tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post7737207241754545598..comments2024-01-04T12:07:18.991-08:00Comments on Ultimate Outsider: Using GWX Control Panel to Permanently Remove the 'Get Windows 10' IconUltimate Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comBlogger560125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-1347623944457833612021-09-24T15:44:19.620-07:002021-09-24T15:44:19.620-07:00@Unknown - As far as I know, all office versions p...@Unknown - As far as I know, all office versions prior to Office 2019 will run on Windows 7. GWX Control Panel will not solve this problem for you; it was only meant to disable the "install windows 10" notifications on Win 7/Win 8 machines.<br /><br />It sounds like something else is going on if you can't even install Office 2013 on a Windows 7 computer.Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-61185663679304648202021-09-23T17:14:22.510-07:002021-09-23T17:14:22.510-07:00We just purchased a new laptop which had Win10 ins...We just purchased a new laptop which had Win10 installed. Found real quick that we HATE Win10 for a number of reasons. We are still running Win7 on the remaining 4 or 5 machines. So, we dumped Win10 and installed Win7 on the new one. Then we tried to install Office 2016 only to receive a Microsoft message saying "This Application Requires Win10" "Please upgrade your operating system and try again."<br />So, we tried to install Office 2013. Same problem. And the same when we tried Office 2010. Of course. It's obvious that it's not the software, it's Microsoft AGAIN.<br />Question, Will the GWX CONTROL PANEL address this issue? If not, does anyone have any suggestions. Thanks!<br />Kathy & Bob LynchAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17923981309580715221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-40719388172946406882019-03-05T14:21:47.178-08:002019-03-05T14:21:47.178-08:00@Unknown - After installing Classic Shell (and pic...@Unknown - After installing Classic Shell (and picking the Win 7-style menus), I find Windows 8.1 pretty painless to use. It's not worth leaving Win 7 for if Win 7 still does everything you need. I only started moving to Windows 10 because a few programs I wanted to use were only available as Windows 10 "store apps."<br /><br />To be clear, 8.1 is more like Windows 10 than it is like Win 7. In Win 7 you have one place to go for all settings: Control Panel. In the others, there is an extremely frustrating and confusing mix of the Control Panel for some things, and the Settings app for others. (And all of the "Settings" versions of system options are much more limited and streamlined compared to their Control Panel counterparts.) Plus they both have the thing where you have to click through literally like 5 different screens in order to boot your computer into UEFI settings/BIOS.<br /><br />But once things are configured and WORKING, all 3 operating systems are comparable in terms of day-to-day use.<br />Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-70536496960370075632019-03-05T12:31:34.480-08:002019-03-05T12:31:34.480-08:00"If you're still not sure you're read..."If you're still not sure you're ready for Windows 10, Windows 8.1 is really solid now, and will be supported longer than Win 7". A serious and genuine question — is it really possible to grow to like Windows 8.1 (or even Windows 10) if one is a diehard Windows 7 addict ? My experience of both has been so uniformly awful that I have so far refused to allow either onto any of my systems (all 16GB i5/i7 towers with large, non-touch-sensitive, monitors — in most cases, dual).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18134140326277457187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-10152995454491145462019-03-05T11:44:27.388-08:002019-03-05T11:44:27.388-08:00Oh, also @donthuis - If you're still not sure ...Oh, also @donthuis - If you're still not sure you're ready for Windows 10, Windows 8.1 is really solid now, and will be supported longer than Win 7. It does not break nearly as often as Windows 10 and it gives you more control over your PC. It also has native USB 3 support while Win 7 always required often-sketchy 3rd-party drivers. I dual-boot Windows 8.1 and 10 on my main working computer. Whenever Win 10 starts acting up, I just boot into 8.1 to get critical work done.<br /><br />You still might want to install a start menu replacement program with 8.1, but otherwise I recommend it. (One caveat though is you can use a Win 7 serial number to activate Windows 10, but I don't think it works for Windows 8.1.)Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-43693300325616008652019-03-05T11:40:20.217-08:002019-03-05T11:40:20.217-08:00@donthuis - Hello again! I am no longer running th...