Insider Preview Problems

Hello. I am new to your forum and looking for some advice.

I recently performed an in-place upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10 Home. I encountered some difficulty and searched the web for help. I tried lots of things, and one thing that was suggested was to join the insider preview program, Beta channel. I was successful and finally got the upgrade going. However, the update downloaded and installed the preview (Windows 11 Insider Preview 10.0.26200.5670 (ge_release_upr)).

Admittedly I have an underpowered machine (Celeron with 128GB SSD). After the install, my free space on my SSD went from 45GB to 13GB). I was not happy with that and was able to remove the Preview (Uninstall update, Disk Cleanup, etc). Every thing seemed to be OK. I was afraid to go back to Windows Update for fear it would try to download the Preview again so I used a third party app to get my Windows Updates.

But, as in the past, Windows Update decided to download the Preview again today. I was able to pause update, but I know it's just waiting for me.

Over this last week I have tried everything (e.g. leaving preview program, disabling Send Optional Diagnostic Data, and many, many more. So I'm frustrated, but won't give up. All advice is appreciated. Also, I apologize for the length of this.

Many thanks - Dan

Are you aware that the loss of space was due to the creation of a windows.old folder, which is what is needed to undo the upgrade? It can be tens of gigabytes in size. (The Disk Cleanup utility can delete it, but you'd be stuck with 11.)

Were you able to exit the Beta Insider program?

Thanks for the quick reply bobkn. I was able to quit the leave the Insider program. I'm certain I have done things that were not helpful, but am looking for guidance on how to move forward. Any suggestions?

As of now, my PC is running just fine. SSD storage is back up to 42GB free space, things are running well, and I am happy. But I fear the next Windows Update is going to try to download and install the preview again, as it did earlier today. This insider preview download and update just won't go away.