How to prevent Windows 11 installing


Hazel123

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OS
Windows 11
Sounds bizarre I know - here we all are finding work arounds to install Windows 11 on machines that aren't supported. And I have one machine here (teenager's gaming PC) which is supported. And Windows 11 just tried to download through Windows updates. He wants to stay on Windows 10 for now. So how do I stop it? I turned Windows updates off on 5th October. Have done a system image (just in case). Turned windows updates back on again today and the banner came up saying you're eligible for Windows 11. It then started downloading a lot of drivers and said when this has finished Windows 11 will install. So I turned Windows updates off again.

So how do I stop it downloading please (and still have Windows updates for W10)?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
If you are in the insider program i guess delay it for 7 days then repeat it every 7 days
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 [NOW 11] (Laptop Used at Home) or Chrome OS (Chromebook used at school)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Chromebook: Intel | Windows 10: HP
    Browser
    Chrome
No just standard Windows 10 Pro install. The update came in Windows updates.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
I'm not sure I would trust an app that isn't in the Microsoft Store.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 15 9510 OLED
    CPU
    11th Gen i9 -11900H
    Memory
    32 GB 3200 MHz DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3050Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" OLED Infinity Edge Touch
    Screen Resolution
    16:10 Aspect Ratio (3456 x 2160)
    Hard Drives
    1 Terabyte M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
    2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™)
    1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB Type-C™)
    SD Card Reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC)
    Internet Speed
    900 Mbps Netgear Orbi + 2 Satellites
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium) + Bing
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 subscription
    Microsoft OneDrive 1TB Cloud
    Microsoft Outlook
    Microsoft OneNote
    Microsoft PowerToys
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    Microsoft Visual Studio Code
    Macrium Reflect
    Dell Support Assist
    Dell Command | Update
    LastPass Password Manager
    Amazon Kindle
    Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation
    Lightroom/Photoshop subscription
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Tablet
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    i5
    Memory
    8 GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD
    Internet Speed
    900 Mbps Netgear Orbi + 2 Satellites
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium) + Bing
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 subscription (Office)
    Microsoft OneDrive 1TB Cloud
    Microsoft Outlook
    Microsoft OneNote
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    Amazon Kindle
    Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation
    Lightroom/Photoshop subscription
Winaero Tweaker is an excellent piece of software - well respected, many people use it with no problems.

As to the OP, download an app called 'Windows Update MiniTool' here:


On the left hand side, at the very bottom, change 'Automatic Updates' to 'Disabled'. Instead of running Windows Updates from within 'Settings' use MIniTool instead. You can then choose to hide the updates you don't want to install. The rest you can choose to install from within the app.

HTH.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
If you're running Windows 10 Pro, go to gpedit.msc, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, then Windows Update. If I recall correctly, there's an entry under Windows for Business that will let you prevent Windows from installing a Feature Update and still download Quality updates.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro,Version 22H2, Build 22621.1265
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3793
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-1065G7
    Memory
    32GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 2TB CT2000P2SSD
    Samsung 4TB 870 EVO SSD
    Internet Speed
    200 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.3085
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS
    CPU
    13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700 2.10 GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 770/NVIDIA GE Force RTX 3060
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2421H/Dell SE2222H
    Mouse
    Logitech M650L
    Keyboard
    Logitech K650
If you're running Windows 10 Pro, go to gpedit.msc, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, then Windows Update. If I recall correctly, there's an entry under Windows for Business that will let you prevent Windows from installing a Feature Update and still download Quality updates.

