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If you chose not to get the Windows spyware Windows 10 on 29 July, but did not click cancel the offer and let it lapse, then what now?

Windows 10 support says you can cancel the free offer but if you do not do this in time this option is now removed from their Get W10 App.

W10_free_upgrade_ended

I realise there are answers on how to disable the icon, but I want to purge all the Windows 10 marketing AND preloads to free up my old small SSD that is creaking under the weight.

How do I make it as if this W10 never happened to W7?

EDIT: In July Superusers says don't worry there will be an update. How does this square with Windows change in roll back policy?:

But there’s yet another problem with rollbacks. Richard Hay reported yesterday on Windows Supersite that Microsoft has just -- unilaterally, and without notification to anyone -- changed the rules, so rollbacks can only be performed for 10 days after the initial installation. “Microsoft can now recover anywhere between 3 and 5GB of storage space on the users device that would normally be occupied by the previous operating system files that were saved for a possible rollback recovery.” That’s a decent argument now, but somebody should’ve told Microsoft last year when they silently pushed 3GB to 6GB of unwanted data onto Windows 7 and 8.1 computers as part of the “Get Windows 10” effort. How convenient to have that change of heart.

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  • There are numerous programs that exist which do this have you tried any of them? I won't be suggesting any of them for obvious reasons
    – Ramhound
    Jul 30, 2016 at 6:45
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    Microsoft will probably be releasing an update in the next few weeks to remove it.
    – Mokubai ♦
    Jul 30, 2016 at 7:05

2 Answers 2

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Use Steve Gibson's Never10

If Microsoft's GWX (Get Windows 10) had already secretly and silently downloaded the Windows 10 files into a hidden directory (this can be squatting on more than 6.5 gigabytes of your hard drive space), Never10 will show the exact count and amount of files and allow its user to remove them with one click.

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Uninstall the Update KB3035583, which provides the GWX icon. Or wait until Microsoft releases a new update to remove the update.

In September 2016 Microsoft released an update to remove the GWX icon:

Remove software related to the Windows 10 free upgrade offer
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3184143

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  • I doubt they will remove the icon as now it is showing marketing messages so its changed its role. @magicandre1981 can you confirm removing the GWX removes all the preload?
    – micstr
    Jul 30, 2016 at 7:08
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    I never installed this update, so I never saw the icon/message
    – magicandre1981
    Jul 30, 2016 at 7:14
  • @micstr You have to remove that yourself using the Cleanup Tool.
    – Ramhound
    Jul 30, 2016 at 18:26

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