Update Windows when it suits you

In principle, Windows provides the necessary updates itself, so that you as a user do not have to worry about it. But you may prefer to update Windows whenever it suits you. We can think of several reasons why intervening in the update process yourself can be useful, for example if you want to postpone Windows updates. You can read here which options are available in both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

If all goes well, Windows keeps itself pretty up-to-date. In fact, Microsoft makes it quite difficult for users if they want to adjust or stop that automatic update process.

But sometimes the update doesn’t go quite the way you want it to. For example, you notice that an update causes bad side effects, or the update process itself appears to no longer function properly. Or you hear that one or more updates can cause problems and so you prefer to suspend the update for a while. And maybe as an advanced Windows user you just want to keep the (update) strings in your hands a little more.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at each of these scenarios, but first, we’ll briefly cover the main built-in options of the update feature in Windows (Home).

Postpone Windows Update

You reach the function Windows Update by in the Settings from Windows on Update and Security to click.

In Windows 10, click Change operating times to indicate the hours within which – with a maximum time span of 18 hours – the PC should not be restarted to implement previously downloaded updates. In Windows 11 you will find this function at Advanced options†

You can also hold back the update process for a few weeks. In Windows 10, you extend this period by 7 days by pressing Pause updates for 7 days to click. You can repeat this up to a maximum of 35 days. In Windows 11 you choose 2, 3, 4 or 5 take a break for weeks† If you want to speed up the updates a little, press Looking for updatesafter which you can make any updates Download and install†

In both Windows 10 and Windows 11 you will find some extra setting options at Advanced options† For example, you will find an option here to automatically receive updates for other Microsoft products, such as MS Office, you can receive a notification if your PC needs to be restarted for updates and it is via Delivery Optimization † Advanced options for example, potentially throttling the bandwidth for downloading updates.

roll back windows update

Unfortunately, it can never be ruled out that some update will cause problems. Microsoft realizes this itself and therefore introduced a new feature called ‘known issue rollback’ about a year ago. Basically, the update process itself is notified of a potentially problematic update, then that update automatically rolls back to the previous version on the next reboot. But what if that doesn’t happen?

Then you can try to remove it as follows. Go again to Windows Update and choose History of updates †view) for an overview of the updates, divided into sections such as Quality updates (especially for minor fixes and security updates), Definition Updates† Driver updates and Other updates†

In this window click on Uninstall updates† Select the offending update, click remove and confirm with Yes† If this button does not appear and you absolutely want to get rid of the update, you can still do it as follows. Make a note of the KB-id (‘Knowledge Base’) of the update, right-click in the Windows Start menu on Command Prompt and choose Run as administratorthen run the following command:

wusa /uninstall /kb:

(for instance wusa /uninstall /kb:5008295† You carry out such an instruction at your own risk, because success is not guaranteed.

update cache

It can also happen that there is nothing wrong with an update in itself, but that for some reason it cannot be installed properly or that Windows wants to install it again and again. A possible solution is to reset the update cache.

First press Windows key+Rfeed services.msc off and click on the tab at the bottom Advanced† Scroll to the service Windows Updateright click it and choose Properties† Open the tab System recovery and select at First mistake the option Take no action† Confirm with OK† Then click on the top left Stop the service (if applicable). If the service Background Intelligent Transfer Service turns out to be active, stop it as well.

Then you quickly go to the folder with the explorer C:Windowswhere you find the subfolder SoftwareDistribution renames to e.g. SoftwareDistribution_BAK† Finally you go again to services.mscrestart the two previously mentioned services and imagine First mistake back in on Restart service†

This operation may clear your update history, but you can still find it if necessary. open it Control Panel from Windows, choose Uninstall a program and click on the top left View installed updates†

Problem solver

Unfortunately, there can also be problems with the update function itself. Initially, you can try to solve this problem with a built-in troubleshooter.

Open Settings in Windows and go to Update and Security (Windows 10) or to System (Windows 11) and select here Resolving problems † Additional troubleshooters (or Other troubleshooters) and click Run Windows Update / Troubleshooter (or To carry out† Follow the further instructions. With a bit of luck, a click will dissolve Apply this solution the problem.

Reset parts

If that doesn’t work, try the step-by-step instructions on the Microsoft support website† You will find a tab here for both Windows 10 and Windows 11†

You can try it with the Reset Windows Update Tool from Microsoft. The top version (11.0.0.9) is intended for Windows 64 bit; the second for Windows 32 bit.

Install the tool. Right click on the corresponding icon on your desktop and choose Run as administrator† Select the desired language (0 for English) and confirm with Y that you take responsibility for the use of this tool. In the next window, 19 options will appear. Here you select 2 Resets the Windows Update Components and follow the further instructions.

Another way to reset Windows Update is through the free tool Fixdows (download via the link Latest† After installation, open the tab Windows Update Fixes and press the button Reset Windows Update† You can also first study the underlying batch file on https://kwikr.nl/fixbatwhich you can also run yourself (as an administrator).

Update stop

Suppose, for some reason, you want to block Windows updates for a longer period of time (than the 35 days available in Windows Home). In principle, this can be done by stopping the aforementioned services, but you have probably already noticed that Windows quickly brings them back to life.

A more effective way to block those in Windows Home is with a tool like Windows Update Blocker (use the Downloadbutton at the bottom).

Extract the downloaded zip archive and launch the portable tool; there is both a 64 and 32 bit file available. Choose Disable updates and confirm with Apply now† Also put a check in Protect service settings to prevent someone from making changes via Windows settings or from services.msc.

For even more security, you can also disable some other services. click on Menu in Windows Update Blocker and choose Service List Options. Select WaaSMedicSvc† This is the service name of the Windows Update Medic Service, which protects and resuscitates Windows Update in many ways. Select Turned off (2x) and place a check next to Apply settings during action† Also put a check in Protect service settings† Confirm with Save settings and with Apply now† It’s best to do this for the services too UsoSvc and BITS†

Note that this will prevent your Windows system from downloading and installing updates until you completely undo these settings in Windows Update Blocker.

Update Catalog

Is the automatic installation of a certain update not successful or have you disabled the update function to get the desired updates yourself? Then you can also do that completely manually from the online Microsoft Update Catalog†

If you enter here the KB ID of the intended update (for example kb5008295) in the search bar, you will see the available updates for the different Windows architectures. Press the button at the desired update To downloadafter which you install it on your system with a double click on the downloaded msu file.

ABC Update

This method is, of course, quite laborious. Fortunately, there are also graphical tools that allow you to manage Windows updates yourself. One of the most flexible is ABC Update† This tool is suitable for almost all Windows versions and can even be used in domain networks.

A command-line version is available, but we’ll get started with the graphical variant. You start it with a double click on ABC Update GUI.exe† Click on the bottom right This system for your local PC. On the left you select MS Update and indicate which operations the app should perform: List Missing† List All† Download† install or Uninstall (the latter only works with updates downloaded from WSUS).

So to find only the missing updates for your system, choose List Missing† At the bottom left you indicate which type of updates you want to search for, such as Critical Updates† Definition Updates and Security Updates† Then press schedule and on Run Now, unless you want to run this operation periodically, because you can. Click on the status bar afterwards Missing Upd† and then click the client name in the status window to see the result.

Use a similar method to actually download and/or install updates.

Many more tips on updating for Windows can be found in the free Windows 10 crash course†

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