Permanently block an update

Hi, I guess you may be on build 1607. This is quite old now, and is scheduled for end of support next year. End of support dates below:

Windows 10 version 1511 **	November 10, 2015	October 10, 2017
Windows 10 version 1607 **	August 2, 2016	Tentatively March 2018
Windows 10 version 1703 **	April 5, 2017	Tentatively September 2018
Windows 10 version 1709**	October 17, 2017	Tentatively March 2019

To block ('hide') updates see:
Hide or Show Windows Updates in Windows 10 Windows Update Activation Tutorials
People have reported this can be made to work for upgrades - I've not tried personally.

The upgrades you are referring to are the now typically 6 monthly major build upgrades when all system files comprising Windows are replaced and new features introduced, and old removed. Unfortunately this also means bugs may be introduced- even driver incompatibility.

I am running build 1703, and search works fine. If that is the only issue you face with 1703, it should be fixable- it's not as far as I've noted a common problem. That it then doesn't work for you suggests an underlying problem of a different sort- rather than one of the Windows bugs.

Suggest you run some routine tests which are in any case good practice e.g.
1. First check your disk:
Download and run Hard Disk Sentinel (trial) and make sure all disks are reported as good.
If not, do not continue, and post back .

2. Now check your file system:

From an admin command or powershell prompt
[Windows key + X, click command prompt (admin)]
chkdsk C: /F
Your PC will need to restart.
Post back the result, which you can get after a restart as follows:
Read Chkdsk Log in Event Viewer in Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials
or
How to read Event Viewer log for Chkdsk in Windows 10 [Tip] | Reviews, news, tips, and tricks | dotTechdotTech
or
How do I see the results of a CHKDSK that ran on boot? - Ask Leo!
Make sure the result is clear or fixed- else do not proceed.

This is the Upgrade from 1703 to 1709 and as a feature upgrade it is possible to delay installation for a while but this is only possible on the Pro Version of windows 10 and above. there are some ways that you can delay the upgrade on home versions the simplest is to set your internet connection to Metered, as Windows Update will not send over a connection that is likely to cost the user money.

If you search the forum and especially the tutorials here you should find suggestions to help - the one issue you may find is that Wireless is easy to set to Metered, it needs a registry edit to do on version 1703 for Ethernet wired internet (ironically it is possible to do this with a simple checkbox in Version 1709 )

Eventually even this will stop working as Microsoft will only allow delay for a few months so I would suggest you start a thread asking for help here to solve your issue after upgrade as even with Pro systems the longest you can delay an upgrade is around twelve months

The way that Microsoft deals with upgrades has changed there are now two Feature upgrades planned each year and these will only be supported for about two years, This change means that windows will evolve quickly to meet changes in usage ETC but the downside of this is that upgrades are more or less compulsory

zbook said:

There are methods to permanently block upgrades. They don't stop the automatic Windows attempt to update or upgrade.

In Group Policy it does if you have Pro. I have it Block as 16299 will not work properly on mine. Compulsory maybe, but I will NOT buy a new PC just to upgrade to a build full of features that I do not need or want. One could still get updates by using Windows Update Catalog. My God, there are users still on XP and MS wants to stop users on The CU? Seems quite odd that users on 10240 are still OK.