You see your Windows PC asking for a restart after updating itself and you near panic. You wonder, will my PC boot after the update and continue to perform as it did, or would the update bring some problems along with it? Honestly speaking? This is what I feel every time I see an update being offered. Fortunately, I have been lucky, and I have not really faced any Windows problems after installing updates on my Windows Pro. But seeing the many issues being reported by users after almost every other update, I thought I should write a bit about this issue.
Why does every Windows Update have to bring grief?
Why does every other Windows Update bring some problem or the other to some user or the other?
Comments like these should cause concern to Microsoft:
The Win 10 updates are unpredictable. I’m scared to death each time the automatic updates (which I can not disable) happen. After an update one of more installed software stop working and need re-installing. I have no viruses or cracked software. The last Win 10 update corrupted the MBR (Master Boot Record) on my 2 laptops and 1 desktop. 3 computers done the same update at the same time and having corrupted MBRs is NOT a coincidence. Microsoft owes $900 just for this damage alone. i spent $300 for each computer to have the drives removed and put new drives in so I can keep my data that was not corrupted in the old hard drives. The “reset Win 10” without losing personal data function in the advanced settings was not working on all 3 computers. Thank God I had 3 spare SSDs as a backup, but it is such a hassle going through the old hard drives and saving all the data in different locations. I’m switching to MAC and ditching everything PC related – PERIOD!
Before Updates are finally released for end-users like you and me, Microsoft tests them extensively on their own test systems. The millions of enthusiastic Windows 10 users who are part of the Windows Insider Program, install the Insider Preview builds on their systems so that they can check out the new features, test the build and report bugs, etc. back to Microsoft. It is a great system and should work well. Microsoft gets an army of keen geeks, hungry to test out the new builds, in real-world situations.
Once the updates have been tested extensively, they are released to the main channel. Windows 10 Professional, Enterprise, and Education Edition customers can choose to Defer Windows Updates, but Windows 10 Home users have no such choice and the updates get installed on their PCs right away. When a user chooses to defer upgrades, the download, and installation of security updates will happen immediately, but the installation of the feature updates will be deferred for a couple of months.
But something seems to be going wrong somewhere.
I do not remember Windows 8 or Windows 7 users facing so many problems regarding Windows Update, as much as the Windows 10 users appear to be facing. Just to go through the comments on various Windows blogs, Reddit, Social sites, Forums or Microsoft Answers to get an idea of the frustration some are facing. As compared to the total number of Windows 10 users, the percentage may be very small, but it is enough to make a noise.
Here is a sampling of some of this site’s comments of users who are fed up with the update problems:
- UwasaWahya: Every time Windows 10 updates I have a new set of problems.
- Merig: After the screen goes off (timeout) it will not come back again. This is just today’s annoyance. Yesterday, W10 decided to delete some of my programs that worked fine the day before. Who asked them to f*** with my computer? Every bloody time Windows 10 updates I get hours of misery trying to fix issues.
- MadameSomnambule: …What do I do now? I’m fkd. Can’t update apps, can’t install language packs, and updates’s stuck at 0%…
- Oround: I have many PC’s and every one of them has problems with W10’s update system. Seems like every update screws up something that used to work perfectly.
- Trish: … Can’t go forward, can’t go back. Stuck with a PC that does not work due to 1607 update…
- Musab: Yesterday it updated to the newest build, on each mouse click my desktop tends to rotate 90 degrees right. I tried everything, and in last, I revert the update within 24 hours.
Trust me there are many more such, here on this site!
Now let us take a look at some of the recent problems some Windows 10 users have faced after installing updates.
Right from the beginning when Windows 10/8.1/7 users upgraded their PC, they faced a bunch of installation or Upgrade errors like:
- Office documents not opening after upgrading
- Windows stuck at login screen after upgrading
- WiFi does not work after upgrading.
I am sure that there could be more.
But among the most common issues which affect most Updates for Windows 10 are:
- Cumulative Update failed to install
- Windows Update stuck downloading updates
- We couldn’t complete the updates. Undoing changes. Don’t turn off your computer.
- Failure configuring Windows Update.
My friend, Girish, recently had his right-click malfunctioning on his Lenovo Windows 10 Home laptop after a recent update. Till then he was very happy with Windows 10, but one experience like this was enough to piss him off.
Whether it is 1 person, 1000s or millions, Windows 10 Update problems, annoying folks seems to have become a trend. Every new update has some users scrambling to Microsoft Answers for help or searching on the Internet for solutions.
Who wants to run around applying workarounds?
A Windows Home user does not have the time, inclination nor expertise to carry out workarounds, change registry settings or clear the SoftwareDistribution folder. He/she just wants a stable Windows PC which he/she is in control of and runs smoothly at all times.
The other side
Windows gets installed on almost any hardware configuration. While most come with good drivers, some may not be up to the mark. Moreover, users have a wide ecosystem of software from which they can choose – and install the software they want. Some may or may not be coded well and thus can break after an OS update. And then again, some users love to tweak & tinker with their systems. An AV too could throw up a false positive and quarantine an OS file! All these and reasons like these can affect the installation of Windows Updates. Something gives away, and the update fails.
There is no denying that Microsoft engineers have been working hard and doing their best to address these issues – but maybe just a little more needs to be done to ensure that problems caused by Windows Updates are near-nil.
One small suggestion
Microsoft should reconsider and allow even Windows Home users to defer installing feature updates by giving them too the option to Defer Feature Upgrades. Windows 10 users would be happy to be in more control of their PCs – and they would have the option to install updates after they are thoroughly tested on other systems for a month extra.
Read: How to Delay, Defer or Pause Windows Update up to 365 days.
How has your experience been? How has Windows 10 and the Windows Update process in specific been treating you? Has it been a smooth ride or have you faced Windows Update problems? Do share your experience in the comments section.
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