Solved What does OneSettings really do and how does it differ from Windows Update?


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DesignHeaad9206

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Hi!

So, in my quest to debloat, enhance privacy, decrease the amount of background processes and improve usability, and in particular to avoid that Windows keeps installing stuff that I don't want (apps, optional components, older drivers), I came across the option to disable OneSettings downloads in the "data collection and preview builds" in gpedit.
The description says If you disable or don't configure this policy setting, Windows will periodically attempt to connect with the OneSettings service to download configuration settings.
But, WHICH configuration settings?
To configure what?
And how does it differ from the things that Windows Update installs specifically for my system (like drivers etc)?


Thanks in advance antspants :D
He's always the first to answer (no pressure).
 
Windows Build/Version
11 Pro, Version 10.0.22631 Build 22631

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Win11 64 Pro
OS
Win11 64 Pro

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 25H212th Gen Core i7-1260P64 GB Micron PC4-25600Intel Iris Xe Graphics
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Intel NUC12WSHi7
CPU
12th Gen Core i7-1260P
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NUC12WSBi7
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on-board Realtek HD Audio
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  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8655 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
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    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8655 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
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    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
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    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
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    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
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    Onboard
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    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
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    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
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    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
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    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
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    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
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    300/300
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    Firefox 3.x ??
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    Symantec (Norton)
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    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Thanks @Ghot. A little info on how I find these things, in case it helps someone.

I find the setting in question with Group Policy Search or Group Policy Administrative Templates. I prefer the former.

Once I have the name of the actual registry entry, in this case "DisableOneSettingsDownloads," I Google that at Microsoft specifically. Cuts down on the less-useful sites.

"DisableOneSettingsDownloads" site:learn.microsoft.com

Only if I don't find something useful there do I fall back to reddit, Stack Exchange sites, etc.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 25H212th Gen Core i7-1260P64 GB Micron PC4-25600Intel Iris Xe Graphics
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Intel NUC12WSHi7
CPU
12th Gen Core i7-1260P
Motherboard
NUC12WSBi7
Memory
64 GB Micron PC4-25600
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Sound Card
on-board Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U3219Q
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
Samsung SSD 990 PRO 1TB
Crucial MX500 2 TB
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
pseymour said:
Thanks @Ghot. A little info on how I find these things, in case it helps someone.

I find the setting in question with Group Policy Search or Group Policy Administrative Templates. I prefer the former.

Once I have the name of the actual registry entry, in this case "DisableOneSettingsDownloads," I Google that at Microsoft specifically. Cuts down on the less-useful sites.

"DisableOneSettingsDownloads" site:learn.microsoft.com

Only if I don't find something useful there do I fall back to reddit, Stack Exchange sites, etc.
Click to expand...


Yeah... LOL. I spent quite a while reading responses at "less-useful sites", before I saw your post. :-)
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8655 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8655 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1

  • At a glance

    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
pseymour said:
Thanks @Ghot. A little info on how I find these things, in case it helps someone.
Click to expand...
It's slightly humiliating that after having searched online and even asked GPT4o and Llama in the DuckDuckGo AI chat (surprisingly useful most of the time) I couldn't find what you could in 2 seconds, but that's why places like this exist.
I didn't understand your explanation, but I am thankful for the link!
Another reason to look into Linus @Ghot :D
Seriously, this is just freaking Telemetry?
And they try to sell it as some kind of mysterious configuration that makes you think twice before disabling it?
Unbelievable.

Ok. Disabled.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win11 64 Pro
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Win11 64 Pro
It’s not just telemetry, but the telemetry services use it also. Windows Update for Business uses it apparently, which you don’t care about probably. 😂 But the point is, multiple things use it; kind of like how the Event Log is used by lots of things.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 25H212th Gen Core i7-1260P64 GB Micron PC4-25600Intel Iris Xe Graphics
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Intel NUC12WSHi7
CPU
12th Gen Core i7-1260P
Motherboard
NUC12WSBi7
Memory
64 GB Micron PC4-25600
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Sound Card
on-board Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U3219Q
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
Samsung SSD 990 PRO 1TB
Crucial MX500 2 TB
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
pseymour said:
It’s not just telemetry, but the telemetry services use it also. Windows Update for Business uses it apparently, which you don’t care about probably. 😂 But the point is, multiple things use it; kind of like how the Event Log is used by lots of things.
Click to expand...
Is there anything vital or reasonably important or at least somehow beneficial to common mortals that would be using this?
Like, does it download things that every Windows System needs to work better?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win11 64 Pro
OS
Win11 64 Pro
I actually don’t know. I’m waiting to see what you broke. 🤣🤣
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 25H212th Gen Core i7-1260P64 GB Micron PC4-25600Intel Iris Xe Graphics
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Intel NUC12WSHi7
CPU
12th Gen Core i7-1260P
Motherboard
NUC12WSBi7
Memory
64 GB Micron PC4-25600
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Sound Card
on-board Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U3219Q
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
Samsung SSD 990 PRO 1TB
Crucial MX500 2 TB
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
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