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Windows 10 updates and reboots, even with updates turned off

Indeed, I believe in the right tools for the right job. At my business we run pretty much all the operating systems you can think of, or have had to work with them. Our office runs on Windows. Our creative team uses Mac. Most of our other equipment runs on Linux where appropriate. We have a smattering of real-time and/or embedded operating systems such as FreeRTOS. We have a combination of in-house IT and and IT contractor to make it all work.

We did have one situation one time where a Windows machine auto-updated when it shouldn't have. It was a problem because that machine was tied to a process that required extensive validation, and therefore should not have been modified. So we were angry, of course, but it was ultimately a setting a technician had missed. We have similar problems with all the other COTS operating systems. The solution for us is to go slow and check each step.
 
...as long as they aren't into playing computer games.

That's a pretty huge caveat in 2025 lol

I, like a few others here, have multiple linux boxes between work and home as well. I don't have to touch them much other than updates, and they do what they're supposed to do just fine. I mainly work on windows servers at work, but we have linux there too, and I spend a large, large amount of my time in vCenter with ESXi. I get your point, it just really doesn't do much to address the OP.
 
I ran Ubuntu Linux for my main desktop for several months. It worked great, until it didn't any more. I had no clue how to get it working again.

Windows is a good middle ground. MacOS is great for people who have no idea how computers work and don't care. You push the button and the shiny thing lights up and gets the job done. Linux is for people who love to tinker, recompiling kernels and bashing out lines of code. It's very powerful if you have that kind of analytical mind. If you're neither of those kind of people (and I'm not) then Windows is just right.
 
I ran Ubuntu Linux for my main desktop for several months. It worked great, until it didn't any more. I had no clue how to get it working again.

Windows is a good middle ground. MacOS is great for people who have no idea how computers work and don't care. You push the button and the shiny thing lights up and gets the job done. Linux is for people who love to tinker, recompiling kernels and bashing out lines of code. It's very powerful if you have that kind of analytical mind. If you're neither of those kind of people (and I'm not) then Windows is just right.
Now this is a religious war I can sign up for. All three OSes fit all three needs. I know hundreds of professional software engineers who develop for Linux, on Macs.

But really, they mostly develop for AWS. The OS that ultimately runs their JVM is almost incidental. Or even entirely incidental. AWS now offers the ability to run modules in your favorite language directly, without concern for OS, or even a dedicated virtual machine.

Writing config-as-code that automagically deploys and terminates whole infrastructure stacks, complete with their data sources, executables, et al. is where it's at. AWS and Azure are the new world operating systems.
 
O/S 2 Warp!

:boxedin:
I was a fan from early days and was a beta tester for Galactic Civiliaztions on it. I have an old laptop and an OS/2 install image and some day when I'm bored....
Otherwise I've worked with BSD, MVS/370-z/OS, AIX, HPUX, Solaris, Windows NT server v3-4, VM/CMS. At home now I use a Windows desktop (Games) and for portability have a laptop running Ubuntu Mate, another with win 10 and a refurbished 9-year old Mac Air I bought to try writing an iPhone app. I have a couple of grumbles with Windows - when I fire up something that hasn't been run for a while, how intrusive the update process is. The other is how many things aren't documented - like window visibility - you'd think you just have to check the IsWindowVisible() function but no. You have to check the windows style as well for the Mail and Store apps. That was documented in an article that had a common theme of "Windows just behaves the way it does".
And gently down......
 
Now this is a religious war I can sign up for. All three OSes fit all three needs. I know hundreds of professional software engineers who develop for Linux, on Macs.

But really, they mostly develop for AWS. The OS that ultimately runs their JVM is almost incidental. Or even entirely incidental. AWS now offers the ability to run modules in your favorite language directly, without concern for OS, or even a dedicated virtual machine.

