Is there any way to prevent Windows 10 updates from turning on services or changing registry?

Question

I'm really tired of manually turning off unnecessary services after each windows update. I'm using Easy Service Optimizer, but it doesn't turn off every service I would like to. Windows 10 Pro (gpedit is available).

Answer 1

No, Windows Updates run with essentially full control over your system, and in order for them to run correctly and and actually update what they need to update, the services and registry keys need to be written.

However, you could write and apply a startup or logon script that disables services and rewrites registry keys.

Startup or Logon scripts are covered elsewhere in detail so I won't go into that here, but they are perhaps the easiest way to accomplish what you want.

Answer 2

As others have mentioned, Microsoft has full control of your PC during update and can do virtually anything to the OS (and to data, e.g. losing the user's profile).

One way to restore at least some of your original optimizations after Windows Update is to make a snapshot of the system beforehand to capture the current state. For example,

• Create a .reg file to control Startup of each Service you've disabled. (BTW, Black Viper’s Windows 10 Service Configurations provides a starting point for determining needed services). For example, to disable Xbox Live Game Save Service, open Regedit to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\XblGameSave and set Start to 4. (The first time this is done, you might need to take ownership of a Registry key.) Concatenate the .reg files. and merge it into the Registry after update.
• For a more complete view of Windows Update Registry changes, use a tool such as Nirsoft's Registry Changes View, which can take a beforehand snapshot and compare it with another made after the registry has been altered.
• Use a third-party tool such as O&O ShutUp10, which sets and snapshots various privacy and security settings, and it notifies you of changes to those settings if you run the tool after update.
• Use Sysinternals' Autoruns to see what applications have been set to run at Startup. You can save the list before Update and compare afterwards, using WinMerge or another diff engine.

However, Microsoft frequently introduces new services, renames old ones, and introduce new features, such as pushing advertising to you, which might not be obvious upon comparing snapshots, so review the literature reviewing the update.

However, I find Windows Update has been respecting changes I've made somewhat better than in the past.