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How to shutdown without updating in Windows 10

Here you will find out:

  • what to do if you need to shut down without updating
  • different methods how to skip waiting for Windows updates to install
  • how DiskInternals Partition Recovery can help you

Are you ready? Let's read!

If you need to shut down without updating

Recent reports highlight concerns regarding Windows 10 updates and their impact on user productivity. Typically, once these updates are downloaded, they automatically install upon shutting down and rebooting your computer. This installation process, however, can be time-consuming, sometimes taking hours to finish. If you ever find yourself needing to restart your computer without enduring a lengthy update installation, this article will guide you through it.

Method 1: Delete everything in the Updates folder

One of the proven ways to skip waiting for many minutes or even many hours for Windows updates to install on your computer is by deleting the update files in the Update folder. To do this, you should know where the temporary (temp) folder is where Windows stores update files before automatically installing them on your PC.

The folder is at %windir%\softwaredistribution\...

That is: C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution

Go to My PC >>> Local Disk (C:) >>> Windows >>> SoftwareDistribution

Delete everything that is saved in the "SoftwareDistribution” folder. Afterward, reboot your computer; Windows won’t automatically install updates again.

Method 2: Shut down the computer using CMD

You can use the CMD utility on Windows to skip the strenuous Windows update installation process. To do this, don't shut down the computer following the normal process of either ALT + F4 or using the Shutdown option in the Start menu. Instead, you should follow these steps:

  • Launch CMD (Admin) by pressing "Windows key + X" and selecting "Command Prompt (Admin)".
  • In the CMD interface, enter “shutdown /s” to shut down your computer or “shutdown /l” to log out on the PC.

Method 3: Remove a feature from your computer

This is quite an advanced step; you should apply this method if you really do not want to get Windows updates on your computer anymore. With this method, you will totally remove the "Update and Shutdown" option found in the “Power” menu in the Start menu.

  • Launch Windows Run (Windows key + R) and type “services.msc”, then press the "Enter" key.
  • From the list of services, look for “Windows Update” and double-click on it.
  • Look for the “Startup Type” option and change it to “Disabled”.
  • Click “Apply” followed by “OK” to save the changes.

If you’re bothered that you could brick your computer by running this advanced command, then you can choose to backup your Windows before returning to an older version of Windows.

How to recover files deleted after Windows update? Using DiskInternals Partition Recovery, you can easily create a disk image file that will serve as a copy for your Windows system. This copy may be useful if you end up messing things up while trying to deal with the Windows updates issue. Besides, DiskInternals Partition Recovery is an advanced utility with cool features. Interestingly, you can also get back (restore) lost files from your PC hard drive(s) using DiskInternals Partition Recovery. So, DiskInternals Partition Recovery is a feature-packed software tool, which doesn’t just help you in creating backup files in the form of image files, but it also allows you to run data recovery for lost/deleted files.

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