Microsoft starts pushing Windows 10 as a 'recommended' update

[Batu69]

Microsoft is stepping up its Windows 10 push by making the OS a 'recommended' -- though not required -- update for Windows 7 and 8.1 users, beginning February 1

 

In October 2015, Microsoft officials outlined a schedule for stepping up the company's push to get Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to move to Windows 10.

 

On February 1, Microsoft started making good on the promised push.

"As we shared in late October on the Windows Blog, we are committed to making it easy for our Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers to upgrade to Windows 10. We updated the upgrade experience today to help our customers, who previously reserved their upgrade, schedule a time for their upgrade to take place," said a company spokesperson.

 

What does that cryptic statement (delivered at 5 pm ET, right in the middle of the Google earnings call, by the way) actually mean?

It means today's the day Windows 10 moves to "recommended" status.

 

In October, Microsoft execs said the "reservation" phase of upgrading to Windows 10 had ended. That phase of the upgrade push involved users proactively "reserving" their free copies of Windows 10 for download.The next phase of the push was to mark Windows 10 as an "Optional" update in Windows Update for all Windows 7 and 8 customers. After that, Microsoft officials said in early 2016 they'd re-categorize Windows 10 as a "Recommended" update.

 

Officials did concede that users with automatic updates enabled might see the Windows 10 upgrade automatically initiate on their devices. But they said that users would not be fully moved to Windows 10 unless they proactively chose to do so. And if anyone does move -- intentionally or inadvertently -- to Windows 10 and are unhappy with it, they have 31 days to roll back to their previous Windows versions.

 

Microsoft is not changing its policy of downloading part of the Windows 10 code proactively to users' machines to make upgrading faster. The company is continuing to do that, in spite of complaints by many. However, unless users make the final decision to hit upgrade, Windows 10 will not completely install and replace their existing Windows versions.

 

The "recommended" push will be a phased one, the spokesperson said, for Windows 7 and 8.1 consumers who have Automatic Updates turned on. For users who have chosen the "Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates" setting turned on, the automatic update process will kick off. (See the screen shot above, courtesy of ZDNet's Ed Bott, to see if you're in that group.)

 

In case it's not clear, anyone who has disabled automatic upgrades using Group Policy settings or the registry edit outlined here will not have Windows 10 automatically pushed to them.

 

One more time, for the record: Windows 10 is not a required update for Windows 7 and 8.1 users. It is now recommended. Users who do not want it can just say no.

 

Article source

 

Batu 69 Edit: Thread has been merged.

[steven36]

Only way  they can  push Windows 10 as a  recommend update  is if you installed get windows 10 updates  to began with and i just checked  there's no updates on windows updates yet  to hide and its Feb 2nd  .Updates most the time want show up tell next  Tue. 

[Karlston]

A cryptic post from Microsoft seems to indicate that Redmond has stepped up its push to upgrade Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users by moving Windows 10 to "recommended status."

 

According to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, about 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Microsoft dropped a small bombshell:

 

As we shared in late October on the Windows Blog, we are committed to making it easy for our Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers to upgrade to Windows 10. We updated the upgrade experience today to help our customers, who previously reserved their upgrade, schedule a time for their upgrade to take place,

Shortly after, Microsoft maven Paul Thurrott confirmed the message. Apparently this is Microsoft's version of an official announcement.

 

Both Foley and Thurrott believe that the message signals the long-anticipated switch of the Windows 10 upgrade from "optional" to "recommended" in Windows Update. As a "recommended" update, the Windows 10 installer launches automatically on Windows 7 and 8.1 computers with default settings.

 

I took one look at the announcement and scratched my head. Read it again and again, and I still can't make heads or tails of it -- if you can, I'd sure like to hear from you.

 

The October Windows Blog post talked about the end of the Windows 10 Reservations process, wherein potential upgraders could "reserve" their Win10 bits in advance. At that point, everyone who had reserved a copy of Windows 10 had received their copy. Many people found that the upgrade didn't work, but the point is that the reservation system was disbanded in October. In that blog post, Windows honcho Terry Myerson said:

We will soon be publishing Windows 10 as an "Optional Update" in Windows Update for all Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers. Windows Update is the trusted, logical location for our most important updates, and adding Windows 10 here is another way we will make it easy for you to find your upgrade. Early next year, we expect to be re-categorizing Windows 10 as a "Recommended Update". Depending upon your Windows Update settings, this may cause the upgrade process to automatically initiate on your device. Before the upgrade changes the OS of your device, you will be clearly prompted to choose whether or not to continue. And of course, if you choose to upgrade (our recommendation!), then you will have 31 days to roll back to your previous Windows version if you don't love it.

