Windows 10 Forced Driver Updates - not sure it's actually so


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Hi all,

Had been reading all the fuss over Windows 10 (and Home edition in particular) forcing updates to be installed rather than giving the user a choice and have just got round to installing myself.

(i) Microsoft has now released a tool to stop updates; believe it's real purpose is to stop the install of updates that cause problems (believe you have to specifically exclude each update one by one)

(ii) Haven't tried Home edition but the Education edition (aka Enterprise) includes the age old ability to choose the behaviour for driver updates. Don't see why this wouldn't be included in all editions, sure someone can confirm? Basically, System - Advanced system settings - Hardware - Device installation settings

Thus if you like, Windows Update won't force the update of device drivers which is most of the outcry. Other updates, sure there's the chance of them breaking something and that's very real but since they will be tested by insiders first (ie. a large group outside of Microsoft) the possibility of severe issues has to be reduced. Ideally, users (and all users) should have the choice, but I don't think it's so bad as most are making out.

 What do others think and where you aware of that setting (ii above)?

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Only the enterprise edition has those functions.

* the fact that they released a tool proves they know this was a fail idea

* Bad updates emerged for SP3 owners just before the launch of WIn10 so with all the apparent beta testing these days this still impacted a lot of users

They could have achieved what they wanted (more users opting in to receive WU automatically for security and stability etc) by just setting the thing to automatically update and removing the options to configure WU from the OOTBE - as they have - but leaving in the advanced options to configure them like we previously could.  Now we have to dick around with downloading tools, specifically excluding updates and all sorts of unnecessary crap, that's the outcry.

People often don't respond well to have options and things they could previously configure removed, the fact that MS didn't learn that from W8 beggars belief. 

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Only the enterprise edition has those functions.

* the fact that they released a tool proves they know this was a fail idea

* Bad updates emerged for SP3 owners just before the launch of WIn10 so with all the apparent beta testing these days this still impacted a lot of users

They could have achieved what they wanted (more users opting in to receive WU automatically for security and stability etc) by just setting the thing to automatically update and removing the options to configure WU from the OOTBE - as they have - but leaving in the advanced options to configure them like we previously could.  Now we have to dick around with downloading tools, specifically excluding updates and all sorts of unnecessary crap, that's the outcry.

People often don't respond well to have options and things they could previously configure removed, the fact that MS didn't learn that from W8 beggars belief. 

Windows 10 Home and Pro also have those driver settings.

 

My laptop manufacturer came out with "new" drivers yesterday for Windows 10.  I turned off that setting for WU, and then I installed my laptop drivers.  The drivers were in almost every case slightly older than the WU version.  They have not been replaced by Windows Update, even after running it manually, save for 1 (synaptics).  So its at the very least partially broken, but not because of version.

 

Edited by adrynalyne
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(ii) Haven't tried Home edition but the Education edition (aka Enterprise) includes the age old ability to choose the behaviour for driver updates. Don't see why this wouldn't be included in all editions, sure someone can confirm? Basically, System - Advanced system settings - Hardware - Device installation settings

Wait what, the education edition is enterprise? If I'd known that, I'd have got that off msdnaa... damnit!

Do you need a license server to use the education edition?

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I had always assumed that "system/advanced system settings/hardware/device installation settings" was for new device installations, where upon, after a predetermined time, update settings took over. Am I in error?

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I had always assumed that "system/advanced system settings/hardware/device installation settings" was for new device installations, where upon, after a predetermined time, update settings took over. Am I in error?

Always thought that too. But i never actually cared enough to try it since i ran WU in manual mode and i checked only the updates i wanted to install and hid the other ones.

WU is one of the things MS will need to improve in Windows 10. Forced auto update might be a good idea for Joe Blow but the advanced defer updates setting should let us pick which updates we want to install and which ones we want to hide.

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Wait what, the education edition is enterprise? If I'd known that, I'd have got that off msdnaa... damnit!

Do you need a license server to use the education edition?

The only difference I have seen is the lack of LTSB in the education version.  There might be other things, but not sure.  It has MAK and KMS keys just like Enterprise.

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Wait, what.... Education is not Enterprise. LOL!!!

It has MAK\KMS keys because typically it'll be used in some sort of volume license capacity (library, school, whatever). 

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Wait, what.... Education is not Enterprise. LOL!!!

It has MAK\KMS keys because typically it'll be used in some sort of volume license capacity (library, school, whatever). 

Does it have non-KMS keys though, because I've got it available on my msdnaa account so I'm tempted to check it out but if it needs a KMS setup then that's not something I can be bothered with.

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Judging from the comparison matrix on the Microsoft site the education edition is basically the enterprise one just with the licence terms changed for academic institutions. You can activate with a MAK key if you don't wish to set up KMS. Our MEEs (MS Educational) licence gave us entitlement to Education and Enterprise LTSB editions, but not standard enterprise.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/Compare

Disable updates tool: https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-releases-tool-to-allow-you-to-block-automatic-windows-10-updates

I'm not sure if the driver updates feature I mentioned works at this stage, so perhaps others can try? I do agree that Microsoft should have put proper and better explained options in there, it's not ideal.

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Wait, what.... Education is not Enterprise. LOL!!!

It has MAK\KMS keys because typically it'll be used in some sort of volume license capacity (library, school, whatever). 

Even MS says it is based off Enterprise with some extra stuff.  Go look instead of assuming.

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Windows 10 Education builds on Windows 10 Enterprise, and is designed to meet the needs of schools – staff, administrators, teachers and students. This edition will be available through academic Volume Licensing, and there will be paths for schools and students using Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro devices to upgrade to Windows 10 Education.fdf

Well there you go lol. I eat my words. At least I was half right.  

Might as well grab a copy then, haha. 

Edited by Jared-
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