4 ways to return to the previous version of Windows 10 without losing data

To avoid this, you can  enable or disable automatic updates in Windows  . If something happens to your computer after updating Windows, you should uninstall the Windows update to  go back to the previous version of Windows 10 without losing data  .

1. Method 1. Uninstall Windows Update via Control Panel
2. Method 2. Uninstall Windows Update via Windows Settings
3. Method 3. Uninstall Windows Update via Windows troubleshooting tools
4. Method 4. Uninstall Windows Update via Command Prompt (CMD)

Method 1. Uninstall Windows Update via Control Panel

To uninstall Windows Update, the simplest way is to uninstall it directly in Control Panel .

Step 1: Type control panel on the search bar and double-click Control Panel to open it.

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Step 2: Find Programs and Features and double-click it to open.

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Step 3: Click View installed updates  .

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Step 4: All Windows Updates will be displayed on this page. You can right-click on the version you want to uninstall and click Yes  to uninstall.

Tip: If you don't know which version you want to uninstall, you can click Installed On  to identify them with the installation date.

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Method 2. Uninstall Windows Update via Windows Settings

This way, you can find out the contents of every Windows Update before uninstalling it.

Step 1: Press the  Win key or click the Windows icon and then click the Settings icon   .

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Step 2: Click System  .

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Step 3: Click Update and Security  .

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Step 4: In the  Windows Update tab, click View update history  .

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Step 5: Before uninstalling, you can click on them to see version features.

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Step 6: Click Uninstall updates  .

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Step 7: All Windows Updates will be displayed on this page. You can double-click the version you want to uninstall and click Yes to uninstall.

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Method 3. Uninstall Windows Update via Windows troubleshooting tools

If you just want to uninstall the latest update, this may be the most appropriate.

Step 1: Press the  Win key  or click the Windows icon and then click the  Settings icon  .

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Step 2: Click System .

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Step 3: Click Update and Security .

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Step 4: Select the Recovery tab and click Restart now under Advanced startup .

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Step 5: After rebooting, click Troubleshoot  .

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Step 6: Click Advanced options  .

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Step 7: Click Uninstall Updates  .

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Step 8: Select user and enter password.

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Step 9: There are two options on this page. We choose Uninstall latest quality update  and then complete the simple operations according to the prompts.

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Tip: Quality Updates refer to maintaining your computer's system security, which should be performed monthly. Feature updates bring some new functionality to your computer, which happens twice a year. In general, Quality Updates are more likely to cause problems on your computer than Feature Updates.

Method 4. Uninstall Windows Update via Command Prompt (CMD)

Are there stubborn Windows updates that can't be removed from your computer? Don't worry, this section tells you  how to restore Windows updates using cmd  .

Step 1: Repeat Step 1 – Step 3 in How to show installed updates. Behind each item's name, KBxxxx is its id. Find the version you want to delete and note down the id that will be used next.

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Step 2: Enter  cmd in the search bar, right-click Command Prompt , then click Run as administrator  to open.

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Step 3: Enter the command wusa /uninstall /kb:xxxxxxx  , press the  Enter key  , then press  Yes  to close the confirmation dialog box.

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Tip: Replace xxxxxxx with the id you wrote in Step 1.

If you're lucky, you'll successfully uninstall the update. But it may prompt that it cannot be uninstalled.

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So,  how do I force uninstall Windows Update  ? Follow the steps below.

Step 4: Enter the command dism /online /get-packages | clip  and press the  Enter key  . Then the information of Windows updates will be copied.

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Step 5: Create a Text Document  and press  Ctrl  +  V  to paste the content.

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Step 6: Find the version you want to delete in the Text Document. You can press  Ctrl  +  F  and enter the date to find it quickly.

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Step 7: Once the update is found, select the content behind Package Identity  and copy it.

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Step 8: Return to the command prompt, enter the command dism /Online /Remove-Package /PackageName:xxxxxxxx  .

Tip: Replace xxxxxxx with the Package Identification you just copied.

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Step 9: After entering the correct command, the update will be uninstalled.

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Step 10: Once completed, enter  Y  to restart the computer. And then you will  return to the previous version of Windows 10 without data loss  .

Restore old Windows when you can't log in to your PC

If you want to go back to a previous version of Windows 10, but can't sign in to your PC, you can use these two methods:

Method 1: With Recovery Console

1. Restart your computer, once you get to the login screen, hold down the Shift key and select Power  >  Restart .
2. After your PC restarts, it will open to the Choose an Option screen , select Troubleshoot ,  Advanced Options and Go back to the previous build .

If this option is not available, use Method 2.

Method 2: Use Safe Mode

1. Restart your computer, once you get to the login screen, hold down the Shift key and select Power  >  Restart .
2. When your PC restarts, it opens to the Choose an Option screen
3. Troubleshoot –>  Advanced Options –>  Startup Settings and select Restart .
4. After your computer restarts, a list of options will be displayed. Select F4 or 4 to start your computer in Safe Mode  .
5. Open Settings
6. Select Update & security then select  Recovery  .
7. Under 'Go back to an earlier build', click Get started and follow the instructions.

Marvin Fry

Update 05 October 2023