (if the key does not exist, you must create it as a DWORD key. If this statement seems incomprehensible to you, then you probably should not use Regedit .)

Here is what it looks like:

Second step: doing away with the GWX icon, and his nagging notifications and task bar. To do so, you must create the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Policies Microsoft Windows GWX

Then , create a DWORD value under the name DisableGWX. The number to associate with this value is 1 (see image below):

After restarting your computer, the GWX icon should be gone. I tested this procedure on multiple Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 systems without experiencing any problems.

You can automate the process by saving changes to the registry files in you can run from an account with administrator rights

This is the first file, I registered as DisallowOSUpgrades.reg.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion WindowsUpdate OSUpgrade]
” AllowOSUpgrade “= dword: 00000000
” ReservationsAllowed “= dword: 00000000
[- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsUpdateOSUpgradeState]

Ce file contains some additional settings that are probably not necessary but might be useful

The second file is DisableGWX.reg.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Policies Microsoft Windows GWX]
“DisableGWX” = dword: 00000001

Both files are available at this address. These are text files. So you can examine them before executing them. . Download these files and run them in Administrator

If you experience any difficulties, you can send me the details at: gwx@realworldwindows.com. I can not guarantee you an answer, but I promise to read all returns.