With Windows 10 how can I shut down without installing updates?

Question

With Windows 7 it was possible to use the task manager screen to shut down without applying updates (see How to shut down the computer without the update on Windows 7? ). But that did not work for me on Windows 10.

How can I shut down Windows 10 without installing updates. I might want this because:

I need to shut down or reboot quickly
The computer is acting funny and that's why I need to reboot (yeah, it's still Windows), and I don't trust running updates at that time. No point in making a bad problem worse.

My Window 10 shutdown menu reads:

Sleep
Update and shut down
Update and restart

The old Windows 7/8 trick does not work. New versions of Windows 10 have altered previous workarounds. Microsoft has lots of feedback on the topic, but has not taken action. See for example:

feedback-hub:?contextid=158&feedbackid=1e175952-a19f-4cca-b1fb-d248945e9fe1&form=1&src=2

Or search "Allow users to defer updates: on shutdown and on startup." in the Microsoft Feedback Hub (search for "Feedback Hub" in Windows 10).

Toastgeraet · Answer 1 · 2020-10-28T10:09:18.050

14

Edit: This solution is deprecated for current versions of Win 10. See other answers for possible solutions.

I had the same problem - @TNALLY almost had it.

My solution:

Power Options -> Choose what the power buttons do
set option to shutdown
press power button once - hurray: shutdown without updates

edited Oct 28 '20 at 10:09

answered Jun 17 '16 at 07:20

Toastgeraet

249

Vomit IT - Chunky Mess Style · Answer 2 · 2016-10-02T21:45:32.030

Okay, so right after I posted the below Original Answer content, I actually ran the same script on my Windows 10 machine, and guess what... Windows Updates started to install anyway.

It seems that Microsoft has made some changes with Windows 10 to ensure security updates get installed on the OS to patch security vulnerabilities, and rightfully so in the name of security.

It seems what you are asking for Windows 10 may not have a 100% for sure method to completeas you requested exactly without disabling Windows Updates altogether.

If a Windows update already installed (or is installing) while you are logged in behind the scenes prior to the forceful reboot, and even after stopping Windows Update services, etc. Windows 10 seems smart enough to still wait for any pending updates or perhaps rollback whatever changed that wasn't 100% committed to the system before power cycling the OS.

Dangerous Workaround

I suppose you could simply hard boot your machine by disconnecting the power source, holding down the power button, etc. but this would essentially emulate an unexpected power outage and you will have potential for corruption of the file system and so on.

Halfway Workarounds

I found a couple other sources I wanted to post for potential halfway or workaround methods to maybe help with some non-security updates or for better controlling when to allow updates to even be downloaded—it won't have anything to install if there is nothing downloaded.

Option 2: Setup A Metered Connection

Windows 10 offers users on metered connections a compromise: to save bandwidth Microsoft confirms the operating system will only automatically download and install updates it classifies as ‘Priority’.

While Microsoft doesn’t reveal its method of classification, this does cut down more frivolous updates which typically include new drivers and software features – both of which have already caused stability problems.

Open the Settings app (Win + I)

Open the ‘Network & Internet’ section

Open ‘Wi-Fi’ and click ‘Advanced Options’

Toggle ‘Set as metered connection’ to ‘On’

Note: If your PC uses an Ethernet cable to connect to the Internet the Metered Connection option will be disabled as it works with Wi-Fi connections only (silly I know).

Option 3: Group Policy Editor

This is a halfway house: the group policy editor will notify you about new updates without automatically installing them (how previous generations of Windows always worked) – though again security updates will still install automatically.

Note: Windows 10 Home users have to sit this one out, it is only for Windows 10 Education, Pro and Enterprise editions.

