On the 16th November Jim Hillier published an article entitled: “Force Windows Updates To Notify Before Downloading”
In my case with Windows 10 Home installed (Fig 1) it entailed editing the Registry
I did the Registry edit as described and Fig 2 is a screenshot of the registry entry.
As can be seen the Registry is exactly the same as it should be as described in Jim’s post.
I then waited for the next Windows update which in my case was today 9 December 2020 but I was disappointed to find that the update had already been downloaded and was just waiting for me to install it.
I also did not get the message at the top of the Update page as shown in Fig 3:
So can anyone help solve the mystery as to why this tweak did not work for me!
Hi Charlie,
Sorry for the delay, time difference with me being in Australia.
This is a complete mystery to me.
You shouldn't need to wait for updates to check if the edit has worked because that message about some settings being managed by your organization should appear immediately after the registry edit.
I see a reference to Internet Explorer in the screenshot of you registry. What is your default browser?
Could you please run the System File Checker. Open an elevated command prompt- Command Prompt (Admin), type in sfc /scannow (note the space between sfc and the forward slash) and then hit Enter.
The scan will take a little while and you'll receive one of the following messages when the scan has completed:
1) No integrity violations were found (this is good, means everything is okay)
2) Found corrupt files and successfully repaired them (this is also good but you'll need to run the scan again just to make sure)
3) Found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them (this is not good and if this message appears we'll have to take further steps to rectify).
Please get back to us with the result of the scan.
Cheers... Jim
My browser of choice is Opera. Internet Explorer is not even installed on my PC. I also use FireFox, Chrome and Edge on occasion.
I ran SFC Scan and first run found errors which were corrected. Second scan found no errors. I then restarted the PC but did not find any change to the update settings.
Being of brilliant intellect I finally thought of doing the tweak to my Laptop as well. The results are exactly the same as for my PC - the tweak did not work.
I ran sfc /scannow on the laptop and errors were found and corrected.
On my Laptop the Windows 10 version is 2004(OS Build 19041.630), the same version I had on my desktop PC 2 days ago before it updated to 685. For some reason the laptop informs me it is up to date and no updates are available. Go figure!
So the mystery deepens
Internet Explorer is not even installed on my PC
Yes it is Charlie but it is hidden. Open the Start Menu and type internet.
The mystery deepens indeed.
1) Are you logging in using an admin user account or a standard user account?
2) Are you logging in using a Microsoft account or a local account?
3) Have you made any changes to Windows Update settings such as setting a metered connection or deferring updates?
4) Have you used any sort of tweaking tool (software) that might have made changes to how Windows Update works?
In all honesty I am stumped. I don't understand why it works on all my machines but not on yours. Sorry Charlie, not what you wanted to hear. Leave it with me and I'll do some research and also ask a couple of the other DCT guys if they have any ideas.
Cheers... Jim
In answer to your questions:
1) Logging in as admin user
2) With Microsoft account
3)I have not made any changes to Update settings. Win 10 Home has very little ability to do so
4) I haven't used any other software which might change updates.
Is the problem possibly that my Windows version is the Home one. You professional IT experts only use the Windows Pro version don't you?
Yes, all my machines are running Win10 Pro. However, I don't believe that should make any difference. The identical instructions have been published in articles across multiple tech sites all showing the exact same regedit steps for Win10 Home.
I guess we could all be wrong but it does seem unlikely. I might download a Win10 Home ISO and install in a VM that way I can rule that out, or in, as the case may be.
Moderators
Mr Jim
I have W10 Home running on a Dell laptop. Would like for me to try this registry hack and see if it
works? Can this be undone by just deleteing the registry entry?
Yes please Daniel, that would be a huge help.
Yes, it can easily be undone just by deleting the key.
Thanks mate, really appreciated.
Cheers... Jim
Moderators
Ok, but their is already an AU entry????
Would I create the Dword AUOptions under this key?
Ok, but their is already an AU entry????
That's because somewhere along the line Windows Update has been set to not auto reboot when a user is logged on. It's fine.
Would I create the Dword AUOptions under this key?
Yes. Right-click "AU" and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it "AUOptions". Then double-click "AUOptions" and set the value data to 2 (two).
When done, if you then go to Settings > Windows Update there should be a message that "Some settings are managed by your organization".
Refer here: https://davescomputertips.com/force-windows-updates-to-notify-before-downloading/
When finished testing, you can just delete the new DWORD "AUOptions" and everything will then be as before.
Moderators
OK, it is set!!!! Had one update that had already downloaded, will watch and keep
you informed.
Thank you Daniel.
If you go to Settings > Windows Update can you see the message "Some settings are managed by your organization"?
Moderators
Mr Jim
I get no kind of notification on my W10 Home Dell laptop. I also tried this on my W10 pro pc, using gpedit, but most of the settings were grayed out. Are you sure this hack works for W10 version 20H2.
It's not a notification Daniel, it's a permanent message. As soon as you apply the regedit that message should appear permanently in Windows Update.
No, I am not sure it works in 20H2, I've only tried it in Win10 2004.
Moderators
Mr Jim
Did a little research on one of my PC's that is running W8.1 Pro and W10 Pro
version 20H2.
I do believe this is the windows update message.
As you can see the update setting is their for W8.1, and I enabled the setting, and was
able to get the message in windows update.
As you can see their is only one gpedit setting for W10 Pro 20H2.
I for one believe MS has screwed us again, concerning windows updates. I will let you be
the judge.
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