How to Cancel Windows 11 update?

Last question (I hope!). Hoping an expert can jump in with an answer to this question:

Can I change the registry to block Windows 11 as seen in the video and in the link I posted above while I have the download of windows 11 and two other major updates from Windows Security in the PAUSE MODE?

What will happen if I change the registry now yet I have all those pending downloads?

Yes, if you skip the early sections and scroll down to this section of the article: Block Windows 11 Update using Registry Editor. This describes exactly the same process that is in this thread on pages 1 and 5 and on the YouTube video link I included in my earlier response. These are the steps that worked for me. The screen shots in this article you've linked to are very helpful in familiarizing yourself with the process before doing it, but I still recommend viewing the video so that you can actually watch someone doing it before you undertake the steps yourself.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

Thank you for your quick reply. Can you view this link and tell me if it all looks just like I should do?

https://allthings.how/how-to-stop-windows-11-update-from-installing-on-your-windows-10-pc/

PortlandMT, the instructions first appeared on page 1 of this thread in a post by Rodrigo.Queiroz dated December 17,2021. JoJun repeated them later on -- page 5, January 13, 2022.

Learn from my mistake and check that the pathway in the address bar continues to match what you pasted in, if you use the paste-in method. (I used copy-and-paste for all file names as well, as a way to be certain I was putting in exactly what it said.) But apparently, if you don't have the folder for the final part of the pathway, it will go elsewhere as soon as you make your entries! Makes sense in retrospect-- it can't put things in a folder that doesn't exist.

All of this will make more sense if you look at this video: https://youtu.be/S_s50gEvG7g

  Note: the instructions for the home version like you and I have starts at about minute 2:56. Once you watch this, it is much easier to understand what you are doing with the written instructions on this thread. If pasting in the pathway does not work for you (as it didn't for me), this video will show you just where/how in the subfile branches to navigate to the right place.

Remember: if you make your way down through subfolders all the way to the last Windows folder in the pathway and there is no subfile for WindowsUpdate, follow the instructions at the end of Rodrigo.Quieroz instructions for adding that folder! The YouTube video linked above also shows specifically how to add the update folder if it is not there.

I used my current version of Windows 10 -- 21H1 -- at the last entry rather than attempt to change that to the 21H2 in the instructions. I'm definitely not an expert, but I would think you would use 20H2 at that step since it is what your computer is running. The guy in the YouTube video also said he was using 21H1 because that was his current version. Others have pointed out that the later the version you target for, the longer you are likely to enjoy Windows 10. I was reluctant to change anything from what it had been before the Windows 11 debacle began, and figure I can always modify that registry entry for 21H2 later if I want to. I assume that 20H2 is one version earlier than the one I am running and 2 versions earlier than the 21H2 in the written instructions. 21H2 was released in October 2021 and it doesn't sound like it offers a whole lot of change from what I have.

So, PortlandMT, that's about all the info I have. The process really is not complicated once you see it. Were it not for my overlooking the need to add a folder, I would have gotten there yesterday. J

PS: JoJun's advice to create a registry restore point before doing anything is well taken. I do not yet know how to do that, but will be looking it up and using it before I go back in at a later date to update to 21H2. But for now, I plan to enjoy some computer peace! Wishing you the same.

PPS: I found it easiest to copy and paste the written instructions into a Word doc that I could keep open while making my registry changes. That way I had a handy step-by-step to follow on a single, clear page from which I could also copy and paste the file names.

Thank you so much, JoJun. I feel totally elated to have seen this through. As woman approaching 70, I am definitely not a computer geek, but I can read and follow directions. I am embarrassed to have missed the stealth change in the pathway address, but it is a good lesson learned for the future. Also missed the part about adding in the WindowsUpdate folder because I was sticking to cut-and-paste as a way to avoid typing in the wrong information.

I will definitely read up on setting a system restore point before I ever again go into the directory. Which I hope will not be for a long time. Again, you were the key in pointing out the error in my registry path and for that I am very grateful.