@donthuis - Hello again! I am no longer running the program on my own Windows 7/8.1 systems. I don't think Microsoft will do exactly the same thing again, so if the forced upgrades ever did return I doubt my program in its current form would help. I made a post about uninstalling my program, for people who used the monitor mode and/or installer: https://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2016/08/how-to-uninstall-gwx-control-panel.html<br /><br />Regarding Windows 10, I have moved many of my systems to Windows 10, but it has caused different headaches. I've had some peripherals break after updates (such as game controllers), and I've had computers blue-screen due to bad video driver updates. Over time these problems were repaired by further updates, but this stuff always seems to happen at the worst times. There are also true annoyances like Microsoft's creeping "PIN" system where they now FORCE you to create a less-secure PIN than your Microsoft account password, and they make it annoying for people who wish to continue using the password instead of the PIN. (And this is all assuming you manage to install Windows 10! I've now had 7- count them, 7 computers that were unable to install Windows 10 from USB drives created with Microsoft's own Media Creation Tool. Installing from CD (even over a USB disk drive) is by far the most reliable option.<br /><br />Finally, regarding FireWire. Its days are numbered, but I still use a firewire interface for music purposes and I have not experienced any issues. I am using a Rosewill PCIe FireWire card, and it has worked well for both video and audio applications- and I didn't have to install any special drivers for it. USB 2 is still competitive with FireWire for audio applications, believe it or not. And a lot more reliable than USB 3.Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-64212365748958658152019-03-05T11:14:06.222-08:002019-03-05T11:14:06.222-08:00Now that the end of Windows 7 is coming nearer, th...Now that the end of Windows 7 is coming nearer, the question is how to treat this valuable facility for protecting us against unwanted upgrading actions. Should we uninstall, since this feature was added already a long time ago or not, or move to a double or even triple choice (in my case) via boot manager options? Recognising the ever-continuing update problems of Windows 10 October 2018 release, my preference is for keeping this future Windows 10 installation well kept seperate for my Windows 7 64 configuration which always worked fine, but I wonder about other people's opinions.<br /><br />BTW, my existing double boot on XP and 7 stems from the fact my Video-editing programs and their video's for certain release work only on specific Windows versions...<br /><br />PS A firewire interface for my old, trustfull NIKON LS 4000-ED filmscanner is another reason to be prudent SCSI support is already gone , but is Firewire the next to go?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03060704726291551490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-6837057609356675192019-03-03T01:06:47.464-08:002019-03-03T01:06:47.464-08:00app works great .have been using it for a few year...app works great .have been using it for a few years .no problems bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12715077167539718739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-11512785012553131072016-08-03T07:49:32.064-07:002016-08-03T07:49:32.064-07:00Thank you for this nice, lean program. I am 's...Thank you for this nice, lean program. I am 'semi-technical', meaning I've been able to go through many of the annoying steps to delay the lovely upgrade - but it's a pain to have to be that vigilant. Also, I can't rely on all users to make informed decisions on my computer. Your tool relieves the hassle at my end, the User Guide is well-written, and I am grateful!CeCe813https://www.blogger.com/profile/15124222484980784966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-6220168661601594042016-08-02T12:27:54.000-07:002016-08-02T12:27:54.000-07:00@SuperCheeseUs - It's not me, I promise! Pleas...@SuperCheeseUs - It's not me, I promise! Please have a look at my new post about <a href="http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2016/08/how-to-speed-up-windows-updates-check.html" rel="nofollow">how to speed up Windows 7 updates</a>, in addition to topic #17 at the <a href="http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/11/gwx-control-panel-troubleshooting-guide.html" rel="nofollow">GWX Control Panel Troubleshooting Guide</a>.Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-69009464127162249992016-07-30T16:07:09.593-07:002016-07-30T16:07:09.593-07:00Ever since I installed your program on Windows 7, ...Ever since I installed your program on Windows 7, I haven't got ANY updates at all. When I manually check for updates, it just hangs and hangs for hours. Now what? ThanksA Narc's Daughterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02665759048235451473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-83926263844939734282016-07-14T02:14:18.558-07:002016-07-14T02:14:18.558-07:00This is a great piece of software!
