Solved How do I stop a scheduled automatic install of 10!?

I have been putzing around for a couple solid weeks trying to track down why the Software Protection Service is giving an apparent error on one item:


I'm sure this isn't a good thing and can't find a solution online, but it's NOT what this new thread is about.

Instead, this thread is about a side-effect of an apparent, unknown mistake I made while putzing around with the above - Windows Update actually downloaded Windows 10 then threw up a dialog saying "Yer good to go! Start now or schedule later!?" without me having overtly allowed Windows 10 to update! And there was no "Nevermind!" button to click. So I, not wanting to install before I'm ready for it (like making an image backup copy of my hard drive, etc), scheduled the automatic apparently-non-cancellable update for two days hence on the 14th.

But that's not really a very good solution - my backup image copy will want to go ahead and do the upgrade, too, if I ever want to back out whatever this automatic upgrade is going to do. I want a backup that is content to STAY as a Windows 8 Pro system.

Any near-term help here would be appreciated with stopping this scheduled upgrade. And any longer-term help with getting the SPP to not give that apparent error would be appreciated as well.

If the Windows 10 update is already downloaded, look in-



If you want to get rid of it, if it shows up there or elsewhere in the main folder, delete it.
You can rename the Download folder & delete it to get rid of everything in it quickly.
When you restart your computer it will be recreated by Windows.
I have done this myself.
This is not speculation.

I unreserved Windows 10 via the Notification Area Windows 10 icon.
This makes any future appearance of it in Windows Update something that won't happen.

I also have Windows Update set to notify me about updates but not to download any unless I choose to download them.

Unfortunately, this problem is well beyond merely stopping a download or not saying "Okay" to the Windows 10 upgrade - it appears that something I did actually invoked the equivalent of an "Okay, go ahead and install the upgrade" and now this system is stuck like this:



and I do not know of any way to get around that - the dialog that told me this happened didn't ask if I didn't really want it and, upon Restart, I eventually got another similar dialog asking if I wanted to go ahead or if I wanted to reschedule (2nd time), again with no way to say "Look! I do NOT want to go through with this! Cancel!".

So each time this machine reboots I'm now expecting, upon login, to eventually have a dialog pop up asking if I want to go ahead or reschedule. Of course, until someone helps me get this cancelled, I'll be "rescheduling" the automatic upgrade for a couple days hence.

So if anyone knows how to cancel an "update" that says it's going to happen on Restart, please help!

=================

An aside about these dialogs that are popping up saying the upgrade is going to start if I don't reschedule it - the 1st one I got (just before I started this thread) had two options - go ahead immediately or reschedule for up to two days in the future; I chose two days in the future at 07:00 (Friday morning). The 2nd dialog that popped up just now after a Restart had the same two options but the TIME of the rescheduling has changed to be a bit later. This suggests (I hope) that everytime I restart/reboot this computer I will be given an option to reschedule for the future that isn't limited by midnight August 14th...maybe.

Post-post addition:

Here is an example of the dialog that pops up about 4 or 5 minutes after a reboot and logging in - there is no choice to cancel the install:

Read Scenario 3 here: http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/...rade-installing-after-making-your-reservation

popeye said:

Read Scenario 3 here: http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/...rade-installing-after-making-your-reservation

Click to expand...

YES!

Thanks for that excellent lead - I will indeed try that since Scenario 3 is exactly my sad situation (I think I got there, BTW, by selectively deleting SoftwareDistribution\Download" files or something similarly bizarro as I tried to track down that SPP strangeness, a strangeness that is widely mentioned on the 'Net with almost zero valid feedback - may simply be a red herring).

[aside - this morning a few minutes post-powerup the popup immediately above showed again, however THIS time it had advanced the maximum possible reschedule date by one day. This strongly suggests that I could indeed simply keep rescheduling into the future until I was satisfied with whatever I needed to be satisfied with]

long term:
Brink has a registry mod that has blocked GWX (so far) It has stopped the windows update download and GWX
even after doing a clean install of windows 8.1 - I applied the .reg file and downloaded all the windows updates..
GWX was download as the files and folders are there - but never ran and I never was shown the windows 10 update through windows update.

Get Windows 10 Icon - Remove from Taskbar in Windows 7 and 8.1 - Windows 10 Forums > Option 3

Short term:
Unhide system folders and Delete $Windows.~BT Folder and/if $Windows.~WS Folder
Or run disk cleanup > system files

popeye said:

Read Scenario 3 here: http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/...rade-installing-after-making-your-reservation

Click to expand...

Thanks again for that lead - it apparently worked fine. After reading your post and the linked contents, I restarted my machine to get the popup to appear, then rescheduled the upgrade to a couple hours in the future rather than on the 15th. Following the Scenario 3 directions I then simply waited until the auto-install kicked off and it wonderfully broke completely, kicking me back to a plain old Windows 8.1 Pro system. At this point I'm waiting for something to show up under Windows Update to confirm that THAT works normally even though the Windows 10 Upgrade has been hidden, etc.

Thanks very much.

Now...on to the other things that are strange about this 8.1 system - like failures to update apps like "Windows.Reader", etc...and that SPP apparent-error and whether or not it means anything at all.

David Bailey said:

If the Windows 10 update is already downloaded, look in-

View attachment 64732

If you want to get rid of it, if it shows up there or elsewhere in the main folder, delete it.
You can rename the Download folder & delete it to get rid of everything in it quickly.
When you restart your computer it will be recreated by Windows.
I have done this myself.
This is not speculation.

I unreserved Windows 10 via the Notification Area Windows 10 icon.
This makes any future appearance of it in Windows Update something that won't happen.

I also have Windows Update set to notify me about updates but not to download any unless I choose to download them.

Click to expand...

I've renamed and deleted the Download folder, then rebooted - but the Download folder has not been recreated. Do I need to be concerned?

Also, the Windows 10 update is still waiting in Windows Update to be installed.

I am posting this in SevenForums as well, as I was referred to this thread by them.

What a pickle I'm in! I apologise if I'm not following protocol.

clemenzina said:

Also, the Windows 10 update is still waiting in Windows Update to be installed.

Click to expand...

Yeah, mine's like that, too - I just put up with it since it's just a Heads Up rather than an actual scheduled install. Whenever I get around to caring about Windows 10 I'll either reschedule the install or follow whatever steps there are to get rid of the Heads Up - everything else on my current 8.1 Pro system is working, though, so I may just stay here rather than upgrade down the line (I make heavy use of the "Show all available updates" hotspot on that last display, BTW).

After unsuccessfully trying lots of things, I noticed that Windows 10 was actually listed under Optional Updates - I unticked it, as well as KB3035583, which had returned... and then a SevenForums mod suggested I could "hide" it by right-clicking it in the list and selecting Hide - and now all my worries are gone and I have a normal Windows Update picture in Control Panel:



Phew!

clemenzina said:

now all my worries are gone and I have a normal Windows Update picture in Control Panel

Click to expand...

From what I've read on the 'Net (and maybe experienced personally) do not be surprised if it comes back.

[post-post-addendum: on 17-Sep-2015 my "Wanna install Windows 10?" prompt and "optional update" came back]

Ugh!

Looks like Bink solved the issue Upgrade to Windows 10 Update - Enable or Disable in Windows 7 or 8.1 - Windows 10 Forums