Writing config-as-code that automagically deploys and terminates whole infrastructure stacks, complete with their data sources, executables, et al. is where it's at. AWS and Azure are the new world operating systems.
My last job I developed for AWS Linux instances on a Linux machine until work gave me a Windows machine. Both ran IntelliJ the same, some tiny tweaks to my config files and off I went. I still used my Linux laptop to test some weird scripts I had to write with awk and stuff but that wasn't my core job.
I have about 11 chefs knives in my kitchen and I usually use the one best suited to a task but if I'm away I use whatever's handy. (Okay I grumble a little)
 
My windows 11 updates deleted my activation for windows. Seems that the last few updates from windows kind of ◊◊◊◊◊ up your computer sometimes
 
I just put an old Acer with Win8.1 back up. It has automatically put in every update it could, without asking, and now tells me I have to voluntarily put win 10 on it or no more updates. Don't want them, I refuse to let a phone new in 2023 update anything because it works fine already. I disabled most of the things it would be updating anyway.

Finally. It's stable and runs smoothly now without messing itself up. MS will give up eventually it seems and let you be happy.
This computer cannot run good on 10 at all.
 
I just put an old Acer with Win8.1 back up. It has automatically put in every update it could, without asking, and now tells me I have to voluntarily put win 10 on it or no more updates. Don't want them, I refuse to let a phone new in 2023 update anything because it works fine already. I disabled most of the things it would be updating anyway.

Finally. It's stable and runs smoothly now without messing itself up. MS will give up eventually it seems and let you be happy.
This computer cannot run good on 10 at all.

As an IT professional it's not a great idea to be running an OS that hasn't received a security update in the better part of 20 years. The security has to be severely outdated, and if you're cruising the web you'll be at significantly higher risk of malware, viruses, etc.

If you're looking for an alternative you could just format the computer and put something like Ubuntu (pretty user friendly for people familiar with windows), CentOS is another good one along with Mint, on it and still have a speedy laptop with up-to-date security.

Windows 10 is actually sunset later this year (October) as well. Upgrading to 10 wouldn't help, and if the laptop is running windows 8.1 I'm going to assume your processor doesn't have TPM 2.0 so you can't go to Windows 11. I would just be weary of where you go and what you do with the laptop given its age.
 
It will be offline used as a ssllooww video editing machine. I can't afford another right now.

It was the one my wife used for ten years before she had to retire it for current software versions.

I can get Shotcut in a version for 8.1 yet.
 
Worth noting that if a machine currently running Win 7/8/8.1 hasn't at some point been updated to 10, the free option to do so isn't available (having been retired in autumn 2023), and you'd need to pay for a licence.
 
Welcome to Microsoft, where "My Computer" means Microsoft, not you.
Exactly.

You can only delay but not stop updates with Win 10 Home version (or whatever it is called now). Pro version you can. Or so I hear.
 
Worth noting that if a machine currently running Win 7/8/8.1 hasn't at some point been updated to 10, the free option to do so isn't available (having been retired in autumn 2023), and you'd need to pay for a licence.
I wouldn't take it for free. Win 7 was the best version ever IMO...
 
I wouldn't take it for free. Win 7 was the best version ever IMO...

Lol Why? What did windows do to hurt you or is this just more of the standard "Microsoft is evil" as if every single electronic device you use doesn't collect data on you?
 
Windows 10 is actually sunset later this year (October) as well. Upgrading to 10 wouldn't help, and if the laptop is running windows 8.1 I'm going to assume your processor doesn't have TPM 2.0 so you can't go to Windows 11. I would just be weary of where you go and what you do with the laptop given its age.
Not that it applies to 8enotto but "There are two editions of Windows 10 that are not going out of support yet. One has two more years ahead, and another has seven years of updates still to come."

However note there are caveats like needing an Enterprise license so for people with at least 5 PCs.
 
I must have had a sneaky Windows 11 update or something because my login cookies were all gone, and I had to sign into everything again. This does happen when I run a Spybot or Malwarebytes scan and remove those cookies, but I hadn't done that (and it's not supposed to be done automagically).
 

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