It's now early next year, and we're all expecting to see "recommended" Windows 10 upgrade entries in Windows Update. I haven't seen one on any of my Windows 7 or 8.1 PCs. Looking around the Web early Tuesday morning, I can't find anybody who's seen one. I certainly can't find anyone who's "previously reserved their upgrade" and is now anxiously awaiting an opportunity to install it. The reservation system died in October.

 

This is more than a lousy marketing exercise. Shortly after that Windows Blog announcement last October, Microsoft started pushing the Windows 10 upgrade as a "recommended" update in Windows Update. It took them a week, but Microsoft ultimately reverted to "optional" status for the update, claiming the action was "accidental." Heaven only knows how many people moved from Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10 because they clicked OK in an official Microsoft prompt.

 

Microsoft continues to assure us that "customers remain in full control and can easily decline the upgrade if they choose," but we have no idea how the choice will be presented. Clearly, Microsoft needs to get upgraders to approve a new EULA. But is that the only point at which a customer can decline? Windows users are accustomed to clicking through EULAs without even reading them. Imagine the uproar if clicking on a EULA is the only action required to install Windows 10.

 

We also don't know what happens if a customer declines the EULA. Will the installer come back again? Will it leave the PC in a bizarre state, with 3GB to 6GB of unwanted files hanging around in a hidden folder? What happens when you reboot?

In that October Windows Blog post, Myerson promised us a new feature:

You can specify that you no longer want to receive notifications of the Windows 10 upgrade through the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 settings pages.

What happened to the promised setting?

 

Most of all, I'm curious to find out if Microsoft will honor the registry entry that it suddenly, silently documented in the Jan. 18, 2016, update to its Knowledge Base article "How to manage Windows 10 notification and upgrade options." That article, KB 3080351, says:

To block the upgrade to Windows 10 through Windows Update, specify the following registry value:

Subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

DWORD value: DisableOSUpgrade = 1

Which brings the description in line with what we had observed and published on Jan. 14.

 

Until we actually see a "recommended" Windows 10 update in the wild, it's hard to say what Microsoft will do. Right now, if you're content to stick with Windows 7 or 8.1 -- after all, you still have six months left on the free upgrade offer -- your best bet is to download and run Josh Mayfield's GWX Control Panel. That'll clean out the Get Windows X subsystem, reset the registry entries, and keep the hidden scheduled tasks from firing.

 

Whether GWX Control Panel will keep the "recommended" updates at bay -- I have my fingers crossed.

 

Source

[steven36]

yes its not in the wild yet i checked this morning there's no new updates to hide .. I have updates turned off .. i will just hide if it comes out on patch Tuesday

[Karlston]

Apparently it's out in the wild...

 

Windows 10 will now automatically download and install on PCs (The Register)

 

Windows 10 about to become a “recommended” update for Win7/8.1… or maybe not (Ask Woody)

 

Let's hope the sh*t now starts hitting the Microsoft fan from users who have been tricked into "upgrading".

[steven36]

17 hours ago, Karlston said:

Apparently it's out in the wild...

 

Windows 10 will now automatically download and install on PCs (The Register)

 

Windows 10 about to become a “recommended” update for Win7/8.1… or maybe not (Ask Woody)

 

Let's hope the sh*t now starts hitting the Microsoft fan from users who have been tricked into "upgrading".

I checked  again today apparently this time they were just optional updates and not recommenced like in the past.

 

I just hide the updates again for the 1000th time

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2976978

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3135449

 

See how easy that was I win again .. Microsoft loses 

 

[Karlston]

Scary, scary stuff from Woody Leonhard (my bolding)...

 

Quote

Microsoft has long promised Windows 7 and 8.1 customers they would have a chance to opt out of the Win10 upgrade installation. It appears that accepting the EULA for Windows 10 is the only checkpoint -- if you accept the EULA, Windows 10 gets installed on your PC. Since most Windows users are accustomed to accepting EULAs (when's the last time you declined a EULA?), we're in for a flood of new Windows 10 users as systems reboot over the next few days.

 

Not accepting the EULA doesn't disable the upgrade, though. As best I can tell (these are still early days), the EULA comes back on every reboot, even if you turned it down previously. Once the "Upgrade to Windows 10" update appears as checked on your PC, you're stuck in an endless installer cycle that kicks in every time you reboot. All of the installation files stay on your system, and Windows 10 is ready to be installed, again and again.

 

Quote

The easiest way to keep "Upgrade to Windows 10" from appearing on your system? Run Mayfield's GWX Control Panel. He describes the process in the section "How do I block Windows 10?" in his user guide. The key setting is the one he calls "Are Windows 10 upgrades allowed?" That's the one linked to DisableOSUpgrade in the registry. Alternatively, if you really want to use regedit, you can set DisableOSUpgrade by hand.

 

You can also try adjusting the Windows Update settings (set Windows Update to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" and uncheck the box marked "Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates"), but the GWX Control Panel approach is easy and foolproof.

