In Windows 10, Settings &gt; Update &amp; Security &gt; Windows Update &gt; Advanced Options &gt; Choose when updates are installed, there are these two options:  A feature update includes new capabilities and improvements. It can be deferred for this many days: [0-365] A quality update includes security improvements. It can be deferred for this many days: [0-30]  Screenshot: Phrasing it with “can” is confusing, so I want to know exactly what that number does. If an update is released to my channel on day d, and I've set those options to n days, will the update be ... pushed to me on day d+n? pushed to me sometime between d and d+n, inclusive, at MS's discretion? offered to me on d, but I'll be able to dismiss it until d+n? Something else? Note that  have instructions for setting these options, including  and . None of those clearly state what effect the numbers have, just that they “defer updates by this many days”.
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In Windows 10 version 1607, it was still possible to defer updates by a few months via the Local Group Policy Editor, but now there's a subfolder containing two entries where it's only possible to defer them by 30-60 days with a maximum of 365 days (timer has to be set anew every time).  Am I seeing this correct or am I missing something?  And what's the difference between feature and quality updates?
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When I install a simple program it often uses make &amp;&amp; make install and doesn't often even have an uninstall target.  If I wish to upgrade a program, is it standard protocol to assume it just rewrites seamlessly over the old program?  How do I keep track of these programs; do most people just 'fire and forget' and if no uninstall target is given do I have to manually delete everything?
8191
Windows 10 lets you 'schedule' a reboot for later. I want to disable it.  Evidently Windows scheduled itself for a reboot last night when I wasn't looking and just closed everything I had been working on the night before.  I reboot on the regular; I don't need Windows to do that for me.  Can I disable it completely? I don't mind if it downloads everything, and then says "hey, you should reboot," but it should never reboot itself, ever.  I'm using the "Pro" edition of Windows 10.
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I have had this happen to me twice now.  I'll be in the middle of working on something that has resulted in me not rebooting my machine for several days.  If Windows 7 is waiting to install updates it'll eventually get to a point where it forces a restart to install the updates.  The problem is that it doesn't notify me or tell me that its going to do this and I've lost work as a result and most recently had a VM become corrupt and unusable.  Is there a way to at least get it to prompt me before doing this?  It used to...
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Microsoft just released the final Windows 8 versions for MSDN members, before its consumer release in october.  Anyway, I am a MSDN member. Today I went to see my downloads page and I found a list of the new versions to be downloaded.   Windows 8 Windows 8 N Windows 8 Pro Windows 8 Pro N Windows 8 Enterprise Windows 8 Enterprise N   I know the difference between the  versions "Windows 8", "Windows 8 Pro" and "Windows 8 Enterprise", which you easily find at wikipedia.  But, I really need to know the difference between these versions and the "N" versions before download one of them.
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I have a laptop with Windows 10 Enterprise edition installed (64bit).  I haven't got the Windows 10 Anniversary Update from the normal Windows Update (I have clicked Check for updates). So I want to install it manually.  I have downloaded the the update from . However when I run it, the Update Assistant says     But I'm my own system administrator. I've installed Enterprise Edition from MSDN Subscriber downloads.  How do I update to the Anniversary Edition?
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So, I have Windows 7 pro, and I'm looking to upgrade so that I can use some of the apps that are only available in Windows 8+. I considered just taking advantage of the free Windows 10 upgrade, and actually installed it at one point, but then I found out that there's forced automatic updates and decided that wasn't for me(I'm a bit paranoid after Android 4.4.4 killed Flash Player without telling me. :P). So, I did some research.   From what I read, the Windows 10 upgrade "consumes" your Windows 7 license into a Windows 10 license, and so even if you revert back after upgrading then you can still change your mind later and jump back to Windows 10. () I also read that Windows 10 has "downgrade" rights to Windows 8 and Windows 7, which to my understanding meant that if you have a Windows 10 key, you can also use it to install Windows 8 or 7 if you want. ()  My plan for the process is re-upgrade to 10, pull the license key, downgrade to 8 and use the license key, then upgrade to 8.1 via Windows Store, and end up on 8.1. So my questions are: Is this possible?  Will it wipe all my data in the process?(not a dealbreaker if it does, but I'd need to know that so I can back it up) Do I need to re-upgrade to 10 in order to downgrade to 8?  Any input is definitely appreciated. Thanks!
