Update – preventing Windows 10 upgrade

This is an update to the earlier post on how to prevent Windows from constantly offering to upgrade to Windows 10.

The batch uninstallers have been modified to perform quiet uninstallations. Only a prompt to restart/reboot the system should be displayed at the end.

Many Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users will want to keep their current operating system.
To disable the Windows 10 update notifications, follow these steps.
For a permanent disabling, follow steps 1, 2, and 3.
To leave open the possibility of a future OS upgrade, follow steps 1 and 3, skipping step 2.

1)  Uninstall the following updates through Windows Update, if they have already been downloaded.

For Windows 8.1:
Run these individual batch files (Administrator rights may be required), or run the Remove All file to remove all at once.
A reboot may be prompted after the KB’s have uninstalled.

Information on KB3035583    Information on KB2976978

For Windows 7:
Run these 2 batch files (Administrator rights may be required).
A reboot may be prompted after the KB’s is uninstalled.

Information on KB3035583    Information on KB2952664

2)  Apply either group policy updates, or 2 registry updates recommended by Microsoft.
(Download the registry updates here – Registry Update File)

Microsoft has details of the registry changes here: KB3080351

Keys:
Subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
DWORD value: DisableOSUpgrade = 1

Subkey: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade
DWORD value: ReservationsAllowed = 0

3)  Manually hide updates KB3123862, KB3035583, KB2976978, KB2952664 using the Control Panel.

GetVersion API and Windows 10

This document addresses two problems that can be resolved by updating the Application Manifest file for programs that are distributed to post-Vista Windows platforms:
1) The deprecated Windows version numbers returned by GetVersion API calls in Windows 10
2) The annoying Program Compatibility Assistant’s “this program might not have installed correctly” warning messages
PDF Article Here

An example solution manifest file can be found here , or visit the Downloads page on this blog.

Windows 10 Preview on Windows 7/VM Workstation

To test the technical preview of Windows 10, I followed the instructions at Petri Windows 10 how-to to safely install the preview inside of a Virtual sandbox environment. One important note is to not add Virtual Tools to the VM environment until after Windows 10 has been installed. Otherwise, Windows 10 may encounter problems locating device drivers during the setup phase. Although Petri’s guide refers to Workstation 10, Workstation 11 can be used.

A 30-day trial version of VMWare Workstation can be downloaded here – VMWare Workstation Download Update: VMWare Player may be a better choice for most users, since it isn’t limited to a 30-day period. Download VMWare Player here

The ISO file download from Microsoft for Windows 10 can be downloaded here – Windows 10 Download

Oracle VirtualBox is also available as a VM environment for running Windows 10. My attempts to install the technical preview within VirtualBox, were not successful.