I said that last week’s Blog post wasn’t to be missed. Well, if you’re a Windows 10 user who is plagued by a failing update again and again, you’ll definitely want to read today’s post! One of my business clients has a network of thirty computers running Windows 10. Three of them will not install the large “Anniversary Update” no matter what I do. Because of this, the update will constantly try to be downloaded and installed, and usually at an inconvenient time. After being at wits’ end, I finally figured out how to stop it. You can thank me later!
Like I mentioned in the introductory paragraph, three computers at one location fail daily (several times a day) when trying to install the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. What happens in my case is, the Windows 10 Update Assistant will download and install by itself, and then “take over” the screen. Without any user intervention, it will open and begin attempting to download and install the Anniversary Update. You can minimize the installation, but can’t actually end it. After a half hour or so, the update fails without an error report or any clue as to why. It’s an exercise in patience for sure. I would uninstall the Windows 10 Update Assistant until I was blue in the face, and sure enough, it would come back the next time I looked. After scouring the Internet, I found a way to finally block Windows 10 Update Assistant.
KB3073930. This series of characters has brought much joy to the world. Microsoft’s name for the tool included in this package is wushowhide. If you break it down, it means “Windows Update Show or Hide”. If there’s ever an Update that you don’t want to install, this is the ticket. Also, if you change your mind down the road, and eventually wish to install it, you can make that happen too with the click of a mouse. Here’s how to get it. Click here for a direct download link. Double-click on “wushowhide.diagcab” to begin. The tool will open. Look about three quarters of the way down the window for the word “Advanced”. Click on “Advanced”, and then uncheck the box for “Apply repairs automatically”. Click “Next”, and then grab a cup of coffee because this part might take a while. Next, click the link to “Hide Updates”, and look for the offending Update you don’t want on your computer. The Anniversary Update is listed as “2018-09 Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems (KB4023057)”. Check the box in front of it, and click “Next”. On the next screen, make sure that the correct Update is checked, and that “Hide updates” is checked just below it. If that all checks out, click “Next”. A progress bar will be displayed to detail your progress. When it’s finished, click “Close” and you’re done. Simply reverse the process and click “Show Updates” if you’d like to install a hidden Update in the future.
As I’ve mentioned before, Microsoft often gets a bad rap, and it’s often due to Windows Updates or the lack thereof. It’s good business on their part though to offer a solution to block troublesome Updates. Keep this tool in mind though even if you aren’t experiencing any problems. If you’re not sold on the quality of a large Update, hide it, and wait for feedback from others. There’s no sense in being a guinea pig if you don’t have to! One last note: the download link I’ve included in this post only works with Windows 10.