What is the LONGEST you can disable downloading Windows 10/11 updates and how?

[c627627]

I drive image often.
Every time I reimage my Windows 10 partition, my PC is PARALYZED, because the first thing Windows 10 does is says to me that I must now wait, and that I will not be able to use my own computer while GBs and GBs of updates are being downloaded.

I prefer to download updates just before I make a brand new OS partition drive image. Not when I actually need to use PC for work!

This is why I used Windows 8.1 all these years.
Windows 8.1 was freedom to do what I want when I want how I wanted it.

2023 brings an end to Windows 8.1 support, so that's why disabling Windows 10/11 updates is important.

 

[Janus67]

You can probably block the windows update servers at your router/firewall level, I imagine.

If you want you could always slipstream in more updates into the wim/iso as well so that your install would be more complete

 

[Kenrou]

Install windows with the Lan cable/WiFi completely disconnected, and use a 3rd party program like ShutUp10! to completely block updates and make the image before turning the internet back on, it's what I do

O&O ShutUp10++ – Free antispy tool for Windows 10 and 11

With the freeware O&O ShutUp10++, unwanted Windows 10 and 11 features can be disabled and the transfer of sensitive personal data onto Microsoft prevented.

www.oo-software.com

 

[notarat]

In your network settings tell windows you're on a metered connection. Then disable updates over a metered connection and you're permanently disabled from getting updates

 

[Niku-Sama]

in 10, i am not sure how effective it was but i would disable the service

 

[stompah]

Tinywall firewall blocks everything but a handful of programs. So far no windows updates have snuck through.

 

[Woomack]

As far as it can be annoying, full OS update takes like 10 minutes if you have the latest ISO, and most things are in the background, so you can work without issues during that. I just can't see a big problem unless MS forces updates that actually break something, but it caused real problems only on server OS with remote desktop and domains.
2 days ago I reinstalled Win 11 on new NUC (nothing really special, more like average laptop nowadays). Windows reinstallation took less than 10 minutes, full updates with the latest cumulative package next ~10 minutes. In less than 20 mins I had fully updated OS with all drivers. In next 10 minutes I had enabled Hyper-V and installed 2x Server 2022 with all the updates.
Maybe just download the latest ISO, so you won't have to wait 2h for downloading all the updates from past 5 years. Win 10 is already old OS.
I don't even want to start with why don't you use Win11 as it can be a loooong topic.

 

[c627627]

Lots of great help in here, thank you guys.

Woomack, my Asus Z170-A is on the Intel Skylake Z170 chipset on which Windows 11 cannot be installed, correct?


And while we're on the topic and I have you all in here:
So when we read in the news about all the patches Intel is releasing to address serious vulnerabilities, those patches are not on manufactirer web sites, where are they, if not on Asus web sites, in this example, for the Z170 Intel chipset and are there patches for CPUs? I have Intel i5 6600K LGA1151.

 

[Janus67]

I imagine it will be a bios update

 

[c627627]

Hm, does Intel release BIOS updates? I though it was only the manufacturers like Asus?

I thought they release chipset drivers?


EDIT: So here we see Z170 chipset last driver was posted in 2018:

Intel® Z170 Chipset Downloads, Drivers and Software | Intel

Intel® Z170 Chipset - Download supporting resources inclusive drivers, software, bios, and firmware updates.

www.intel.com

That may mean security patches are not released for Skylake boards?


-

 

[Janus67]

Correct, I imagine Intel gives the code to the board manufacturer and it is on them to deploy it. Maybe it won't be a bios and instead an Intel microcode firmware install that maybe you can do in the OS? I honestly don't know.

 

[c627627]

It is an interesting question, for all of us.
When we read in the news 'this or that flaw discovered'... well okay so most posting here have a modern board... so are those Patches from the news distributed through your manufacturer, in updated manufacturer drivers or do you have to go to Intel itself [or AMD]? Or Microsoft Windows?

I mean some of those articles paint a picture of fatal flaws that are hardware flaws, so how are those flaws patched?

 

[Janus67]

Sometimes by disabling functionality. The previous Intel one a couple years ago was to disable hyperthreading in BIOS.