Windows 10 and video driver updates

[Nazgul]

I've seen conflicting reports, and I'm hoping someone can provide a definitive answer. Right now the biggest thing holding me back from eventually upgrading to Windows 10 is the forced update stuff. The system updates I'm mostly resigned to dealing with, though I've heard about ways to mitigate that if you're sneaky enough. The big one that irks me is the automatic updating of device drivers. As a Radeon user who's seen Catalyst updates occasionally introduce new problems, and who sometimes uses Beta drivers that MS might not recognize, I do NOT want Microsoft making the decision of which video driver version to use. I've seen on some sites that automatic device driver updates can be disabled by going to the System Properties, in the Hardware tab and changing the Device Installation Settings so that it doesn't automatically download drivers from Windows Update. However, I've also heard that this setting doesn't apply to things like video cards, that it considers "devices" to be more like printers and other things that you connect externally to the computer. Can anyone confirm if there's a way to keep Windows 10 from automatically updating my Catalyst drivers that doesn't involve me doing any kind of deep dive into the Registry?

 

[0091/2]

There's a tool from M$ to exclude hidden updates. I'm not to sure how it works. I open it and it scans for hidden updates. It my case is doesn't find any. Since Windows update without you knowing I assume you run the tool after you discover and uninstall the update. I guess it'll list that driver update to exclude the next time it automatically check for new updates.

 

[daPhoenix]

O&O ShutUp10 allows you to disable driver updates without 'delving deep into the registry'; http://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

Be careful when you change other settings even though it has pretty easy to understand warnings.

 

[Nazgul]

There's a tool from M$ to exclude hidden updates. I'm not to sure how it works. I open it and it scans for hidden updates. It my case is doesn't find any. Since Windows update without you knowing I assume you run the tool after you discover and uninstall the update. I guess it'll list that driver update to exclude the next time it automatically check for new updates.

I'm pretty sure the tool you're referring to only works on updates that have already been installed once on your system. Their "fix" lets you prevent a bad update from being re-installed once you've removed it, but it doesn't give you pre-emptive control over what gets installed in the first place. And when it comes to device drivers, you might be able to block driver version X, but then when a new version Y comes out, you'll have to block it all over again, AFTER it already installs it once and you remove it.

 

[Nazgul]

O&O ShutUp10 allows you to disable driver updates without 'delving deep into the registry'; http://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

Be careful when you change other settings even though it has pretty easy to understand warnings.

Do we know HOW tools like this are actually managing to disable automatic Windows updates, something that is baked into the system according to Microsoft? Are they actually disabling the feature in the OS? If so, that suggests the feature isn't nearly as baked in as MS has suggested, something that you'd think would have been a bigger story by now. Or is this tool doing something sloppier, like setting up local DNS entries to make the update servers inaccessible? If I turn off the "automatic" updates with this tool, can I still go into whatever Win10's version of Windows Update is and manually download the updates myself?

And please, I only want to know if you've actually done this yourself. I've heard WAY too much info about Win10 second- or third-hand, and not enough from people who have actually used Windows 10 and tried to work around these annoying "features".

 

[daPhoenix]

And please, I only want to know if you've actually done this yourself. I've heard WAY too much info about Win10 second- or third-hand, and not enough from people who have actually used Windows 10 and tried to work around these annoying "features".

I have.

O&O ShutUp does nothing except change or create in certain cases like when you need to disable Windows Defender it creates a DWORD DisableAntiSpyware key in the registry with a setting of 1.

When MS says the settings are "baked" what they really mean is that many of them have no GUI way to disable them but instead need external 3rd party applications and/or registry editing.

 

[Skynet]

The forced driver update behaviour has been changed somewhat since Windows 10 hit. I've noticed it no longer forces a video driver install after you've installed your own.

 

[Eisberg]

The forced driver update behaviour has been changed somewhat since Windows 10 hit. I've noticed it no longer forces a video driver install after you've installed your own.

I was going to say, that I haven't seen Window 10 update my graphics drivers at all even though some new ones have been released. So yeah, Windows 10 is not forcing or even suggesting that I update my graphics drivers.

 

[Seyiji]

I was going to say, that I haven't seen Window 10 update my graphics drivers at all even though some new ones have been released. So yeah, Windows 10 is not forcing or even suggesting that I update my graphics drivers.

Same here.

When I updated to Windows 10 from 8.1 it just reinstalled my 8.1 driver.

 

[Trunks0]

- Start
- Type "device installation settings"
- Select "No, Let me choose what to do" and then "Never install driver software from Windows Update"

Although I've heard Win10 can ignore this setting??? lame.