Everyone’s heard the good news, Windows 10 is available and it’s free
(Not Mandatory) to install to all previous owners of Windows 7 or Windows 8. Not just the home version, Microsoft has been kind enough to include all editions, Home, Pro and Enterprise when upgrading from the same platform. They know because of the constant nagging in their system tray that Windows 10 is ready to download or install.
We understand, many users have really become accustomed to Windows 7, others have upgraded to Window 8 or 8.1, but are holding out on Windows 10 until the word is out that it’s OK to move up to Windows 10. Many business owners are reluctant to move up to Windows 10 due to the fact that some of their proprietary software applications have not yet been updated for use with Windows 10.
It just so happens, in June 2015, Microsoft included an advertising program (GWX.exe) for Windows 10 along with its regular security patches for Windows 7 and 8.
If you really don’t want to upgrade to Windows 10 right now, we’re going to show you how to get rid of that nagging notice to update that keeps popping up in your system tray and allow you to stay on Window 7 or 8 until you’re ready to take the plunge to Windows 10.
We can see why this update is so easy to miss, we have had clients mention that this update has shown up on their systems under “ Recommended/Important” updates as well as “Optional Updates”.
If your computer is set for automatic updates or you miss the GBW.exe update when doing manual updates, you’ll find an icon in your system tray and if clicked, the GWX.exe program launches with more info on why you should update to Windows 10.
It’s usually true that Microsoft continually increases security on each new operating system and that alone can make it worth the upgrade. But, if you just don’t want to take the time right now, or you’re worried about data loss or things going wrong during the install, we can help.
Start by going to the search bar on your Start Menu, type in ‘Windows Updates’ then click on ‘View Update History’. Click the link to ‘Installed Updates’ after the popup appears, you will see a list of all your installed updates. Now, use the search bar at the top right of the screen to find the KB3035583 update. Right click on the update, chose ‘uninstall’ follow the prompts then reboot your system as instructed.
After restarting the PC and back to the desktop, go back to Windows Updates and search for the KB3035583 update again. Now it is listed as a recommended or optional update. Right click on the update and select ‘Hide Update’.
Restart the system one more time and the nagging GWX.exe KB program should be gone forever along with the nagging notifications.
As a side note, if you’re a home user, or business user that doesn’t have any software that just isn’t ready for the update to Windows 10, we seriously suggest giving it a try. It has proven to give gamers a boost in performance, provides a nice blend of Windows 7 and Windows 8 features, and best of all, the security has been markedly enhanced.
Like many users we been in contact with, if you have already upgraded to Windows 10 by mistake, or intentionally, we are getting ready to release a “How-To” article on the possibility of switching back to Windows 7 or 8/8.1
