Block the Windows 10 upgrade using these steps from Microsoft

There is no doubt that one of the biggest discussions that has happened about Windows 10 here at the SuperSite for Windows is the automatic upgrade prompts and downloads.

In the past we have recommended several tips for dealing with the Windows 10 upgrade for those who want to remain on their current operating system and they have proven to be a mixed bag of results.

Well it seems we now have a fix directly from Microsoft to block the Get Windows 10 system tray icon and to block the Windows 10 upgrade from within Windows Update.

Yesterday, when Microsoft announced they were opening up access to the free Windows 10 more avenues for small businesses to get Windows 10 on their eligible systems, they also provided the means that allows users to block the Windows 10 upgrade.

If you want to open up access to the free upgrade in your small business for unmanaged and domain joined devices then you can read more about these changes over at our sister site Windows IT Pro.

Now, for those of you who want to block the Windows 10 upgrade on your systems you need to make a couple of changes which includes registry modifications.

However, a caveat before you get started - registry editing is dangerous and can seriously wipe out your system. Be sure to back your computer up, including the registry, so that you can restore things if something goes wrong. From this point forward you proceed at your own risk.

For systems running Windows 7 Pro, Ultimate and Windows 8.1 Pro you can use the Local Group Policy Editor,  you must have admin permissions on the system, which has been updated with a new Group Policy Object for blocking the Windows 10 upgrade.

Just open up the group policy editor (gpedit.msc) and then browse to:

Computer Configuration>Administrative Templates>Windows Components>Windows Update Policy

From there you want to toggle on the Turn off the upgrade to the latest version of Windows through Windows Update setting.

That will automatically add a new registry key on your system that will block the Windows 10 Upgrade through Windows Update.

For those of you on non-Enterprise versions of Windows 7 and 8.1 you will need to manually enter the following registry key in order to block the Get Windows 10 app and upgrade prompts:

Subkey: HKLMSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsGwx
DWORD value: DisableGwx = 1

After these steps you should no longer have to use third party tools to block the update.

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