Enable or Disable Driver Updates in Windows Update in Windows 10

Night Hawk · 24 Jul 2016

That sibling mini tower went well once I put in a new nic card to resolve the problem with that wanting to see the upgrade tended to after having made the image of the original 7 install while there won't be any concerns about reverting backwards from 10. The WU option will simply be left intact since there are no separate old expansion cards or other devices the updates would see problems with.

Can't say that for the main here however with the old tuner card and other old Sound Blaster model where I had to direct to Creative followed by the web updater tool for each newer build that came in. The rest of the updates coming in however so far haven't seen any problems while some have reported the WU kept bringing in the wrong one causing a few problems.

This is where the option to disable and manually go look up the correct ones at a support site will be what sees the better results. After the initial corrections are made the option to enable them again should tell if the initial problem had been resolved.

BlindUpgrader · 25 Jul 2016

Hi Brink, Thanks for the quick reply. I installed the ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate key into the Registry and reboot the system. I verified the new Key and clicked on "Check for updates" under Update & Security > Windows Update to activate the search/download. The GeForce G210M driver (x 2) and Elan Input Device were still waiting for download and install along with 16 other downloads. I have version 1511, Build 10586.

Here is the unfortunate result: Both DriverSearching > SearchOrderConfig key & ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate key failed to block the driver downloads and install. There were 3 drivers downloaded and installed: (Note the different dates of NVIDIA drivers)
NVIDIA driver update for NVIDIA GeForce G210M (2/‎28/‎2016)

ELAN driver update for ELAN Input Device (12/‎18/‎2015)

NVIDIA driver update for NVIDIA GeForce G210M (11/‎19/‎2015)

After the first NVIDIA driver (11/29/2015) install, the screen turned to low resolution and required restart to "restore" the graphic display. I checked the display driver. The version became 9.18.13.4192, with date 10/13/2015. It caused low resolution display. After restart, the screen went blank. I presume it happened after the second NVIDIA driver install (2/28/2016), the screen went blank with a flashing circle and pointer. The disk is very active for 2+ hours before I forced power off. PS. The "Hide or Show Updates" troubleshooter does not work either. It found nothing.

Instead of waiting for automatic updates, I used Windows > Settings > UPDATE & SECURITY and click on "Check for updates" to activate the search, download and install. I don't know whether this made any difference.

Your explanation is clear that users can control and take the responsibility of installing drivers that fit Win10.
As you pointed out that this new KEY will be added to the anniversary update in early August. I think Microsoft has very serious work to do. I've activated my Win10 and rolled back to Win7 after this extremely frustrating experience. I hope Microsoft truly understand the serious damage on its strategic business strategy. NVIDIA is not any better as one driver eliminated the working display, and the next kill the display all together. I repeated the tests 3+ times with undeniable evidence of failures.

Brink · 25 Jul 2016

BlindUpgrader said:

Hi Brink, Thanks for the quick reply. I installed the ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate key into the Registry and reboot the system. I verified the new Key and clicked on "Check for updates" under Update & Security > Windows Update to activate the search/download. The GeForce G210M driver (x 2) and Elan Input Device were still waiting for download and install along with 16 other downloads. I have version 1511, Build 10586.

The policy in this tutorial will only work starting with build 14328, or with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on Aug. 2nd.

Night Hawk · 25 Jul 2016

He would definitely need to enable the Get Insider builds option and proceed to the latest 14393 now version 1607 build or one of the other more recent builds that proceeded but newer then the 14328. The 385, 383, 379 possible would be the few others. The 14393 however is apparently the equivalent Insider Preview of the Redstone 1 anniversary build as the 10585 was out just before it's own general release form two weeks later last November. The one week wait goes quick for the major update out next monday!

BlindUpgrader · 26 Jul 2016

Night Hawk said:

He would definitely need to enable the Get Insider builds option and proceed to the latest 14393 now version 1607 build or one of the other more recent builds that proceeded but newer then the 14328.

Thanks! I am not in Insider Review and don't know the association between the inside releases vs. the the publicly released version 1511, Build 10586.494. This new Key, by its name, suggests the "quality" with respect to Win10, but not with respect to customers' working PCs (for legacy upgrades and future updates). I am not a lawyer, but this policy change will certainly invite legal disputes over who can/should "intrude" on customers' PCs? My car analogy would be appropriate to explain the significance. If Tesla were to force automatic download to "fix" the auto pilot which result to death, who would be criminally liable? (PS. That hacking technology is already demonstrated on several other brands of cars, but not auto pilot.) Computers are in convenience and mission-critical applications. There are already lawsuit for which Microsoft had lost on this forced Win10 upgrade. Looks like Microsoft needs to learn its way as more applications are moving into "mission-critical" category for which Microsoft probably should not want to control "quality".

This new insider information give me some hope. I'll test again next month for the interest of many others.

BlindUpgrader · 26 Jul 2016

Brink said:

The policy in this tutorial will only work starting with build 14328, or with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on Aug. 2nd.

Hi Brink, I should add a general caution for all others. Insider Review would not help this particular indiscriminate forced download of drivers. When the display is knocked blank, users cannot not "see" any subsequent updates, whether it be security fixes or Insider review build updates. And repeating the update process will not stop the driver downloads. The only way to get around this catch-22 is to re-install from DVD or USB Win10 media of a fixed public release (i.e., August anniversary update). I think I am correct on the syllogistic reasoning. If this is correct, you may want to publish an authoritative how-to.

Thanks for providing some hope.

Brink · 26 Jul 2016

Your blank display issue is not related to the tutorial.

You are still getting driver updates since you do not have build 14328 installed, or have the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on Aug 2nd. This is in the information at the top of the tutorial.

If this is not what you meant, then please clarify. :)

BlindUpgrader · 26 Jul 2016

Brink said:

Your blank display issue is not related to the tutorial.

You are still getting driver updates since you do not have build 14328 installed, or have the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on Aug 2nd. This is in the information at the top of the tutorial.

If this is not what you meant, then please clarify. :)

Insiders need to rely on automatic download in order to get build 14328 (or later). But, their prior builds will force driver download/install. It's not a show-stopper, if an insider can "see" and roll back the unwanted driver (or experience crashed system). As far as I know, Insider Review program does not provide intermediate iso for installation from DVD or USB.

People get Windows 10 Anniversary Update via (1) automatic update, or (2) installation from iso media. The first method would fall into the catch-22 category as the drivers are the first ones got installed before others. I repeated my tests at lest 3 time to confirm this sequence.

As to "This is in the information at the top of the tutorial.", I disagree for the reason above. Unless Microsoft manages driver updates download/installation separately for the Anniversary Update (or future Insider reviews), the automatic update will not work. This kind of catch-22 scenario will reoccur in other sequence-sensitive updates. Microsoft needs to handle it either in Window10, and/or in the update server side. Hope this clarifies.

Brink · 26 Jul 2016

Yes, until you have the supported build installed and use the policy, you will continue to have drivers included and installed in Windows Update.

BlindUpgrader · 26 Jul 2016

Brink said:

Yes, until you have the supported build installed and use the policy, you will continue to have drivers included and installed in Windows Update.

We are in agreement that people must wait for Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and install the updated Win10 from the new iso media in order to select & block unwanted driver updates. And the current Win10 update (public version or insider versions) will not work for drivers in catch-22 scenarios. From the hindsight, Microsoft had disappointed/angered many customers in this free Win10 upgrade campaign. My G210M driver issue is not an isolated incidence. Many peripheral devices share the same issue.

Perhaps you can update this point.