Stop the “Upgrade to Windows 10” Popup!

Microsoft has stepped up its game trying to encourage users, at times to their detriment, to upgrade to Windows 10. As an IT Consultancy, questions about upgrading to Windows 10 dominated the landscape from about June to September of 2015. Then seemingly died down. Not to be undone, Microsoft has added the new taskbar popup to its arsenal, reinvigorating end-user concerns and an onslaught of tickets titled “* Windows 10 *”.

Don’t get me wrong; I think Windows 10 is a reliable operating system, and I think Microsoft showed it too can be altruist by conforming to a well-established industry norm—at least until the summer of 2016. The problem is compatibility. Unfortunately, many software developers are as quick to adapt—think “compatibility mode” in IE.

If you wish to preserve your sanity, there are Group Policy settings that can stop this popup from, well, popping up. Before we begin, however, there is a prerequisite. If using Windows 7, Windows Update 3065987 must be installed. If you’re using Windows 8, Windows Update 3065988 must be installed. Same goes for equivalent server versions.

ON PRO, ENTERPRISE AND ULTIMATE EDITIONS

Using Local Group Policy Editor (GPedit.msc), locate the policy path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update Policy
and enable the setting:
Turn off the upgrade to the latest version of Windows through Windows Update.

ON OTHER EDITIONS

Using RegEdit, navigate to the following subkey:
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Gwx
and add the following DWORD value:
DisableGwx = 1

A word to the wise, RegEdit is no place for the meek. Exercise caution when working with the registry.