I got an Email about this the other day with instructions
about how to stop windows 10 downloading into your PC
if you are not going to have it.
See below.
Mike.
Since June, Windows 8.1 and 7 users have had the chance to say ‘Yes’ to a free upgrade to
Windows 10. Via a little white Windows icon near the clock on the task-bar, you ‘reserve’ your
copy, and after a few days when the 3-6 GB of files have dribbled down to your PC, you’re told
you can now upgrade.
If you didn’t ‘reserve’ your copy and just ignored that icon, it’s reasonable to expect that none of
this would happen. But, it seems, Microsoft won’t take ‘No’ for an answer.
Apparently, any PC that’s eligible for the upgrade is getting it anyway.
Whatever you decided, the Windows Update system downloads that immense amount of data
and then starts prompting you to install Windows 10. And if you find and delete the folder containing
all that data? It just gets downloaded again!
This is disgraceful behaviour, and perhaps the outcry surrounding it will lead Microsoft to rethink it.
In the meantime, though, what can you do about it?
Well, if you plan to upgrade to Windows 10 sometime, it seems you’ll have to put up with it.
But if you’re certain that you’ll never upgrade, and you’re receiving regular prompts to do so,
you can follow the steps below to put an end to it:
Go to the Windows Update section of the Control Panel, choose Change settings and select
Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them, then click OK.
In the bottom-left corner, click on Installed Updates. Use the search box to find the two updates
responsible for this behaviour and uninstall each when you find it:
In Windows 8.1, find and uninstall KB3035583 and KB2976978.
In Windows 7, find and uninstall KB3035583 and KB2952664.
After uninstalling those updates and restarting your PC, go back to the Windows Update section of
Control Panel and click Check for updates.
Once the check is complete, click the blue words xx important updates are available to see the
list of updates waiting. You’ll find that the two updates you’ve just uninstalled are in the list, primed
to be installed again. For each of these two, remove the tick to its left and then right-click it and
choose Hide update. This tells Windows not to install those two unwanted updates again.
Click Cancel in this window to go back to the main Windows Update page.
Click Change settings and choose Install updates automatically (recommended), followed by OK.
Now close the Control Panel window.
In the steps above, we’ve got rid of the two updates that try to foist Windows 10 on you, and
prevented them from reappearing. Finally, we’ll get rid of the folder containing those 3-6 GB of
Windows 10 files (if they’ve arrived on your PC). Press Win+R and type cleanmgr, then press
Enter to start the Disk Cleanup program. After the program has scanned your hard disk and its main
window appears, click the Clean up system files button (and then wait while it scans your PC a
second time).
When the main window reappears, look through the Files to delete list. The one item that must be
ticked here is Temporary Windows installation files if you see it. (If you don’t see it, you can click
Cancel and you’re done.) For our purposes, I’d suggest removing the ticks from everything else.
Finally, click OK and those unwanted Windows 10 files will be deleted, regaining you several
gigabytes of disk space.
Remember – it’s best to follow these steps only if you’re positive you’ll never want to upgrade to
Windows 10. Although the steps can be reversed (by ‘unhiding’ the two updates we hid earlier,
allowing them to be installed again), it’s a bit of a palaver.
about how to stop windows 10 downloading into your PC
if you are not going to have it.
See below.
Mike.
Since June, Windows 8.1 and 7 users have had the chance to say ‘Yes’ to a free upgrade to
Windows 10. Via a little white Windows icon near the clock on the task-bar, you ‘reserve’ your
copy, and after a few days when the 3-6 GB of files have dribbled down to your PC, you’re told
you can now upgrade.
If you didn’t ‘reserve’ your copy and just ignored that icon, it’s reasonable to expect that none of
this would happen. But, it seems, Microsoft won’t take ‘No’ for an answer.
Apparently, any PC that’s eligible for the upgrade is getting it anyway.
Whatever you decided, the Windows Update system downloads that immense amount of data
and then starts prompting you to install Windows 10. And if you find and delete the folder containing
all that data? It just gets downloaded again!
This is disgraceful behaviour, and perhaps the outcry surrounding it will lead Microsoft to rethink it.
In the meantime, though, what can you do about it?
Well, if you plan to upgrade to Windows 10 sometime, it seems you’ll have to put up with it.
But if you’re certain that you’ll never upgrade, and you’re receiving regular prompts to do so,
you can follow the steps below to put an end to it:
Go to the Windows Update section of the Control Panel, choose Change settings and select
Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them, then click OK.
In the bottom-left corner, click on Installed Updates. Use the search box to find the two updates
responsible for this behaviour and uninstall each when you find it:
In Windows 8.1, find and uninstall KB3035583 and KB2976978.
In Windows 7, find and uninstall KB3035583 and KB2952664.
After uninstalling those updates and restarting your PC, go back to the Windows Update section of
Control Panel and click Check for updates.
Once the check is complete, click the blue words xx important updates are available to see the
list of updates waiting. You’ll find that the two updates you’ve just uninstalled are in the list, primed
to be installed again. For each of these two, remove the tick to its left and then right-click it and
choose Hide update. This tells Windows not to install those two unwanted updates again.
Click Cancel in this window to go back to the main Windows Update page.
Click Change settings and choose Install updates automatically (recommended), followed by OK.
Now close the Control Panel window.
In the steps above, we’ve got rid of the two updates that try to foist Windows 10 on you, and
prevented them from reappearing. Finally, we’ll get rid of the folder containing those 3-6 GB of
Windows 10 files (if they’ve arrived on your PC). Press Win+R and type cleanmgr, then press
Enter to start the Disk Cleanup program. After the program has scanned your hard disk and its main
window appears, click the Clean up system files button (and then wait while it scans your PC a
second time).
When the main window reappears, look through the Files to delete list. The one item that must be
ticked here is Temporary Windows installation files if you see it. (If you don’t see it, you can click
Cancel and you’re done.) For our purposes, I’d suggest removing the ticks from everything else.
Finally, click OK and those unwanted Windows 10 files will be deleted, regaining you several
gigabytes of disk space.
Remember – it’s best to follow these steps only if you’re positive you’ll never want to upgrade to
Windows 10. Although the steps can be reversed (by ‘unhiding’ the two updates we hid earlier,
allowing them to be installed again), it’s a bit of a palaver.
