Windows update automatically updated my system despite being Disabled!

Post #10 by Digital Life: “You still may be able to activate it if you have either valid a Win 7 or Win 8 key”
--- I can see that as a possibility.
--- Run ShowKeyPlus: you may not necessarily need to know what the valid key is but get it anyway just in case it turns out to be needed.
ShowKeyPlus - Windows 10 Forums

Also in post #10 by Digital Life: “If you installed Win 10 on top of either Win 7 or 8.1 it would have activated itself.”
You Can Still Get Windows 10 for Free With a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Key
Note: “Update: We tested this upgrade method once again on January 5, 2018. It still works!”
--- It’s worth trying.

I recommend you try to install & activate Windows 10 as well as get Windows-Updates up-to-date.
--- Create a system image backup.

In either case, ensure Windows 10 becomes activated.

If you decide to go back to Windows 8.1, you’ll still be able to get back Windows 10 for free in 2023 when Windows 8.1 reaches EOL.

Good luck.

Mine is freshly installed Windows 10.

I had a problem with my Windows 8.1 system with an Event Kernel Error every time I go to network settings since February. I could not fix this problem, it was also happening on Windows startup. So I decided to finally reformat Windows and decided to give Windows 10 a try.

This problem with the kernal error is now fixed.

The serial number from my previous Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit machines will not activate Windows 10. I don't know whether it is because they are the Pro versions and won't activate 10 Home. I'm also not sure if they would activate Windows 10 if I install Windows 8.1 first and then upgrade to 10, but this seems too much of a hassle for me to make the experiment having gone through so much already.

I would like to first see what Windows 10 will be like in the next 3 weeks approximately and see if this Windows Update will be triggered again or not. This is a bigger headache for me than activating Windows 10. Because what would be the point of Activating Windows 10, if Windows Update gets triggered against my will again?

Sometimes Windows update causes lag during gaming. It sucks network bandwidth and also takes a lot of memory. The prime example happened when I was playing FIFA 19 Demo for a test on Monday. Normally FIFA never stutters on my system and I pass recommended requirements. The moment Windows Update had silently been working on while I was in game, I noticed couple of seconds of game pauses and then it resumed again.

After that game was smooth for the next couple of hours. Before that I wasn't witnessing these game pauses. They were some small security updates. And although Windows Update did close after a while, I saw magically the Disabled was switched to Automatic on Monday the 15th of April. That was exactly 1 week since my last update last Monday 8th of April.

Perhaps Windows update tries automatically updating on a weekly basis. I will surely find out soon if it happens again or not!

According to your system specs, you were on Windows 8.1 Pro.
--- It would have been nice if you had been able to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro and it would have been free.

Now you are on Windows 10 Home.
Post #1 “Last week I upgraded to Windows 10 Home Edition (clean installation)”
Post #3 “I didn't buy Windows 10 yet. But I downloaded and installed it from a blank DVD on a freshly formatted hard drive to test this and see what Windows 10 is like.”
--- You still need to purchase a Windows 10 key, get it activated and then get caught up with Windows Updates.
--- Do not get into disabling/blocking windows updates at this point.
--- Until then chances are you will have variable problems on getting Windows 10 Home to run properly.
--- It would be good to know what process you used to get Windows 10.

Post #3 “This doesn't happen with Windows 8.1 or 7.”
--- Well you are not on either Windows 8.1 or 7: let’s focus on Windows 10 Home please.

Post #14 “Perhaps Windows update tries automatically updating on a weekly basis. I will surely find out soon if it happens again or not!”
Here are my notes on Windows updates schedules.

I believe I got this information from Brink’s Windows 10 update servicing cadence thread
Windows 10 update servicing cadence - Windows 10 Forums
Update Tuesday: 2nd Tue of the month (B release).
--- These updates are the primary and most important of all the monthly update events and are the only regular releases that include new security fixes.
Third week of the month (C release).
--- These preview releases contain only non-security updates, and are intended to provide visibility and testing of the planned non-security fixes targeted for the next month’s Update Tuesday release. These updates are then shipped as part of the following month’s “B” or Update Tuesday release.
Fourth week of the month (D release).
--- These preview releases contain only non-security updates, and are intended to provide visibility and testing of the planned non-security fixes targeted for the next month’s Update Tuesday release. These updates are then shipped as part of the following month’s “B” or Update Tuesday release.
Out of band release.
--- Any update that does not follow the standard release schedule. These are reserved for situations where devices must be updated immediately either to fix security vulnerabilities or to solve a quality issues impacting many devices.
Feature updates. Spring (March/April). Fall (September/October).

If you want to disable Windows Updates, that’s up to you: personally, I don’t recommend it.
--- However, make sure to get all of the windows updates once you activate your version before trying to figure out how to disable windows updates.

I haven’t had any windows update issues on any of my 3 computers which were originally windows 7 and have been upgraded to windows 10: I have also purchased 2 new Windows 10 computers, one for my son and one for my granddaughter: no problems with windows up dates on those computers also.

I read somewhere that if you set your Wi-Fi connection to a metered connection (even if you don't have a metered connection), Windows 10 Home will not automatically update. It seems to work on my wife's Toshiba. I have to manually go into the update service and initiate the update. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to allow a choice as to whether or not I want a particular update (as Win 7 used to do), but at least it allows me to control the timing of the update. I hate updates that initiate just as I'm powering down for the night.