Prevent automatic updates on Windows 10/11
Windows Version 10 and 11 have a tool to automatically maintain your system up to date. In these new Windows versions, there are options to pause these updates for a certain amount of time, but not to stop them.
This might be a problem if the system decides to update when a game is running or it's about to start. Causing a slow down in the performance of the device, or in the worst case, doing an automatic reboot without warning in the middle of the game.
To avoid these problems, there is a way to configure the system to block these forced updates in your Windows device. It is done through the Windows registry
Editing the registry is risky, and it can cause damage to your Windows system if you don't do it correctly. It's recommended to make a backup of your computer before proceeding.
After completing this setup, automatic updates will be disabled permanently on the device. However, you will still be able to download and install future updates by clicking the Check for updates button on the Windows Update settings page.
How to disable Automatic updates with registry
To disable Windows updates permanently by changing the Registry settings, use these steps:
1. Press the "Windows key + R" key combination to open the "Run" command.
2. Type "regedit", and click "Ok".
3. It will open the "Registry" window.
4. Inside the Registry, (expanding the folders with the left little arrow) browse the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
5. Right-click the "Windows" folder, select "New" and then click "Key".
6. Name the new key "WindowsUpdate" and press "Enter".
7. Right-click the newly created "WindowsUpdate" key, select "new", and click "Key".
8. Name the new key "AU" and press Enter.
9. Right click on the newly created “AU” key, select "New", and click on "DWORD (32-bit) Value".
10. Name the new key “AUOptions” and press Enter.
11. Double-click the newly created key and change its value to "2" (This means: "Notify for download and notify for install"). Click "Ok".
12. Another key is needed. So again, in the newly created “AU” key, right-click on the right side, select "New", and click on "DWORD (32-bit) Value".
13. Name the new key "NoAutoUpdate" and press Enter.
14. Double-click the newly “NoAutoUpdate” key and change its value to “1” (This means: "Disable Automatic Updates"). Click "Ok".
15. Close the Registry to complete the task. And reboot your PC.
Using this configuration will prevent Windows from downloading and installing updates automatically, and you'll get a notification when new updates are available. In this way, you can avoid any auto update effectively in Windows 10/11. But you will still be able to download and install future updates by clicking the Check for updates button on the Windows Update settings page.
**If you want to undo the changes: you can use the same instructions outlined above, but on step 7, right-click the WindowsUpdate key, select the Delete option, then reboot the computer to apply the settings.
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