Open the Run command (Win + R), in it type: gpedit.msc and press enter

Navigate to: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update

Open this and change the Configure Automatic Updates setting to ‘2 – Notify for download and notify for install’

Open the Settings app (Win + I) and navigate to -> Update and Security -> Windows Updates. Click ‘Check for updates’ which applies the new configuration setting

Restart

_source

Important

As stated here in the Stop Windows 10 from automatically updating your PC post, I think it is important to know that, "As a general rule, an up-to-date operating system is a secure operating system. Windows 10 automatically checks for, downloads and installs new updates to your PC -- whether you like it or not. This new feature is actually pretty convenient for most users, but not everyone wants their operating system updated on Microsoft's schedule." _source

_{Surge Protection and Power Outages}

_{To protect yourself from an unexpected power outage or electrical
surge, you should consider UPS battery backups and surge protection. If your
PC is powered on or plugged into an electrical receptacle and you are not
present when one of these situations occur, or are more likely to occur
(e.g. thunderstorm) you can proactively protect your system at this
level regardless. Additionally, for critical data in your system,
consider performing routine backups accordingly elsewhere off this machine
such as external media, secure remote cloud backup, etc.}

Original Answer

For a quick and not so clean way to do this, you could kill any running or applicable Windows services related to Windows Updates, and then perform the forceful restart.

Save the Batch Script logic in the example below to a text document and rename it to <something>.cmd to your desktop. Be sure to right-click it and select run as administrator when you need to perform this as you explain in instances where you are available to do so.

Batch Script

@ECHO ON

FOR %%B IN (wuauserv,BrokerInfrastructure) DO NET STOP %%B
SHUTDOWN -r -t 01
GOTO EOF

Further Resources

FOR
SHUTDOWN

Bryce · Answer 3 · 2016-10-06T06:42:52.200

8

Update: this way no longer works.

Best way I've found is hit "Windows-R" to bring up a command prompt, then type "shutdown -r -t 5" to give 5 seconds warning then shut down.

Options for that command include:

-f = force
-r = restart
-t = time

edited Oct 06 '16 at 06:42

answered Jan 22 '16 at 19:48

Bryce

2,375

harrymc · Answer 4 · 2016-10-05T11:55:54.693

An (untested) idea is to clean out the downloaded updates, so forcing Windows to re-download, for which it won't have time if we do an immediate shut down.

Here is a .bat file that in theory should clean out Windows Updates. It was adapted from the article by Shawn Brink : How to Reset Windows Update in Windows 10.

@echo off

set b=0

:bits
set /a b=%b%+1
if %b% equ 3 (
   goto end1
) 
net stop bits
echo Checking the bits service status.
sc query bits | findstr /I /C:"STOPPED" 
if not %errorlevel%==0 ( 
    goto bits 
) 
goto loop2

:end1
cls
echo.
echo Cannot reset Windows Update since "Background Intelligent Transfer Service" (bits) service failed to stop.
echo.
pause
exit

:loop2
set w=0

:wuauserv
set /a w=%w%+1
if %w% equ 3 (
   goto end2
) 
net stop wuauserv
echo Checking the wuauserv service status.
sc query wuauserv | findstr /I /C:"STOPPED" 
if not %errorlevel%==0 ( 
    goto wuauserv 
) 
goto loop3

:end2
cls
echo.
echo Cannot reset Windows Update since "Windows Update" (wuauserv) service failed to stop.
echo.
pause
exit

:loop3
set app=0

:appidsvc
set /a app=%app%+1
if %app% equ 3 (
   goto end3
) 
net stop appidsvc
echo Checking the appidsvc service status.
sc query appidsvc | findstr /I /C:"STOPPED" 
if not %errorlevel%==0 ( 
    goto appidsvc 
) 
goto loop4

:end3
cls
echo.
echo Cannot reset Windows Update since "Application Identity" (appidsvc) service failed to stop.
echo.
pause
exit

:loop4
set c=0

:cryptsvc
set /a c=%c%+1
if %c% equ 3 (
   goto end4
) 
net stop cryptsvc
echo Checking the cryptsvc service status.
sc query cryptsvc | findstr /I /C:"STOPPED" 
if not %errorlevel%==0 ( 
    goto cryptsvc 
) 
goto Reset

:end4
cls
echo.
echo Cannot reset Windows Update since "Cryptographic Services" (cryptsvc) service failed to stop.
echo.
pause
exit