Thanks - I'll try that. Thanks for the other tips as well. I'll try tink's first as it doesn't mean installing anything (and it's not my PC so I'd need permission!)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Thanks - I'll try that. Thanks for the other tips as well. I'll try tink's first as it doesn't mean installing anything (and it's not my PC so I'd need permission!)
It is what I did on my wife's PC until I finish figuring out Windows 11. Just went and checked. It's Local Machine Policy>Administrative Templates>Windows Components>Windows Update>Windows Update for Business.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro,Version 22H2, Build 22621.1265
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3793
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-1065G7
    Memory
    32GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 2TB CT2000P2SSD
    Samsung 4TB 870 EVO SSD
    Internet Speed
    200 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.3085
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS
    CPU
    13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700 2.10 GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 770/NVIDIA GE Force RTX 3060
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2421H/Dell SE2222H
    Mouse
    Logitech M650L
    Keyboard
    Logitech K650
I am trying to stop it on my compatible computers.
I don't want this on any other computer.
Windows 11 is a mess. But I'm sure you already know that.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Stigg's Build
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-10900X
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE X299X DESIGNARE 10G
    Memory
    Corsair 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) CMW64GX4M4C3000C15 Vengeance RGB Pro 3000Mhz DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini ITX 6 GB OC
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" FHD LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (LS27F350FHEXXY)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro Series 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    PSU
    Corsair HX1200 1200W 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata V2
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    Logitech BRIO 4k Ultra HD USB-C Webcam
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS
    CPU
    Core i7-8750H
    Motherboard
    Zephyrus M GM501GS
    Memory
    SK Hynix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) HMA82GS6CJR8N-VK 16 GB DDR4-2666 DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC294
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AU Optronics B156HAN07.1 [15.6" LCD]
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVKW512HMJP-00000 512 GB, PCI-E 3.0 x4
    Samsung SSD 860 QVO 4TB 4 TB, SATA-III
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Keyboard
    PC/AT Enhanced PS2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    USB2.0 HD UVC Webcam
I am trying to stop it on my compatible computers.
I don't want this on any other computer.
Windows 11 is a mess. But I'm sure you already know that.
Well now I’ve used it a bit I think it’s speedy and productive. I don’t like the start menu - because it’s not a menu/list - but does the job.

Main reason for preventing install is it’s not my PC and the teenager wants to keep W10 (he took one look at the start menu and said he preferred the W10 one).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
As @Tink009 suggested, you can use the Select the target Feature Update version group policy. Formerly you'd enter, for example, 21H1 to "pin" the OS to Windows 10 21H1. Windows 11 introduced an ambiguity (there can be both Windows 10 21H2 and Windows 11 21H2, for example) so KB5005101 added a new field to the policy letting you specify Windows 10 or Windows 11, along with the Target Version. There is a good tutorial on tenforums but @Brink hasn't gotten around to adding the change.

Run gpedit and navigate to Administrative Templates/Windows Update/Windows Update for Business/Select the target Feature Update version. Enable it, and specify Windows 10 in the product version field, and 21H1 for Target Version for Feature Updates. It's an open question as to what happens if you leave out the Target Version, specifying only The Windows product version.

2021-10-16_12h24_54.png

Hopefully, after a reboot, Windows Update will stop trying to install Windows 11. But it can be persistent once it has started, so you may need to reset Windows Update. There is a tutorial on tenforums for that too. Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/10/11, Fedora 38
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo W530
    CPU
    i7-3720QM @ 2.60Ghz
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000, NVIDIA Quadro K2000M
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
As @Tink009 suggested, you can use the Select the target Feature Update version group policy. Formerly you'd enter, for example, 21H1 to "pin" the OS to Windows 10 21H1. Windows 11 introduced an ambiguity (there can be both Windows 10 21H2 and Windows 11 21H2, for example) so KB5005101 added a new field to the policy letting you specify Windows 10 or Windows 11, along with the Target Version. There is a good tutorial on tenforums but @Brink hasn't gotten around to adding the change.

Run gpedit and navigate to Administrative Templates/Windows Update/Windows Update for Business/Select the target Feature Update version. Enable it, and specify Windows 10 in the product version field, and 21H1 for Target Version for Feature Updates. It's an open question as to what happens if you leave out the Target Version, specifying only The Windows product version.

Hopefully, after a reboot, Windows Update will stop trying to install Windows 11. But it can be persistent once it has started, so you may need to reset Windows Update. There is a tutorial on tenforums for that too. Good luck!

Tutorial now updated to include 21H1. :-)

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Tutorial now updated to include 21H1. :)

Wow, that was fast! But I'm not seeing the change adding the 'Windows product version' field, even after clearing my browser cache. Maybe it needs time to propagate, I'll check back later. Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/10/11, Fedora 38
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo W530
    CPU
    i7-3720QM @ 2.60Ghz
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000, NVIDIA Quadro K2000M
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
I switched off TPM2 in my bios because I don't want to migrate to Windows 11 until I have to. However my already installed Windows 11 VM didn't notice. Which was nice.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel i8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME Z370-P
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT710
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar D2X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SE2417HGXF Full HD Gaming Monitor, 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung V-NAND SSD 860EVO
    Other spinning HDDs
    PSU
    Xilence XP420
    Cooling
    PSU fan and stock CPU fan
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avira free
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 on VMware (Release, Beta and Dev)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop

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