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I would like to turn off automatic updates for Windows 7, and have tried to do so following the instructions here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-nz/windows/turn-automatic-updating-on-off#turn-automatic-updating-on-off=windows-7

However, in "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Windows Update\Change settings" I get a little information box saying "Some settings are managed by your system administrator." and the dropmenu under "Important updates" is greyed out and I can't make any changes.

enter image description here

I've tried opening the control panel as the administrator, but this does not resolve the problem.

This is on a personal laptop (ASUS UX31) that nobody else has ever used, so the only thing that I can think is that this was set by the manufacturer.

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5 Answers 5

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Taken from the following link.

There are a few places to stop Automatic Updates, but they all depend on the Automatic Updates Service to be running to work.

Disable the Automatic Updates Service and it all stops.

Start>Run>Services.msc>Automatic Updates>>> Double-Click and click dropdown box, select "Disabled" then click "Stop" Then click Ok.

Also, to speed up boot-time, Start>Control Panel>System>Automatic Updates(tab)>"Turn off Automatic Updates"

This prevents Windows from trying to start the service at boot-time, wasting time, and keeps this error out of the event viewer.

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  • Neither of these suggestions work for me. I don't have an option for "Automatic Updates" under Services.msc or under Control Panel>System
    – laffoyb
    Mar 12, 2014 at 2:25
  • Nice option if your laptop is part of corporate network and you are too lazy to search how to give rights to disable updates through a standard UI. +1 to the author. On my Win 7, the service is called "Windows Updates"
    – Denis
    Sep 1, 2015 at 6:50
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Try resetting group policy

run this in command prompt

secedit /configure /db reset /cfg “c:\windows\security\templates\setup security.inf” /overwrite

del c:\windows\system32\grouppolicy\machine\registry.pol

del c:\windows\system32\grouppolicy\user\registry.pol

secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

Another method:

In start-> Run type gpedit.msc and press enter

in Group policy editor go to

Computer(or User) Configuration->Administrative Templates->Windows Components->Windows Update Double-click "Configure Automatic Updates" Set it to "Not configured"

If it is already set to "Not configured", enable the Policy and revert the setting back to "Not configured". This will reset any associated registry key.

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  • No luck with this either. The secedit commands don't work, it complains that the path does not exist, and there is no setup file in that location. I don't have a gpedit.msc application in my installation. I tried following the instructions here: sevenforums.com/tutorials/…, to reset group policy, but neither the .bat nor the .vbs scripts made any difference.
    – laffoyb
    Mar 12, 2014 at 2:47
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Fix Windows 7 Update Settings Disabled (Grayed Out)

Posted on September 28, 2012 by erroneous_

  • WindowsKey + R
  • Type: “regedit”
  • Hit Enter

Go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

Find AUOptions. You can change the values from 1 through 5.

  1. Download updates but let me choose whether to install them
  2. Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them
  3. Download updates but let me choose whether to install them
  4. Install updates automatically
  5. Enable the option box to choose manually

(source http://mkncreations.com/site/2012/09/fix-windows-7-update-settings-disabled-grayed-out/)

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You can create a .reg file (e.g. disable_windows_updates.reg) with the following content, and execute it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU]
"NoAutoUpdate"=dword:00000001
"RescheduleWaitTime"=dword:0000000a
"AUOptions"=dword:00000005
"ScheduledInstallDay"=dword:00000000
"ScheduledInstallTime"=dword:00000000
"UseWUServer"=dword:00000001
"DetectionFrequencyEnabled"=dword:00000001
"DetectionFrequency"=dword:0000000c
"AutoInstallMinorUpdates"=dword:00000000
"NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers"=dword:00000001

result:

enter image description here

To remove the "some settings are managed by your system administrator" message and make field editable again:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00  
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]      
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\WindowsUpdate]   
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]    
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\WindowsUpdate]

Result:

enter image description here

If you want to remove downloaded but not installed windows updates:

  • Start > Search> (type in) %windir%\SoftwareDistribution > [OK]
  • Open the Download folder and delete its contents

If you suspect that some Windows updates got installed, you can use Powershell to search for installed Windows updates: the command Get-Hotfix retrieves all current installed updates on the machine, as shown below.

PS C:\Users\Franck> Get-Hotfix

Source        Description      HotFixID      InstalledBy          InstalledOn
------        -----------      --------      -----------          -----------
FRANCKD-PC    Update           KB2841134                          11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
FRANCKD-PC    Update           KB2670838                          11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
FRANCKD-PC    Update           KB2592687                          11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
FRANCKD-PC    Security Update  KB2479943                          11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
FRANCKD-PC    Security Update  KB2491683                          11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
FRANCKD-PC    Update           KB2506014                          11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
FRANCKD-PC    Security Update  KB2506212                          11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
FRANCKD-PC    Update           KB2506928                          11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM

Alternatively, in cmd.exe, you can execute wmic qfe list:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\ANNs>wmic qfe list
Caption                                        CSName      Description      FixC
omments  HotFixID   InstallDate  InstalledBy               InstalledOn  Name  Se
rvicePackInEffect  Status
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=133041  FRANCKD-PC  Update
         KB2841134                                         11/18/2013

http://support.microsoft.com/                  FRANCKD-PC  Update
         KB2670838                                         11/18/2013

http://support.microsoft.com/                  FRANCKD-PC  Update
         KB2592687                                         11/18/2013

If you need to uninstall a Windows update, in cmd.exe, you can execute wusa /uninstall /kb:<kbnumber>, e.g.:

wusa /uninstall /kb:3110329
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If you want to change your settings on Windows Updates manualy (not from registry) you need to delete added subkey under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU to leave only the "default" subkey.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/unable-to-change-windows-update-settings-some/2aafdc92-fb2e-4347-948d-ca71f87107a4

Many times we post tutorials which require use of Group Policy Editor (GPEdit.msc) program. But the problem is, Group Policy Editor comes bundled with only a few selected Windows editions such as Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions. Other Windows editions such as Home (also known as Core), Home Basic, Home Premium, Starter and Single Language don't come with Group Policy Editor program. So these Windows editions users can't use tips-n-tricks which require using Group Policy Editor.

https://www.askvg.com/how-to-enable-group-policy-editor-gpedit-msc-in-windows-7-home-premium-home-basic-and-starter-editions/

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