Click: How to Turn Off Microsoft Updates in Windows Xp

This updated guide examines Click: How to Turn Off Microsoft Updates in Windows Xp and organizes the essential facts, background, and practical takeaways in clear American English.

Method 1of 2:

Turning off Automatic Updates

1. Access Automatic Updates from the Control Panel. Turning off automatic updates will prevent Windows from automatically installing updates to your computer. Click on Start>Control Panel . computer. Click on Automatic Updates to bring up the Automatic Updates properties window. You may need to enable 'Classic View' on your Control Panel which can be done by clicking on 'Switch to Classic View' on the left hand side of the Control Panel window.
2. Access Automatic Updates from the Run Command. Alternatively you can access the Automatic Updates properties window by clicking on Start>Run then type in 'sysdm.cpl' and press↵Enter.
3. Turn off Automatic Updates. In the Automatic Updates window, click on 'Turn off automatic updates.' Once you are finished click onApplythen click onOK
   • You can also choose other preferences to how you download updates by setting Automatic Updates to 'Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them.' or 'Notify me but don't automatically download or install them.'

Method 2of 2:

Editing the Registry to Disable Windows Update

1. Create a restore point for your computer. Editing the registry will allow you to disable the Windows Update function by providing an exception for how the software runs on your system by causing it to not run. You run the risk of causing your computer to become unstable if the registry is damaged and can be safely repaired by using a restore point. Create a restore point by clicking on Start>Run then type in '%SystemRoot%system32restorerstrui.exe' then click onOKto open System Restore. Click on 'Create a restore point' and click onNext. Type in a name for the restore point and click onCreate. Once the restore point is created, click onClose.^[1]
2. Open the Registry Editor. The Registry Editor is a program that allows you to edit your Windows Registry. The registry provides information to your system and is used to change the behavior of a program and how it works with Windows. Click on Start>Run then type in 'regedit' and press↵Enter.
3. Expand the Image File Execution Options subkey. The subkey is located in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hierarchy which is designed to contain information for both hardware and software.^[2]On the left hand side is the hierarchy of your system's registry. Expand the following paths: 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Options'^[3]
4. Add the Windows Update Manager subkey. Right-click on 'Image File Execution Options' then click on New>Key . A new subkey will be created and will be prompted to enter a name. Type in wupdmgr.exe then press↵Enter.
5. Add a Debugger string value to the Windows Update Manager subkey. Right-click on 'wupdmgr.exe' then click on New>String Value . Type in 'Debugger' to name the new string value. Double click on the Debugger string value to enter into the Value Data text field 'ntsd --'then click onOK. Quit the registry editor. Windows Update can no longer be opened on your computer unless you revert your edits to the registry or perform a System Restore. You can still manually update Windows by downloading patches from Microsoft's website.