KB3035583 Installing Windows 10 using Windows Update?

I have to say that I don't see much difference between never and let me choose. If the users of never check the accummulated updates regularly, it amounts to the same thing as let me choose. In both cases you are filtering out what you don't want.

I'd just as soon do my research and filtering before any updates I might not want are downloaded to my machine, because Microspy.

For those who don't have an unlimited connection, it makes a bigger difference, since any downloads they choose not to install will have wasted usage for nothing. Way back when, that was the original reason I selected never over let me choose, long before I was very discerning about what I chose.

I have to say that I don't see much difference between never and let me choose. If the users of never check the accummulated updates regularly, it amounts to the same thing as let me choose.

I agree with ManInEasternEurope ....  "Never check for updates" and "Let me choose" are similar (not the same).

If one has set Windows Update to "Never Check For Updates" ... then what does the user do when they want to install selected updates (such as the current security updates). I assume the user changes their setting to "Let Me Choose", clicks "Check for updates" (to get the most current list) ... then selects the updates they want and installs them. After the updates are installed, the user puts their setting back to "Never". I assume that's the workflow for those who use "Never" (please correct me if a different workflow is used). My point here is that it appears  the user must switch settings (from Never to Let Me Choose and back to Never) in order to get the selected updates they want.

With Windows Update set to "Let Me Choose" ... no updates are downloaded until the user selects (checkmark) updates and clicks install. There may be a misconception that with "Let Me Choose", updates are downloaded to the PC before one makes a choice. My understanding is that with "Let Me Choose", only the update title is shown in Windows Update's lists of Important and Optional updates ... but the corresponding update file(s) are not yet downloaded. Once the user selects (checkmark) updates they want, and clicks the Install button, then (and only then) are the selected update file(s) downloaded. This pertains to the "Let me choose" setting .... of course with the  "Install updates automatically" setting, all updates are downloaded (and installed) .... and that is why most everyone posting in this thread recommends that "Install updates automatically" not be selected. So, the "Let me choose" setting is safe for those with limited/metered Internet connections.

I have Windows Update set to "Let me choose" and I have unchecke d the option that says "Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates". I have never had any updates installed without permission (i.e., without me selecting and installing them). However, I have seen numerous occasions where a previously hidden update was unhidden by Microsoft. I am not sure there is any setting that can be used to stop this undesirable and coercive behavior by Microsoft.

I'm not opposed to using the "Never" setting ... but in my case I have not needed to do so. Whether one uses the "Never" setting or the "Let me choose" setting, if you do not want to install Windows 10 (and/or do not want to be nagged by Microsoft, do not want allow your copy of Windows 7 or 8 to send telemetry/personal data back to Microsoft, etc., then it is important to review every update and only select the ones you want to be installed. Yes, this is a huge effort every month and Microsoft is probably depending on users eventually just giving up and allowing all updates to go through.

For those who do not want to expend the time each month (examining every update), or those who feel they do not have the expertise to do so, the following generic suggestions might help ...

1. Only select and install windows security updates (updates labeled "Security update for Windows 7")
2. Do not select and install Windows regular updates (updates labeled "Update for Windows 7" without the word "Security") ... unless you have thoroughly reviewed them.

Install (and run) the free utility called GWX Control Panel which can help prevent Microsoft's coercive attempts to get Windows 10 installed.

EDIT:  all references in this post to the "let me choose" setting refer to the "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" setting.

Some confusion may have been caused by there being two "let me choose" options:

Download updates but let me choose whether to install them

Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them

My previous comment was referring to the former.

Agreed that there is little difference between the latter and Never check for updates in terms of what is downloaded or installed, as the user decides in either case. There may be usage and performance issues, depending on the user's internet connection (i.e. unlimited/measured) and system, as the Check for... option still uses bandwidth and resources while checking, although this probably affects relatively few users now. For most, it really is just a matter of personal preference.

FYI, the Never... setting does not have to be changed to manually check for updates - "never" in this case doesn't mean "absolutely never" so much as "never unless I specifically tell you to..." With that setting, when I open Windows Update it looks like:


I can click either the button or the link on the left and WU will do its thing.

Legacy2000,

Thanks for the clarification on two "let me choose" options. I completely forgot about the "Download but let me choose" option.

In my previous post, all references to "Let me choose" refer to the "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" setting.

After reading ALL the posts in this thread, I must say that I'm amazed at the amount of nit picking that is going on. It started out as an INFORMATION thread on how to AVOID being FORCED to install Win 10. It has turned into nothing but a rant of BICKERING and belittling each other. GROW UP ! ! ! Get your heads out of your posteriors and behave like the adults you are claiming to be.

Since this is no longer an informative thread, I'll no longer be following it.

Dave