That GWX app wa...This is a great piece of software!<br />That GWX app was so annoying, I tried to delete the damn thing from the system folder (it was in), but the permissions were locked.<br />Thank you so much for your work on this tiresome Microsoft bug program... Free at last.FLICKERING STATEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13660495654464709788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-3737002292891304502016-07-10T06:40:16.379-07:002016-07-10T06:40:16.379-07:00Thank you very much for creating and sharing this ...Thank you very much for creating and sharing this great tool. I ran it and it worked perfectly. thanks again.Ricardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04610582523881890029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-72474008099663779222016-04-28T09:27:57.336-07:002016-04-28T09:27:57.336-07:00Hey folks, I'm sorry I haven't been able t...Hey folks, I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to comments as quickly as I used to. For the past three weeks, nearly every hour of my free time has gone into research, development, and testing of the next major GWX Control Panel feature.<br /><br />I still read and respond to comments here, but I'm only able to do it in batches every few days. The great majority of questions I receive are already answered in <a href="http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html" rel="nofollow">this post</a>, in <a href="http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/11/gwx-control-panel-troubleshooting-guide.html" rel="nofollow">the troubleshooting guide</a>, or <a href="http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/11/the-gwx-control-panel-faq-frequently.html" rel="nofollow">the FAQ</a>.<br /><br />I tend to respond to email more quickly (see the "Save Diagnostic Info" feature), but even then there's still a potential turnaround time, because I am "heads-down" in code at the moment.<br />Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-1647374030446899112016-04-26T22:54:08.408-07:002016-04-26T22:54:08.408-07:00@Cndi - Many people had this weird symptom where f...@Cndi - Many people had this weird symptom where for months their Windows Update control panels were "hijacked" by Windows 10- if you opened the panel you would only see the ability to upgrade to Windows 10 and you didn't have access to your other updates. When you use my program to disable the Windows 10 upgrade, this frees up your regular Windows Update patches, and you can get a whole ton of them if your control panel was hijacked for a long time.<br /><br />You are safe from Windows 10 upgrades if GWX Control Panel reports No, No, No, No (or "app not found" for a couple entries). If it doesn't, use the various "Disable" and "Prevent" buttons to block Windows 10. I also recommend looking at your "Change Windows Update Preferences" and unchecking the "recommended updates" option, which will keep Microsoft from slipping some non-essential annoyances onto your PC without your permission.Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-10265444354999374752016-04-26T22:38:51.647-07:002016-04-26T22:38:51.647-07:00after running GWX control panel, my windows update...after running GWX control panel, my windows update control panel still indicates "Restart your PC to fininsh installing updates"...what updates? is it still Window 10? Also when I tried to see the "installed update list" , it wouldn't let me unless I Restart and install updates... can someone help me please?? <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00273987436686160636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-50746210824392312932016-04-26T02:03:25.612-07:002016-04-26T02:03:25.612-07:00Thank you for this, I tried all the other recommen...Thank you for this, I tried all the other recommended ways to get rid of Windows 10 but this is the only method that works. Sharing on Twitter, discussing on my own blog. Thanks again!Wendy Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16916604300851924958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-50909554347161286472016-04-25T17:17:34.005-07:002016-04-25T17:17:34.005-07:00@Sarah - "Disable Get Windows 10 App" an...@Sarah - "Disable Get Windows 10 App" and "Disable Windows 10 Upgrade" are enough for probably 99% of people who use the tool. Some folks also need to use the "Disable non-critical Windows 10 Settings" feature or "Clear Windows Udpdate Cache" features to clean up some left-over Win 10 symptoms after disabling the upgrades and the app.<br /><br />@Katherine - The current version of GWX Control Panel absolutely does disable the Get Windows 10 app and prevent automatic Windows 10 Upgrades. It also alerts you if any new Win 10 symptoms/settings are discovered. It does NOT prevent Windows Update from installing updates on your machine (you control that through your Windows Update preferences), although the version coming out in a couple of weeks will change that.