How to Cancel Windows 11 update?

Anonymous
2021-12-16T19:58:35+00:00

I'm one of the people who had Windows 11 download itself without me telling it to do so. Now, it is ready for install. I do not want to install Windows 11 at this point. I want to keep my Windows 10.

I've paused it for 7 days, but this is a temporary solution. Can I delete the Windows 11 download somehow? I'm running Windows 10 on a brand new Dell computer.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Install and upgrade

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-01-15T16:50:39+00:00

    What I found is that you can revert back to windows 10 within 10 days of downloading windows 11. If you wait longer than that you can't!!

    Philip

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-01-14T19:40:22+00:00

    Absolutely agree with you. The amount of angst and cost of the Windows 11 forced installation and then numerous issues with the new operating system is horrible.

    It has all gone downhill for Microsoft.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-01-14T18:59:52+00:00

    Microsoft the biggest tech company in the world somehow doesn't know that they have made it impossible to stop their unrequired update. I don't believe that they know what they are doing, and they want to go the way of the mac and make it hard and slow to download anything so they can say their computers are safe and virus free.

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-01-14T09:36:30+00:00

    ANOTHER WAY TO 'DOWNGRADE' / 'ROLLBACK' / REVERT TO WINDOWS 10

    The option to revert back to Windows 10 expires 10 days after installation of Windows 11.

    However, there is a way to extend the option to 60 days. See

    https://windowsreport.com/rollback-windows-11/

    Alternatively, create a full backup and system image prior to installation of Windows 11 & save to a portable hard drive. Or, if you didn't do that prior to installation of Windows 11, use Windows 'Backup & Restore' to create a system image soon after installation of Windows 11, BEFORE the 10 day option to 'Go back' to your previous version of Windows expires.

    Hi, I just created a system image on an HD, not bootable.

    Now the question is: does windows 11 allow the selection of this image and the installation?

    Even from 10 I am not able to find a menu where I can start the restoration. In the menu Restore if I select "SELECT another backup to restore files from" there is nothing available, nor I can point it to the HD

    Thanks for any explanation

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-01-13T23:55:10+00:00

    I think I have an actual fix for this issue. I tried it on my laptop, and it stopped wanting to install Windows 11. Windows Update indicates that the installation is 'Up to date', and the big Windows 11 upgrade 'box' is nowhere to be seen.

    Steps:

    1. Open a command prompt with admin privileges

    C:\WINDOWS\system32> net stop wuauserv

    C:\WINDOWS\system32> net stop bits

    This will stop the Windows Update service and Background Intelligent Download Service from doing stuff while you create the registry keys and delete the Windows 11 files that it will otherwise want to redownload.

    1. Add the registry key Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

    Under that key

    Add DWORD "TargetReleaseVersion" set it to 1

    Add String "TargetReleaseVersionInfo" set it to "21H2"

    (without any of the quotes)

    1. Delete the catalog 'C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\29915d28b757d79214ddd971f3fd6134'

    This catalog contains the Windows 11 upgrade files.

    You have to delete the catalog itself, not just the files in it.

    The catalog name is an Id, and is enough to make Windows Update resume the Windows 11 download, unless you delete it.

    1. Reboot

    Done.

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