It seems that everyone knows that for Windows itself, and for drivers or some applications installed in its environment, the automatic search and installation of updates is activated by default. The trouble is that updates can be installed at the most inopportune moment, loading computer resources or making it difficult to work on the Internet. Unfortunately, the updates themselves for the seventh modification of Windows very often turn out to be clearly incomplete and even lead to the appearance of blue screens. What do you think can be advised to the average user so that he can completely disable the automatic updating of Windows 7 and all related software components? Let's reflect on this issue and try to consider the simplest and most affordable methods that allow you to perform the required operations without having special knowledge in fine-tuning the system.
Basic methods for deactivating automatic updates of system, drivers and programs
There are a lot of methods that allow you to quickly turn off the automatic search and installation of various updates. It would be possible, of course, to make the required settings in the registry, but to a regular user this technique may seem rather complicated, so we turn to simpler methods that allow you to disable the automatic updating of “Windows 7 Basic” and other modifications in relation to the system itself and to the drivers, and installed user applications.
In particular, it is for the operating system itself that it is easiest to deactivate the installation of updates either through the “Update Center” section, which is located in the standard “Control Panel”, or by deactivating the main and related services responsible for all these system actions. If we are talking about user programs, the main methodology is to disable the corresponding modules in the applications themselves or to exclude them from the list of applets that start with the system and track the release of new software versions. But to simplify actions as much as possible, you can also use third-party applications that allow you to perform all the required operations no less efficiently.
How to disable "Windows 7 Ultimate" or any other version auto-update: basic technique
The first and easiest way to deactivate the installation of updates is to call the “Control Panel” and go to the “Update Center” section, where in the settings you should select “Never check for updates” from the action list with important updates, but below, uncheck the checkbox for receiving recommended updates.
Please note immediately that the confirmation buttons are indicated by the administrator access icon, so if you do not have such rights, nothing will work.
Note: some users are additionally advised to disable the installation of updates for other Microsoft products, but they completely forget that when you deactivate the Update Center itself, their search will be stopped automatically.
Complete stop of update services
You can also simply turn off Windows 7 auto-update by completely stopping the system services responsible for these actions. You can get to the desired section through the "Run" console, in which the services.msc command is entered. And here you should be very careful. Simply deactivating the Update Center will not do anything. That is why it is recommended to disable the four main components:
- Directly "Update Center";
- Windows Installer
- Windows Installer
- delivery optimization.
Entering parameter editing is done either by double-clicking or through the PCM menu, after which the selected service is stopped by pressing the corresponding button, and the disabled value is set in the startup type (not vice versa!). Next, you just need to save the changes, and a system reboot is not required.
Additional utilities
In principle, if you still need some important update packages, and you don’t want to install related or failed updates, you can simply remove unnecessary ones from the list. It might also be advisable to postpone the installation, but this is not the best method. In this situation, disabling Windows 7 auto-update for user-selected packages is most easily done using a special portable program from Microsoft called Show or hide updates. In the program you just need to follow the instructions of the "Wizard", in the list of found packages mark the unnecessary and activate their hiding.
How to disable driver auto-update in Windows 7: ways
As for the drivers, then with them actions of particular difficulties should not cause.
To deactivate the installation of updates for the control software, just use the “Control Panel”, go to the devices and printers section, call up the update installation settings menu, instead of the automatic installation, activate the option to provide the user with a choice, and then mark the prohibition on installing driver updates from the “Update Center”.
Similarly, in Windows 7, you can disable auto-update of management software by setting the group policy settings (gpedit.msc), where through the computer section and administrative templates you can find the “System” folder, in it go to the device installation directory and in the last section of restrictions for the installation prohibition item drivers shown in the image above, set the enabled (!) state.
In addition, you should set a ban on requesting a driver search in the "Update Center".
Methods for disabling the automatic installation of updates for applications
Finally, let's see how to turn off auto-update of programs in Windows 7. First of all, you should check the startup section in the system configuration (msconfig), where you need to disable all the update modules, and then reboot. You may also need to check the settings and the installed applications themselves.
In many of them, among the parameters you can find the activation point for tracking the release of new versions. But few people know that sometimes such tasks may need to be excluded from the "Task Scheduler." With him there are most problems.
Therefore, in order not to waste time, use some optimizer program that has a scheduler control point (for example, CCleaner) and deactivate unnecessary tasks with its help. However, to completely deactivate absolutely everything that was described above, utilities like AVZ or Windows 7 Manager are good. By the way, by deactivating all update services, sometimes you can significantly increase system performance and achieve more comfortable work on the Internet. But drivers still need to be updated! To do this, it’s better to use automated applications like iObit Driver Booster.