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Windows 10: Leaked build shows ability to exclude drivers with Windows Update

Z

Zedox

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Firstly, this build has a new toggle in Windows Update which lets users exclude driver updates from Windows Update, allowing you to prevent Windows Update from automatically installing updates for drivers.
Click to expand...

image_2017-01-07_11-05-07.png


Note that there have been announcements of bundling drivers with games from the Windows Store, but this feature is a system feature that will help alleviate some of the issues that has plagued gamers (and regular computer users) for a while.

This feature will be included in the Windows 10 Creators Update this April.
 
Thank god.

Half the time I update my laptop, the manufacterer (Asus) trackpad driver borks and I can't use it until I manually download it again
 
When I had my desktop, every time I updated my Windows the update would overwrite my VGA drivers with some generic ones, breaking all my games. Then I had to manually search the pc for the manufacturer drivers and reinstall them again.

It wasn't a horrible experience, but it was very, very annoying.
 
...why do they still insist on compulsory rollup bundled updates though, at all?

This is just a halfway-house solution to a problem they caused in the first place.
Were the number of people not using Windows Update at all really that high?
 
They should allow to stop automatic updates permanently. I don't understand the point of this feature since all the time is unnecessary and makes you waste time when you are doing something to restart the PC.
 
Sgt.Pepper said:
They should allow to stop automatic updates permanently. I don't understand the point of this feature since all the time is unnecessary and makes you waste time when you are doing something to restart the PC.
Click to expand...

At some point an update needs to become compulsory if its been repeatedly deferred, but I'm really not a fan of how W10 currently handles updates
 
LordRaptor said:
...why do they still insist on compulsory rollup bundled updates though, at all?

This is just a halfway-house solution to a problem they caused in the first place.
Were the number of people not using Windows Update at all really that high?
Click to expand...
Yes. It was too easy to skip updates entirely in 7, to the point people wouldn't update at all past a certain point because it would literally take several hours to catch up hundreds of updates.

Also, I imagine servicing installations where only some updates were applied and not others was a nightmare.
 
Sgt.Pepper said:
They should allow to stop automatic updates permanently. I don't understand the point of this feature since all the time is unnecessary and makes you waste time when you are doing something to restart the PC.
Click to expand...
It's possible to completely kill automatic updates. Or at least it was possible before the anniversary update. (Which is still where my Windows 10 sits)

I know because I've done it. I find it completely unacceptable for my OS to nag me to reboot, and to then decide to arbitrarily do so if I refuse.
 
M3d10n said:
Yes. It was too easy to skip updates entirely in 7, to the point people wouldn't update at all past a certain point because it would literally take several hours to catch up hundreds of updates.
Click to expand...

I mean... in theory I can believe this, but then we have what we have now which are huge service pack style forcible restart type updates every few months, rather than more regular incremental background process patching type updates and have to wonder how big a difference that is.

I know pirate copies of windows were a reason large numbers of people would avoid Windows Update patching out their cracks or whatever, but that's sort of a seperate issue to how legitimate customers patching should be handled.
 
Durante said:
It's possible to completely kill automatic updates. Or at least it was possible before the anniversary update. (Which is still where my Windows 10 sits)

I know because I've done it. I find it completely unacceptable for my OS to nag me to reboot, and to then decide to arbitrarily do so if I refuse.
Click to expand...

Yup (works with the Anniversary update as well). I don't know if it's limited to the Pro version though.

Edit Group Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Template -> Windows Components -> Windows Update -> Configure Automatic Updates
 
blue_phazon said:
Thank god.

Half the time I update my laptop, the manufacterer (Asus) trackpad driver borks and I can't use it until I manually download it again
Click to expand...

Holy shit, I hate that, too.

Arulan said:
Yup (works with the Anniversary update as well). I don't know if it's limited to the Pro version though.

Edit Group Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Template -> Windows Components -> Windows Update -> Configure Automatic Updates
Click to expand...

Group Policy is pro only
 
Good. I had Windows insisting I should have some old Quadro drivers for my GTX 970 at one point.
I like to keep my system up to date, but drivers should be overridable by the user.
 
Good middle ground. The number of pre-10 computers that just neglected all kinds of critical structural and security updates was way, waaaaaaaaaaaay too high, but forcing driver updates (that may or may not actually be updates, depending on if your manufacturer is actually on the ball) is dumb.
 
I think this is the only issue I had with Windows. My GPU drivers were bugged out so I had to roll back to an older version but nope Windows wasn't having it because they had a newer versiom from AMD so decided to download it for me. I had to unplug my ethernet cable after uninstalling the driver so it couldn't download the version they had. Once I installed the version I knew worked then I reconnected the internet. But ooh no! Windows wasn't having it still and downloaded the newer version again. I had to google some fix to force block the driver. What a carry on.
 
I thought that the setting posted below had the same effect?

Chf2R3S.png
Click to expand...

Arulan said:
Yup (works with the Anniversary update as well). I don't know if it's limited to the Pro version though.

Edit Group Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Template -> Windows Components -> Windows Update -> Configure Automatic Updates
Click to expand...
Thought that was killed by Microsoft after Anniversary update for every version but Enterprise Windows 10, no?
 
Durante said:
It's possible to completely kill automatic updates. Or at least it was possible before the anniversary update. (Which is still where my Windows 10 sits)

I know because I've done it. I find it completely unacceptable for my OS to nag me to reboot, and to then decide to arbitrarily do so if I refuse.
Click to expand...

If you're willing to go into the registry, you can still kill the auto-reboot after updates after the anniversary update.
 
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