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So ever since the early days of Windows 10, I had found one way to stop the forced updates was to DISABLE the Windows Update Service in SERVICES. But now, on some computers that I have done this to, for other people, somehow that setting has been changed and various updates of Windows 10 have been applied. I am fairly certain these folks did not go into Services and change it themselves. What is going on? Also, I just setup a new Win 10 laptop and despite Disabling Windows Update Service, after removing several "Metro Apps" after every 2nd or 3rd reboot, Windows is attempting to reinstall these. Drawboard PDF, MSN News, Plex, Spotify. How can I stop this for good? Also, it seems with Windows 10 Update Service disabled, the computer will no longer do the Windows Defender update, even when launched from within the user interface. My blood is boiling over the incessant tinkering Microsoft is doing to Windows 10.

So I was helping someone with a new computer, Windows 10 V. 1709 B 16299.19. I am SO FRIGGIN ANGRY and ready to go to Redmond and go postal on MS Execs. It seems they have TOTALLY SCREWED up the Default Programs by Application. Instead of the familiar screen where when you click an program, Word 2013 or Adobe Acrobat, etc., it would show it has X defaults out of X possible. Now when you click you can only click MANAGE and then you have to set it for each file type you want that program to be the default. There is no longer a button to "Set this program as default" where the one click makes it the default for all types of files it can support. What the h311 is going on at Microsoft??? Why are they constantly allowing their programmers to make any STUPID change they feel like???

Qui-Gon John wrote:So I was helping someone with a new computer, Windows 10 V. 1709 B 16299.19. I am SO FRIGGIN ANGRY and ready to go to Redmond and go postal on MS Execs. It seems they have TOTALLY SCREWED up the Default Programs by Application. Instead of the familiar screen where when you click an program, Word 2013 or Adobe Acrobat, etc., it would show it has X defaults out of X possible. Now when you click you can only click MANAGE and then you have to set it for each file type you want that program to be the default. There is no longer a button to "Set this program as default" where the one click makes it the default for all types of files it can support. What the h311 is going on at Microsoft??? Why are they constantly allowing their programmers to make any STUPID change they feel like???

Hey, Did you try this programs?
I think best out there!

https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10
https://github.com/Nummer/Destroy-Windo ... g/releases

Maybe Windows 10 Updated through P2P over your network, i dont know if P2P is effected when you disable Windows 10 Update Service.
Everytime you run an Update Offline or... Windows Update goes back Online and some Telemetry Services go back active.

Best thing to do is,
Fresh Windows Install, first time login make sure there is no Internet Connection ( Unplug Lan Cable ) then run these Programs to disable every Microsoft Update Services! Should work!

Greetings St1cky

John, all that I can say is registry. It would be long and exhaustive...

If you do play in registry, be very careful as you can really mess things up. I don't recommend it...

Ken, I have done a lot in the registry on various issues, so I know to play it safe. But aside from that, I am not sure how your post can help me. Perhaps PM with more detail?

I forget the path and item but force enable metered connection on a wired network connection and it'll stop doing updates. It should be easily google-able.

Qui-Gon John wrote:So I was helping someone with a new computer, Windows 10 V. 1709 B 16299.19. I am SO FRIGGIN ANGRY and ready to go to Redmond and go postal on MS Execs. It seems they have TOTALLY SCREWED up the Default Programs by Application. Instead of the familiar screen where when you click an program, Word 2013 or Adobe Acrobat, etc., it would show it has X defaults out of X possible. Now when you click you can only click MANAGE and then you have to set it for each file type you want that program to be the default. There is no longer a button to "Set this program as default" where the one click makes it the default for all types of files it can support. What the h311 is going on at Microsoft??? Why are they constantly allowing their programmers to make any STUPID change they feel like???

There is..in search type "defaults" and it'll bring up the Default Apps section under Settings.

I have gone into it from various methods, typing Default Apps, as you state also thru contol panel. I am not talking about the first screen you get when you type default apps in the search box, (which does not have all apps, from what I've seen). But rather if you then click the link at the bottom that says "Set defaults by App". Once there, that is the screen where the functionality has been drastically reduced. I even tried it an additional time, before I clicked SUBMIT on my OP, just to be sure of what I was seeing. It is in the second picture that I am complaining about. The line that says "This program has all of it's defaults" and "Set this program as default" are missing in the version of Windows 10 I mentioned.

There is a trend to simplify user choices and generally dumb-down the OS. That said, setting a program as default for "all the types of files it can open" seems ambiguous and not necessarily an OS task. I can understand if the OS knows about MS products, but I doubt it can correctly guess it for any app.

Just saying, the second pic I put is how it used to be, and has been for ages. Don't see that taking this option away is an improvement, rather a step backwards. Programmer run amok.

I'm still not getting what you're after. If you click Defaults...which brings up that first screenshot on your left, and you scroll to the bottom, you have those 3x links there...File Type, Protocol, or Apps...the Type or Apps always do what I've needed, they seem equiv to earlier versions to me. If you select by App...scroll to your app..click it...brings out a button that says Manage...from there, all the deets such as file extensions. I usually do File Type...which is the similar interface to be as earlier Windows versions (just larger in the Win10 fashion).

With this latest change, when you click "Set Defaults by App" you get a screen something like the second one, but it no longer has the line that says "This program has all of it's defaults" and "Set this program as default". Yes, you now get MANAGE by the specific APP and then all the various file extensions. If you want to change things you have to do it for each file extension. It should at least have an option here to "Set this program as default for all extensions" or something similar. Plus the line that says "This program has all of it's defaults" OR "This program has 11 of 13 defaults" made it real easy, at a glance to see the default status of the selected app/program.

