Windows update - simply annoying

Now I know the meaning of the name of the microsoft founder.
The last update of win10 opens all “gates” again and you have to close it step by step to maintain a clean system for music applications. In addition you have to type in serial numbers of cantabile3 and plugins again and check all other settings.
It is simply annoying.

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I hear you Ulrich …

The latest version 1803 update has caused great consternation for all my computer fix-it friends and has left many video codecs not working with some of my 3rd party players, and registration hassles like you are having with plugins and apps. The next kick in the pants is supposed to be 1809 this fall …

Dave

Yeah it frustrates me when you have to reconfigure everything, lncluding stupid things like getting rid of edge browser and shop icons that suddenly reappear. You think the fact that I deleted them would be a message that I don’t want them!

So what is 1809 going to be a harbinger of?

The last updates installed on my studio rig are the ones prior to all the Meltdown and Spectre updates. I have Win 10 Pro running on this rig and have turned off Windows update service. I don’t use that rig for Internet stuff (aside from plugin authorizations and audio software updates) and I don’t much want my system crippled by the ‘fixes’ released to ‘patch’ the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities. I have a good backup system in place and if anything goes pear shaped, I can just restore the drive.

I don’t need and don’t want Windows updates messing with what is currently a rock solid and productive system.

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Nothing for me. I won’t be installing it.

Ok, so far my two systems are running fine after 1803 but I consider disabling automatic windows updates. I’m not sure if it is recommended doing it with “services.msc -> Windows Updates -> disabled” as I read elsewhere.

True, windows opens the gates again.
Did you guys try installing uwt4 already?
Also set the update to delay and current branch for professionals.

Only a handful of our business clients have upgraded from Win7 to Win10 but the grueling Win 10 upgrade cycle has caused an inordinate amount of work from those. Yay!!! - now we have 3D paint 30 hours later after troubleshooting failed upgrades.

As others have mentioned Win10 pro can delay the features updates for up to one year. If anyone on the Home version of Win10 happens to have a license key for Win7 Pro you can use it to upgrade your existing Win10 to Pro. I’ve tested this and it worked:

ZDNet - Ed Bott - Upgrade to Win10 Pro using 7 or 8 Pro Product Key

My NUC Gig PC is on Pro and having control of the updates back again is a godsend. I have two pro license brought a while back from Software Geeks for a bargain price that I need to get my DAW PC and General laptop updated so I have control back. Might do some image backups this weekend and apply the licenses.

It’s not ‘simply’ annoying - It can be FATAL! In Windows 10, Microsoft FORCES end-users to update their product. (Of course, stupid me thinks, “If your stuff is so good, why do you have to update it every day?” - maybe not so stupid?)
The ONLY solution: DOWNGRADE TO WIN 8.1 pro. There are no features in Win 10 that are pertinent to Cantabile, (or any other DAW or production software), to the point that you just ‘gotta have it’!
I’ve had Windows 8.1 Pro since December of 2015, and have NEVER allowed it to update! I have the single, most-productive, stable computer in the land! (Well, that’s not true since I recommended this to all my friends! They really love me now!) Seriously… If you don’t know this:
Microsoft does not update their OS because they care about we onesy end-user customers. The SOLE reason for Windows updates is the special requests made by large corporate clients that they incorporate into each update. I know this because A. I represented one of those huge corporate clients; and B. because I also supported some of Microsoft’s 3rd-tier support techs, (Azure, etc…). The objective is to simply have a unified OS that can be supported across all support centers, no matter that they spend more time supporting users who experience serious outages as a result of the (very flawed) updates. When I first got my PC, I took a full, ‘Snapshot’ image of it. I continue to do so every month along with (Torsten’s recommendation), keeping all my music-related content backed up onto DropBox Pro, ($100.00/year for a Terabyte of safe, cloud space), and of course, regular interim backups weekly. Since then, my computer simply has not crashed, EVER! BUT, if I ever experience a complete drive failure, I will have my computer back up and running about 30 minutes after I install the new disk. When an image is restored, serial numbers do not require re-registration.

Umm…gates? Never heard that term.

Once you’re on Win10 you can’t really roll back, though, can you?

No going back - but you could do a complete image backup using Macrium Reflect personal before you upgrade

Would have to reinstall everything… could be worth it in the long run though. Big project. I’d blast the drive and start fresh I guess.

Did I miss something? Why don’t you deactivate the updates in Win10? Its obviously not as easy as on Win 8.1 but it’s possible. I made it on my computer which is connected to the internet quite often when I’m at home and it don’t do any updates.

The issue is that Windows Home forces the updates on you unless you say you have a metered connection. I even had a case where my laptop had not been connected to the internet for a week before a gig, and just as I started to sound check Windows decided that was the time to do a major update that took two hours. Fortunately I had a spare…

The good news is you can update to WIN 10 Pro license for a fairly low cost if you go to one of the bulk resellers on the internet. I just got a WIN10 Pro license for £20 and applied it to my old Gig laptop. It worked fine, so will now do it to my DAW PC.

Once on WIN10 PRO you can get back to deciding when you update.

I find WIN10 as good as WIN7 in terms of stability, even the blocky/flat look and feel (looks like it was drawn by a five year old) is growing on me.

Regarding the argument of staying on WIN7, that is fine if you have a nice stable system and all your hardware and software is supported. The problem then is as that as time moves on you may lose things like driver support for legacy OS, vendors may stop officially supporting the older OS, etc. So there comes a time when you may need to migrate. I went with WIN10 on all of my machines for consistency. My big regret is going for the free home version update, but as mentioned above there is a low cost way to get to PRO.

Although I wouldn’t suggest it… you can disable the Windows Update Service.

Press the Window key to bring up the Search Window. Type “Computer Management” without the quotes. Select Services and Applications from the left panel, and then select Services. Scroll down to “Windows Update.” Right click and select Properties. Click the Stop Button, and then change the pull down to Disabled. Click Apply.

I actually run a VB Script that disables about 10 services during “playtime.” When I have everything running happy, I use Macrium Reflect to image my system. Then when I have a little “down time,” I run the script to turn everything back on, run any updates and virus checks, and run a couple of tests to ensure everything is happy. Then I run the script again, make another image, and I feel safe.

Rick

Agreed that at a low level you can disable it, and that was maybe what FantomXR was referring to?

I’d be interested in hearing a little more on how your VB script works and what you have found is safe to disable.

Yes. In my experience disabling the update-service is not sufficient, because for what ever reason Windows still does updates. I followed up the guidelines in this link:

and that one (German only):

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“The last update of win10 opens all “gates” again and you have to close it step by step to maintain a clean system for music applications.”

OK, I’m a dummy. What’s this mean?