 

Quote

To be clear, I'm not averse to upgrading to Windows 10. I use Win10 on my main systems, and it's working fine -- has been for a year. I wrote a 1,000-page book about Windows 10.

 

What I do object to is Microsoft's heavy-handed pushing. Many people -- and many organizations -- have good reason to delay moving to Win10, as my colleague J. Peter Bruzzese noted this morning.

 

Microsoft's unrelenting effort to force Windows 10 upgrades has alienated even its most ardent supporters. The ends do not justify the means.

 

Source: New details emerge about forced Windows 10 upgrade -- and how to block it

[Actarusse]

[steven36]

1 hour ago, Karlston said:

Quote

 "Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates"), but the GWX Control Panel approach is easy and foolproof.

 

That would be OK but get  windows 10 updates are only part of the problem there's many more updates  that are Telemetry/Tracking as well that needs to be removed or not installed and hid   . If you dont care they spy  on  you  may as well install windows 10.  Even the person who makes GWX Control Panel dont claim  its fool proof after all M$ has  to do is make a simple update that's get windows 10 update manger for win 7  and 8.1 and if you dont take  it you cant get anymore updates ever  they done it in the past made updates  that will stop you from updating  you were forced  to take them  ..

 

Quote

To be clear, I'm not averse to upgrading to Windows 10. I use Win10 on my main systems, and it's working fine -- has been for a year. I wrote a 1,000-page book about Windows 10.

 

Too many tinfoil hat post from people who use windows 10 defeating the purpose of  not taking Windows 10 to begin with.

 

Telemetry/Tracking/Upgrading to Win10

http://techne.alaya.net/?p=12499

 

Removing  updates  and truing them off and checking each one is the only surefire way you dont install something you dont want. 

[Karlston]

Well, for now the GWX Control Panel stops Microsoft's Upgrade-to-Windows-10 malware dead in its tracks, and does it with minimal user effort. And its developer very quickly updates it when Microsoft comes up with yet another unethical way.

 

Like Woody, I respect those Windows 10 users who freely chose to upgrade and those who like it, but loathe and detest the evil Microsoft bastard scum for the unethical and immoral ways they bully, trick, nag, bribe, and force users into upgrading. Like Woody says... "Microsoft's unrelenting effort to force Windows 10 upgrades has alienated even its most ardent supporters. The ends do not justify the means.".

 

I bet I'm not the only Windows 7 or 8.1 user who originally wanted to upgrade, but have been so sickened by the evil empire's repugnant ways of forcing it, that I have chosen not to upgrade because doing so would mean I give tacit approval to the way Microsoft are "encouraging" its takeup.

 

I bet the malware authors are paying attention to all this, and are learning lots of new tricks from Microsoft.

[steven36]

3 hours ago, Karlston said:

I bet I'm not the only Windows 7 or 8.1 user who originally wanted to upgrade, but have been so sickened by the evil empire's repugnant ways of forcing it, that I have chosen not to upgrade because doing so would mean I give tacit approval to the way Microsoft are "encouraging" its takeup.

 

I bet the malware authors are paying attention to all this, and are learning lots of new tricks from Microsoft.

You're not that's for sure . Like me  for example  i was looking forward  to it tell i tired it.  all the work it took to block spyware  and remove unneeded  stuff then every time it gets  major upgrade  you have all do it all over again  that's the main reason  I never installed it again  . I rather be using my pc  than worry with all  this on win 7 or 8.1 i can just turn off updates and  apply the needed ones  when i feel like it.

[steven36]

Quote

 

Microsoft pushes Windows 10 upgrade using tactic it once called 'a mistake'

 

Maker of 'GWX Control Panel' tool reports that Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs receiving upgrade as pre-selected 'Optional' item in Windows Update

 

Microsoft has begun to deliver the Windows 10 upgrade to eligible Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs through Windows Update, making good on an October announcement.

A company spokeswoman confirmed that the Windows 10 upgrade is reaching customers' systems.

 

More than three months ago, Terry Myerson, the executive who leads the operating system and devices group, said that the Windows 10 upgrade would be pushed to users via Windows Update, the primary maintenance service for its OSes.

 

At the time, Myerson said that the upgrade would first appear under the "Optional" section in Windows Update, then later transit to "Recommended." The difference is more than labeling: In Windows Update, "Optional" is supposed to be just that; customers must explicitly check the box for an item for it to automatically download and install. "Recommended" items, on the other hand, will be retrieved and installed unless the user has changed the default settings of Windows Update.

 

In the past, Microsoft has issued updates and upgrades in that two-step process under which bits first appeared under Optional, then after a month or more -- a span Microsoft used to digest diagnostic data from affected PCs to ensure things worked as expected -- the same update shifted to Recommended, and reached the majority of users.

