Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft has begun to push out Windows 10 through Windows Update. Some progress is good, but this might not be. We want everyone to know that LIS is not encouraging an update to Windows 10 until each person knows exactly what the ramifications might be for his/her computer.

Below are some instructions on how to check your settings and what to do if you don’t want to upgrade automatically.

• Go to your control panel by one of the following methods:
  • Click “start” and then “control panel” at the right
  • Click the “Windows” button on your keyboard, then the letter “R,” and then type “Control Panel”
  • Use the menu bar that pops out on the right in Win8.1, click the magnifying glass icon, then type “Control Panel”
• Click “Windows Update.”
• In the left-hand menu bar, click “Change Settings.”
• On the next screen, look at the drop-down. If it is set to “Install updates automatically,” you may want to change it to “Check for updates, but let me choose whether to download and install them.” This will put the decision of what updates to apply to you. You will want to watch for security updates and choose to install those, but not install any other updates that you don’t want such as Win10. Since the Win10 update is a large file, if you let it download even without installing it, it could fill up your hard drive significantly.
• Below that drop-down, look for the box next to “Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates.” Uncheck this. Since Microsoft is pushing Win10 as a recommended update, this should keep it from installing automatically even if you don’t change the setting in the drop-down.
• When finished making these changes, click the “OK” button at the lower right.

Once you have made these changes, you will want to come back to the Windows update control panel periodically and look to see if it shows important updates that you need to apply. It will show you how many important, recommended, or optional updates you have. Click on any one of those and look carefully at the list to determine which updates you want to load.

If you decide later that you want to install Windows 10, you can look in your list of recommended updates and load it from there. If you do so, you will want to do it at a time when you do not need your computer for a few hours and you are willing to take a few days to work through the aftermath of what programs might be incompatible. For example, you may need to get an updated version of your anti-virus or any other software that you had installed for more than a few years.

The important thing is to give you the choice of if and when you install Windows 10.