:Reset
Ipconfig /flushdns
del /s /q /f "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat" 
del /s /q /f "%SYSTEMROOT%\Logs\WindowsUpdate\*"


if exist "%SYSTEMROOT%\winsxs\pending.xml.bak" del /s /q /f "%SYSTEMROOT%\winsxs\pending.xml.bak" 
if exist "%SYSTEMROOT%\winsxs\pending.xml" ( 
    takeown /f "%SYSTEMROOT%\winsxs\pending.xml" 
    attrib -r -s -h /s /d "%SYSTEMROOT%\winsxs\pending.xml" 
    ren "%SYSTEMROOT%\winsxs\pending.xml" pending.xml.bak 
) 

if exist "%SYSTEMROOT%\SoftwareDistribution.bak" rmdir /s /q "%SYSTEMROOT%\SoftwareDistribution.bak"
if exist "%SYSTEMROOT%\SoftwareDistribution" ( 
    attrib -r -s -h /s /d "%SYSTEMROOT%\SoftwareDistribution" 
    ren "%SYSTEMROOT%\SoftwareDistribution" SoftwareDistribution.bak 
) 

if exist "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\Catroot2.bak" rmdir /s /q "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\Catroot2.bak" 
if exist "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\Catroot2" ( 
    attrib -r -s -h /s /d "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\Catroot2" 
    ren "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\Catroot2" Catroot2.bak 
) 

shutdown -s -t 0

The methods listed below seem to have been removed in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

The article How to Shut Down a Windows PC Without Installing Updates lists three methods :

Press Alt+F4 to access the Shut Down Windows dialog box and select “Shut down” from the drop-down list.
Press Windows+L to lock the screen, or log out. In the lower-right corner of the login screen, click the power button and select “Shut down” from the popup menu.
Run the following command : shutdown -s -t 0

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 01 '16 at 04:34

Perhaps this will work: http://www.askvg.com/how-to-disable-install-windows-updates-and-shut-down-option-in-windows-start-menu/

In Windows 8 one could add the following registry key:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU]
"NoAUAsDefaultShutdownOption"=dword:00000001

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Oct 05 '17 at 03:53

There is a way out, but you are basically going to have to crash the system to force an instant shutdown.

Laptops with non-removable batteries and ultra-fast Solid State Drives can be quite annoying because the system will go to sleep very rapidly if you press the power button, rather than turning off.

Choose Restart or Shutdown (doesn't matter) and wait for it to say, "Preparing to install updates"
Press power button. Laptop goes to sleep in a matter of seconds, but isn't fully turned off.
Press power button twice very quickly, and on the second press, keep holding it down.
The first press brings the system out of sleep. Windows 10 will quickly resume, but before it can re-initiate sleep, holding the power button for about 5 seconds will force power off regardless of what Windows is doing.
System is now turned off completely.
The next time you turn on the system, Windows 10 will silently clean up the mess on startup, and not tell you anything.

I occasionally need to do this override when doing mobile device drive imaging. There is no point whatsoever waiting out a long forced update process, if I am just going to be wiping the drive anyway and applying a new preconfigured system image.

score -2 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 05 '16 at 11:40

I don't trust running updates at that time. No point in making a bad problem worse.

This is the core of the problem here. In order to use Windows in a home environment, you need to either get past this, or purchase a server license and install a WSUS server on your network so that you can control which updates are pushed (I didn't say it was a cheap option, but it is a workable solution), or switch to a new OS. This is the direction MS is going.

Personally, I hated the loss of control, but then I really thought about it. Forced updates are the only way to ensure that most workstations are secure. As a whole, people don't do it right by themselves. In the past I opted for 'download updates and alert me'. When was the last time I elected not to install a security update? Never. When was the last time a security update broke my computer? Again, never. When was the last time I waited days or even weeks to install an update. Almost every time. And I'm a sysadmin who works in a security conscious environment. (The experiences I mention are on my home machines). In my defense, I often go days without using a computer at home. But now all of them, mine and those for my family, are autoupdated. No problem in over a year.

I believe you can still control how optional updates install. I have started autoinstalling security and bugfix updates. If it breaks, I will join the hue and cry, but my Win 10 systems are my home systems, and they're not critical. Systems at work are managed through Enterprise methods like SCCM or WSUS in some cases.

As for preventing an update that is downloaded and queued for install on reboot, the methods which speak to clearing out the downloaded updates are the only way I know.