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It looks like the Windows Defender in Windows 8 won't upgrade the signatures automatically, if Windows Update is set to "Notify, but don't install the upgrades".  Is my impression real? Is there is a fix?   I don't like automatic updates as I don't want to install useless updates like the ballot screen or something else, I want to choose.
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Is there any information about if Windows 10 Technical Preview will then be upgradable to the final release ?  I'm asking that because I would like to use it on my primary PC (I'm aware of the risks but I accept them), in place of Windows 8.1 But I'd like to avoid to reinstall all after the release of the final version.
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I had Windows 7 Ultimate before I upgraded to Windows 8 Pro and before, in Windows Update, there were updates that allowed me to install more language packs for Windows. After installing the updates I would have more languages for the interface.  Now I don't see any language updates, is it not possible to have various languages in Windows 8? Or maybe they are not ready yet?
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I would like to try out the  by getting the update through the Store on my current Windows 8 installation. My only concern is that I can't find any information in the  about an upgrade path to the final version.  It states that Windows RT 8.1 Preview will be upgradable to Windows RT 8.1, but how about x86 versions?
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We've upgraded some machines to Windows 10 and realized there were some updates which updated as required. However, I realized there was no option available to stop the download similar to that on Windows 7 and 8.1. The only way I could stop the download was to stop the Windows Update service.  My question is does anyone know of a way to stop auto updates or is stopping the service is the only solution?
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Sometimes I want to test something on Windows XP for development purposes and I am curious if I will be able to make new fresh XP installation after end of support in April 2014.  OK, no new updates will be published by Microsoft after April 2014. But what happens if I install Windows XP SP3 after April 2014 and then will want to update it to latest existing updates? Will it be possible or not? With Windows Update, or some kind of "rollup" package?  (Many people already asked if they will be able to install the XP after April 2014. But I can't see any questions about updates.)
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After installing the Windows Anniversary Update for Windows 10, I realized that there seems to be a feature that lets Microsoft install third-party applications from the Microsoft Store on my system, without my consent or knowledge (for example,  or ).  Anticipating that this might happen again in the future, is there a way to disable these kind of third-party application installations for future updates? Or will I always have to search and uninstall all these applications after each update?
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I have a brand new, unopened laptop with Windows 10 Home that, due to a standardized test that my spouse will have to take on it in late July, I cannot put Windows 10 Creator on.  I understand that this will leave the laptop less secure, and I am rather mad about it, but I have no control over the testing software.  They made it very clear that Windows 10 Creator is not supported, and that it should not be installed prior to the exam.  When I open this laptop up, I would like to make my laptop as secure as I can by getting as many updates as possible without installing Windows 10 Creator.  However, updates rarely identify themselves clearly, so I am not sure how to know when I have even encountered the Windows 10 Creator update.  Can anyone tell me how to know which update to avoid?  Also, (and this is not strictly part of the question), any further advice about how to secure this thing without being up to date on Windows updates would also be appreciated.
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Today is the End of Life for Windows 7. Of course MS will not release new updates or patches for Windows 7 anymore.  If I install a new PC by a Windows 7 disc from scratch, I would expect I will not be able to download the Windows Updates. When I open "Windows Update" and check for updates, I would expect nothing will be found. (Correct?)  However in the MS website, there is a . It seems that we can download all the updates from there. As we all know Windows XP was EOL years ago. We can still find Windows XP updates from there.  Let me assume that the Microsoft Update Catalog contains ALL the updates and patches for Windows 7 now. (Correct?)  And let me assume that the Windows 7 updates and patches will still be available (for a few years) in the Microsoft Update Catalog even after Windows 7 EOL. (Correct?)  As MS is actually still hosting the update files in their server (the Microsoft Update Catalog), why MS does not keep steaming those OLD updates and patches to users through the OS built in "Windows Update" service?
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In Windows 8 I can reset everything and reinstall Windows. I assume this will clear my drive and start from scratch? Is that right? Does this create a Windows.old folder?  I see this dialog, but aren't my settings and preferences saved in the cloud? If I screw up my settings and reset like this, are my settings also refreshed back to defaults?  Since I use SkyDrive to sync my files, my personal files are safe, right?    Also, in Windows 8 I can refresh my PC without affecting files. Are my desktop and/or Windows store apps uninstalled when I refresh my PC?  I see this dialog, but I still am not sure. For example, when it says apps are "kept" does that mean I don't have to buy them again or are they installed after the refresh is over for me? I assume "from disk" means desktop apps? Or maybe corp apps?    What would motivate a user to choose between these two?