 

It's unclear whether Microsoft is following the plan it laid out in October: While several prominent bloggers who focus on Microsoft -- including Paul Thurrott and ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley -- said that the Windows 10 upgrade had been deployed as Recommended in Windows Update, there was no explicit evidence that that had, in fact, begun.

 

But the Windows 10 upgrade has appeared under Windows Update's Optional list, according to Josh Mayfield, the creator of GWX Control Panel. The free utility made Microsoft's Get Windows 10 (hence "GWX") upgrade reservation app go away, purged the system of upgrade files, and blocked the automatic upgrade.

 

Mayfield maintains a multiple-PC pool of test machines to monitor how Microsoft promotes Windows 10. Yesterday, he confirmed that the upgrade showed up under Optional on both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs.

 

"As we saw over the summer, it's listed as an 'Optional' update but automatically selected to install, unlike other updates in that category," said Mayfield in an email reply to questions Tuesday.

 

Mayfield was referring to events that began in mid-September at the latest, when users noticed "Upgrade to Windows 10 Home" or "Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro," in Windows Update. Those items appeared in the Optional section of Windows Update's listing of available patches and fixes. Normally, updates pegged as Optional will not download to a PC -- whether automatically or in a manual check -- until the user has ticked a box.

 

But according to users' reports at the time, Windows Update itself checked the "Upgrade to Windows 10" optional update as eligible for download and installation. Users with Windows Update set to automatically retrieve and install updates -- the norm, and the setting recommended by Microsoft -- or who did not examine the optional update list, were then served with the Windows 10 upgrade, whether they wanted it or not.

 

Microsoft quickly issued a statement saying that the checking of the upgrade's Optional item "was a mistake."

 

Mayfield contended that Microsoft has done the same this week by automatically checking the Windows 10 upgrade box. Under those conditions, it mattered not a whit whether the upgrade was listed under Recommended or Optional: The result would be the same. For the vast majority of users, the upgrade would download -- if it wasn't already on the PC, having been pre-loaded under a long-running campaign to place the bits on customers' devices -- and the installation process would begin.

Microsoft has said that users could decline the Windows 10 upgrade once installation began, but has declined to say whether the upgrade starts in all cases, detail how the user authorization process is to play out, and whether -- after a customer declines the upgrade -- it presents itself again later.

 

The company has been little help when asked to clarify exactly what began this week for the Windows 10 upgrade on Windows 7 and 8.1 devices.

 

"We are committed to making it easy for our Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers to upgrade to Windows 10," Microsoft said in a statement forwarded by the firm's spokeswoman. "We updated the upgrade experience today to help our customers, who previously reserved their upgrade, schedule[d] a time for their upgrade to take place."

 

In a follow-up email, the spokeswoman did not directly answer questions Computerworld posed, including whether the Windows 10 upgrade was being placed in Recommended, Optional or both. "This is rolling out in a phased approach which is why you are seeing different reports," she said.

 

Mayfield noted that as far as he can tell, Microsoft has honored the registry settings it had earlier said would block the appearance of the Windows 10 upgrade on PCs powered by Windows 7 and 8.1. Those registry tweaks -- made by crafting a Group Policy that could be distributed to large numbers of machines -- were spelled out in a support document revised last month.

 

That means Mayfield's GWX Control Panel will stymie attempts to place the Windows 10 upgrade in Windows Update, as the tool was designed to do. Previously, Mayfield had warned that might not be the case if Microsoft again changed the rules, an increasingly common practice for the company, which, for example, repeatedly issued a Windows 10 reservation app to users who had managed to uninstall it.

 

"If GWX Control Panel reports 'No' for 'Are Windows 10 Upgrades allowed?', then the Windows 10 upgrade doesn't even appear as an option in the Windows Update control panel," Mayfield reported. Those who download and install GWX Control Panel can block the Windows 10 upgrade from appearing by clicking "Disable Get Windows 10 app," and then clicking "Prevent Windows 10 Upgrades."

 

Earlier this month, Microsoft said that it would expand Windows 10 upgrade distribution to include all systems running Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro -- even domain-joined Windows 10 Pro machines in businesses -- that receive their security patches directly from Windows Update. It was also unclear today whether Microsoft is serving the upgrade to domain-joined PCs, which were originally exempt from the push, or only to consumers and commercial systems not connected to a network in which administrators use Active Directory to set access rights.

 

GWX Control Panel can be downloaded from Mayfield's website free of charge, although he accepts donations from appreciative users.

 

Microsoft is placing the Windows 10 upgrade on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs, but pre-selects the download, even though it's listed as an 'Optional" update/upgrade. That's contrary to how Windows Update's Optional items usually work, and was called a "mistake" by Microsoft when it did the same last year.

 

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3029664/microsoft-windows/microsoft-pushes-windows-10-upgrade-using-tactic-it-once-called-a-mistake.html