Does anyone know of a utility you can install that would block/stop Windows 10 from doing updates unless you say OK? I had found you can DISABLE the Windows Update Service, But there is another service called something like Windows Update Remediation, which I have not been able to DISABLE. That one must somehow override the user manually disabling the Windows Update Service, turn it back on, and once again, updates start, with all the associated headaches.

There's a "Pause updates" for up to 35 days under advanced section, I think more of that got revealed with the latest 1903 update.
IMO 35 days is long enough, more than that, users would just never do any updates at all and that puts the computers at high risk...just not smart.

YOS, I'd agree with you if the updates only beefed up protection issues, from hacks, viruses, malwares, etc. Unfortunately though, Microsoft has decided their updates are 90% fluff, new games or apps they want you to see, changes in how things work, (like the many changes to Windows Defender from when 10 first debuted until now), etc.

I found something online called Windows Update Blocker and plan to try it out. Apparently it also lets you disable Windows Update Medic, which hopefully will totally block Windows Updates.

Qui-Gon John wrote: Unfortunately though, Microsoft has decided their updates are 90% fluff, new games or apps they want you to see, .

I view it differently, I see them as great improvements with each version...IMO the features being released aren't 90% fluff and games, rather good useful features.
1903 brought with it a cool sandbox feature (basically replacement for virtual machine). Also some nice theme changes, and finally Cortana and Search got a divorce (they're separate now).
Prior update, 1809, brought some neat auto deployment features ala Autopilot...for us sys admin guys. Also added better BitLocker centralized management...very key for us sysadmins. I know you didn't like the changes to Defender..but most of the IT industry did, especially the improved sandboxing of browsers in how Defender managed it.
1803 brought a lot of changes to how Defender worked...but those changes were important for keeping up with todays threats. There's a reason Defender climbed back up towards the top of antivirus testing....as it had fallen down substantially a few years ago in its effectiveness, turning into a joke. 1803 brought it back to a seriously good built in product!

The games and apps are minimal, and most of us IT guys use a powershell script to quickly/easily run when unbuckling and deploying workstations that kills those right off the bat and prevents them from coming back.
**********************************
Run Windows Powershell (as Adminitrator)



To uninstall CandyCrush:
get-appxpackage -allusers *CandyCrushSaga* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall CandyCrush and all other games King.com:
get-appxpackage -allusers *king.com* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Calendar and Mail apps together:
get-appxpackage -allusers *communicationsapps* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Office Desktop:
get-appxpackage -allusers *office* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Get Office:
get-appxpackage -allusers *officehub* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Get Skype:
get-appxpackage -allusers *skypeapp* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Groove Music:
get-appxpackage -allusers *zunemusic* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Groove Music and Movies & TV apps together:
get-appxpackage -allusers *zune* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Messaging and Skype Video apps together:
get-appxpackage -allusers *messaging* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Money:
get-appxpackage -allusers *bingfinance* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Money, News, Sports and Weather apps together:
get-appxpackage -allusers *bing* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Movies & TV:
get-appxpackage -allusers *zunevideo* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall News:
get-appxpackage -allusers *bingnews* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall OneNote:
get-appxpackage -allusers *onenote* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall People:
get-appxpackage -allusers *people* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Phone:
get-appxpackage -allusers *commsphone* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Phone Companion:
get-appxpackage -allusers *windowsphone* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Phone and Phone Companion apps together:
get-appxpackage -allusers *phone* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Sports:
get-appxpackage -allusers *bingsports* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Sway:
get-appxpackage -allusers *sway* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Weather:
get-appxpackage -allusers *bingweather* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Windows Store: (Be very careful!)
get-appxpackage -allusers *windowsstore* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Xbox:
get-appxpackage -allusers *xbox* | remove-appxpackage



(Block Furtur Installs for new accounts):
Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage –online


Retore All Apps
Get-AppxPackage -allusers | foreach {Add-AppxPackage -register "$($_.InstallLocation)\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode}

Thanks for the long list of uninstall helpers. But I guess my point is, we shouldn't get all this dumped on us and then turn around and have to uninstall it. As to Windows Defender, I still think they could have made a lot of the good, protective changes, in the background and left the UI alone. It was really best as Microsoft Security Essentials, where the Scan Scheduler was contained right in the UI. You could easily choose, Quick, Full or Custom and run it on your own time-table. Somewhere along the way they also changed the UI for DEFAULT PROGRAMS, taking away the link that let you set, with one-click, all of a given program to get it's defaults. Now you have to click MANAGE and choose from a long list, setting each one, (if they are not already set).

To answer the original question, there is more than one way to prevent updates.. each one should work, but you can try multiple ones, as follows:

1) Stop the Windows Update service (seems you've done that)

2) Change the setting in the Group Policy Editor (Pro versions)
gpedit.msc > "Computer Configuration" > "Administrative Templates" > "Windows Components" > "Windows Update", double-click "Configure Automatic Updates", select "Disabled", Apply/OK.

3) Set your internet connection as "Metered", this would prevent updates:
Settings icon by the start button > "Network and Internet" > click on "Change Connection Properties" > enable "Metered connection"

4) Edit the Registry
regedit > navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows , create a new key "WindowsUpdate", create a new key under it called "AU", create a 32-bit DWORD under it called "AUOptions", set it's value to 2.



There is a bit more detailed info in the FAQ section here: https://www.speedguide.net/faq/how-to-s ... pdates-499