<br /><br />@Mike - Glad it helped!Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-63236048406061185892016-04-25T16:26:11.770-07:002016-04-25T16:26:11.770-07:00Thanks for this -- this solved my problems with Wi...Thanks for this -- this solved my problems with Windows 10 masking the "Install updates" button in the control panel. Much appreciated.Mike Christiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13150619346089316083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-19882827261040424852016-04-24T04:46:21.449-07:002016-04-24T04:46:21.449-07:00Thanks Josh, just one thing, will this REALLY bloc...Thanks Josh, just one thing, will this REALLY block the automatic update that is supposed to happen tonight?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07048401927827829420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-7818446476559694422016-04-24T04:46:06.971-07:002016-04-24T04:46:06.971-07:00Thanks Josh, just one thing, will this REALLY bloc...Thanks Josh, just one thing, will this REALLY block the automatic update that is supposed to happen tonight?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07048401927827829420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-990273678969782002016-04-23T23:08:21.357-07:002016-04-23T23:08:21.357-07:00Hoping this works! I did everything as said and ha...Hoping this works! I did everything as said and haven't seen any changes yet, but if they show up (or rather, WX does NOT show up anymore) then I definitely intend on donating as soon as possible! It'll be more than worth it!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10077783621547851221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-16519411862291279692016-04-20T09:59:23.528-07:002016-04-20T09:59:23.528-07:00If you can tell me what the specifications are for...If you can tell me what the specifications are for an icon to appear on the notifications area, I will happily design a "No Windows 10" icon for you !Chaa006https://www.blogger.com/profile/00007714578401273047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-87928860546393038602016-04-20T09:19:59.884-07:002016-04-20T09:19:59.884-07:00@DoctorBrown - Sometimes Windows Update doesn'...@DoctorBrown - Sometimes Windows Update doesn't clean up after itself when you disable the Windows 10 upgrade. I have never seen these steps not work: 1. Disable Windows 10 Upgrades, 2. Disable non-critical Windows 10 settings, 3. If step 2 didn't do the job, clear Windows Update cache (noting the one-time side-effects this has, which are displayed in the program before you choose to proceed.) If you do all of that and Windows Update STILL tries to push Windows 10, Microsoft might have done something new I'm not aware of yet.<br /><br />@godzero - Windows 7 can have a number of potential Windows Update issues that have nothing to do with GWX Control Panel. In fact I have a Lenovo laptop that has never had my program installed on it that has never been able to check for Windows 7 Windows Updates successfully; it's literally the fresh-off-the-disc Windows 7 SP-1 and can't be updated. If the troubleshooting steps in the Windows Update section of my troubleshooting guide didn't help, some others here have posted some links you should check out.<br /><br />@Chaa006 - Graphic design obviously isn't my strong suit. There might be new icons in the future, but it isn't a high priority. You can customize your notification area settings to only show my icon when there's an alert for you. (Or just disable Monitor Mode for now.)<br />Ultimate Outsiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004247608053632633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399960513082382706.post-41832577544088420322016-04-20T04:02:49.188-07:002016-04-20T04:02:49.188-07:00Having successfully used a combination of manual m...Having successfully used a combination of manual methods and GWX to rid myself of an unwanted forced upgrade to W10 ("today, tomorrow or the day after -- no other options, especially not never"), I decided to remove GWX and watch MS insidiously infiltrate my system once again. When it reached the point of pretending that there were no updates available other than W10, I again downloaded and installed GWX which did everything expected and required. However, I now have this horrible white-on-blue "10" icon adjacent to my system clock, which I keep misunderstanding as yet another attempt by MS to force me to upgrade. Could the GWX icon not be more mnemonic and more pleasing by being styled on (e.g.,) the "<a href="http://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/traffic-control-devices-manual/sign-specifications/images/r03-03-nolabels.gif" rel="nofollow">No U-turns allowed</a>" sign, with "10" in black and a great big red diagonal stripe across it diagonally to indicate "No Windows 10 upgrades allowed" ?! Chaa006https://www.blogger.com/profile/00007714578401273047noreply@blogger.com