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Microsoft backtracks on forced automatic updates in Windows 10

Windows 10 has been out for a couple of days now but ever since the insider preview days there has been something putting quite a few people off. With Windows 10, all updates are automatic and you can't select which ones you do and don't want to install.

However, following a few recent issues with driver conflicts, Microsoft has gone ahead and released a tool to allow you to block certain updates that may cause issues. The tool also allows you to uninstall specific updates that may have caused things to go wrong on your system.

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With this tool, users will be able to avoid automatic driver updates, which is great for users who like to sort that stuff out themselves, particularly for GPUs.

As we have seen in older versions of Windows, the tool gives you a checklist of updates, you can then choose to hide specific updates which will prevent them from ever installing. If you ever want to uncheck an update and have it install, then you can go back through your hidden updates at any time. The downside to this is every time there is a new GPU driver, you will need to go back in to the tool and tell Microsoft to not install it again.

The tool isn't a native part of the OS, which it probably should be, but you can download the tool for yourself, HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: We have had a few readers coming to us to discuss their distaste for Microsoft's new approach to forced automatic updates. However, after seeing the problems it could cause for advanced users, Microsoft has now backtracked a little bit and provided a tool for those who need it. Personally, I prefer to handle all of my GPU driver updates myself so this will come in handy. Have any of you upgraded to Windows 10 yet? Has the automatic update system been putting you off? 

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12 comments

  1. Thank you for the information. Windows kept downloading Intel HD Graphics drivers and it was causing me to be unable to get to the desktop because of conflicting drivers. I would have to boot up in safe mode and use driver uninstaller to remove the intel driver just to be able to use my pc again.

  2. I live out in the middle of nowhere so my internet access is limited to ViaSat Exede which means my internet is limited to 10GB a month except from 12:00 am to 5:00 am. I always scheduled my updates to download and install during this unmetered time period. Now it looks like I can’t schedule updates to take place during specific times so I will not be installing Windows 10 on anything but one Windows 7 device.

  3. that tool launched prior to windows 10 launch. I used it almost 2 weeks ago.

  4. Mārtiņš Kaktīts

    It installed the latest Dell Touch-pad drivers against my will. That is, I didnt want the latest drivers/ software because, in the latest, the three finger flick (swipe left to go page back) is replaced by “switch between active windows” or something like that. I dont want that, I want to be able to go back and foward with 3 finger swipe, so I kept installing older version. This seems to be working. Thanks 🙂

  5. Still solves nothing for online gamers. It causes lag while downloading updates. This is absolute crap. Rolled back, and microdouches can keep their Junky windows 10.

  6. I was just about to say the same thing. I’m not sure how that can be classed as backtracking?

  7. They aren’t backtracking on anything. This tool only works for updates that are about to be downloaded. You would have to know ahead of time if it was going to download something you didn’t want. What we need is an option to make it not install drivers for devices that already have a driver installed. I want to be able to, for example, plug in a new printer, and have it download a driver for that, but not have it overwrite my GPU driver when it downloads updates.

  8. The realtek audio driver stops my pc from using both speaker ports at the same time, so i kept trying to install the windows audio driver, but it kept updating again, was pissing me off so much til i found that tool.

  9. You can uninstall the driver using the tool as well then block it.

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  11. I don’t see anything about uninstalling drivers with the tool. When I run it it just shows a list of updates that are ready to download and asks which ones I want to block.

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