How to cancel Windows 10 upgrade after installation failure

Anonymous

I've waited for my free Windows 10 upgrade (currently running Windows 8.1 with no problems). It finally came through, and about 10% through the second (black-background) reboot the computer just went black -- did not restart, just completely black-screened and shut down. I wound up having to restart, and it immediately went into "Restoring previous version of Windows" mode. It then black-screened again, and on the second attempt to restart, Windows 8.1 restored.

I am currently laid up with a broken back and don't have the ability to deal with computer issues right now (I'm not even supposed to be sitting upright for more than ten minutes at a time) so wish to completely cancel my Windows 10 upgrade. I have already clicked the "agreement", though and no longer see a "cancel upgrade" link anywhere.

I have "hidden" the update to Windows 10 in Windows Updates, but want to eliminate it completely, and also remove all of the temporary set-up files from my PC. I'll be buying a new computer in the spring, most likely, anyway, so will just get Windows 10 then.

Please provide SIMPLE steps to:

Permanently cancel any upgrade reservation to Windows 10
Permanently remove the update from Windows Updates so it leaves my 8.1 alone
Permanently and cleanly remove all temporary update files from my computer to restore the space they are hogging up.

Thank you. I hope you can reply quickly with steps that won't have me tied to the computer for hours, so my doctors don't yell at me. ::smile::

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Anonymous

Hi Gayle,

What you need to do here first of all is to change the way you receive updates. With Automatic Updates enabled, the operating system will reinstall the nagware prompt which is KB3035583 after you uninstall it which will be a step we'll take in a minute.

So proceed as follows:

Right click the Action Center icon on the taskbar and go to "Windows Update".
In the left hand menu, click "Change settings".
Change it from Automatic Updates to "Download updates but let me choose whether to install them".
Click "Save Changes" and then click "Control Panel Home".
Go to "Programs and Features" and click the link to "View installed updates".
Copy/paste KB3035583 into the Search field top right and when it appears below, right click it and select "Uninstall".This is a large installation so uninstalling it can take several minutes.
Reboot next and then go back to Windows Update again.
Since you now have different WU settings, click the link if there's any which are awaiting your approval which will take you to the menu where you can decide what to install.
If you see KB3035583 in the list, right click it and select "Hide update". The box you normally have to checkmark to select an update will turn grey and when you exit WU, those files will be sent to the repository called "Restore hidden updates".You can restore any updates which have been hidden in there at any time by clicking the link, making your selection and then selecting "Restore".

The next step is to make a registry change which will prevent Windows 10 from downloading and installing.

Hit Windows key + R to launch the Run command, type: regedit and click OK.

Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE --> SOFTWARE --> Microsoft --> Windows --> CurrentVersion --> WindowsUpdate --> Auto Update --> OSUpgrade

Click the OSUpgrade key (which looks like a folder) and then in the right hand pane you should be able to see four values called respectively:

AllowOSUpgrade

KickoffDownload

KickoffSource

OSUpgradeInteractive

Some or all of these will have a value of 1. You need to change those to a 0 like you see in the screenshot.

To change a registry value, right click it and go to Modify. In the Value field at the bottom, change the figure 1 into a 0

Click OK and Windows will add the 0x00000000 (0) itself.

If it's already a 0 then you don't have to touch it.

In addition, you need to create a value. To do that, right click a blank part of the right hand pane and choose New --> DWORD with the name DisableOSUpgrade. Windows will add REG_ to the beginning of DWORD after you create it.

If you inadvertently lose the highlight when you create the new value, right click it and select Rename.

Next, right click your new value and go to Modify. Change the 0 into a 1 in the Value field. Click OK to confirm and exit.

Reboot and then go to Windows Updates. You will now be able to install 8.1 updates without being nagged by Windows 10.

I posted the same instructions in the following thread and as you can see from the responses, it clearly works:http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-update/windows-10-upgrade-cannot-be-removed-from-windows/4854a84d-a8a8-47da-a936-bd5d08138bfb

If there's anything you don't understand though, please don't hesitate to ask.

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53 additional answers

Anonymous

2015-09-11T19:57:30+00:00

CCleaner is a so called registry cleaner, but we advise against using anything which supposedly 'cleans' the registry on this forum since these utilities do more harm then good and often cause system slowdowns or even prevent a computer from booting.

Have you checked to see whether CCleaner has made any changes to the registry settings I gave you to prevent Windows 10 from downloading?

I recommend you get rid of it and you should be able to uninstall it via Programs and Features, but if you can't, run this Fixit: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/mats/program_install_and_uninstall

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/mats/program_install_and_uninstall

To try and correct the current problem though, hit Windows key + X and select Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.

Copy and then right click and paste the following command and hit Enter.

DISM.exe/Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

You won't see much happening onscreen while it's running and it does take around 30 mins to run, but when it finishes you'll get a report of what was fixed.
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Anonymous

2015-09-11T13:06:48+00:00

Follow Up

Though the above worked to get rid of the Windows 10 update/nags, it seems to have caused other problems. Since following the above instructions, I'm having an awful time getting my computer to boot up properly.

It takes forever to completely boot, and often takes several restarts before all of my necessary background items load, my programs will load, etc.

This morning, it took two tries, and after about a half hour the second time, I thought we were good to go. I started working, but programs weren't responding properly, the computer response time was sluggish, and when I checked my system tray, only a few of the normal startup items had loaded -- and one that didn't was my antivirus software.

(Granted, there are also several in there, like ****in' CCleaner, that I DON'T want to load on startup, but I can't seem to get rid of whatever I do -- so there are definitely more startup items than I'd like, but nothing I've done can get them out of the way. However, the computer was still booting up normally in the mornings until I did the above "fix".)

The only thing that changed, and it changed immediately from relatively normal boot-ups to increasingly problematic ones (I'm currently on my third attempt to get the computer to fully load up this morning and hoping it's finally okay for the day) was applying the above Window 10 update elimination.

I'm not a happy camper. With dealing with my own and my beloved pup's serious health issues right now, I do NOT need a bunch of Microsoft-caused headaches on top of it.

ANY suggestions that can be done with an easy click or two? I am not emotionally capable right now of anything lengthy or complicated.
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Anonymous

2015-09-08T19:08:24+00:00

Hi Gayle,

There are different ways of getting to Windows Update, but one of the easiest is to right click the Action Center icon (the flag) on the taskbar and then select it from there.

It should look like you see it in the screenshot. You can at any time click the link to "Check for updates" which I've arrowed to see if any are available. I have mine configured to the same setting I recommended.

Sorry to hear about your pet dog though. I was very attached to my cat and it was heartbreaking to have to have him put down because he was suffering so much.

But if you injured yourself trying to help him as well then that just adds to the misery. I hope you both feel better soon.
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Anonymous

2015-09-08T17:23:21+00:00

Xircal, I thank you so much for reposting the step by step help file in a place where I could find it. I found myself with some quiet time, and was able to follow through the steps, which appeared to go smoothly. The "Get Windows 10" box is no longer in the corner, so I'm hoping this means it worked.

The only thing I found different from the list above was that when I rebooted, there was nothing listed in the "available updates" section (in fact there was no "available updates" link to click). You did say "if", however, so I'll assume that is okay.

I'm not normally quite so inept, and in fact have been a mildly addicted computer geek since the days of the Commodore Vic-20. It's just that with everything that has happened since my heart-dog's seizure on 8/2 (the first symptom of what turned out to be an advanced and invasive cancer), and fracturing my spine while trying to help him, there is no longer anything "normal" about life.

So, your help is more than appreciated. I hope others are able to find this as well, and thank you accordingly.

--Gayle and "Kai"
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