futurefields
Diamond Member
How risky is disabling Windows Update?
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How risky is disabling Windows Update?
- Thread starter futurefields
- Start date
Sulaco
Diamond Member
Completely? Not wise. "Dangerous" will depend on your usage habits and what you do with your PC.
Personally, I've always had Windows "inform me when there are updates, but have me decide when to download and install them"
I've done that since XP and I feel it's the best, least intrusive way of being kept up to date.
Personally, I've always had Windows "inform me when there are updates, but have me decide when to download and install them"
I've done that since XP and I feel it's the best, least intrusive way of being kept up to date.
lxskllr
No Lifer
That's what I always did too.
Same here.
Any other way will just drive you bonkers.
Although in my work machine, which has Windows Hate, the updates take so long and are so godamn disruptive I just disabled them altogether and update when my timetable is free...
Puffnstuff
Lifer
I have mine set to update automatically but on super patch Tuesday I always initiate the search for updates myself.
Charlie98
Diamond Member
+3. Mostly because I don't want it installing something I haven't seen yet, but also because of this....
...which is probably just a leftover from working on older machines. 🙄
mikeymikec
Lifer
Ditto. The only annoyance I've ever experienced was when I left some stuff open overnight and WU had shut down my PC, now I just remember not to do that. I think I've had two work appointments ever that were the direct result of WU updates going severely awry (ie. functionality loss because an update went wrong). I've had a more than that for failed updates that were causing the computer to take longer to shut down / start up.
It is risky. Most of the time the patches are for security vulnerability's. And a lot of the time these vulnerabilities were discovered by Microsoft internally and not known to hackers. So now hackers know about the flaw and write code to attack it on unpatched computers. I like to install updates as soon as they are available.
futurefields
Diamond Member
there is an update that is slowing my pc down
on a fresh install of Win7 with updates disabled i get 860 on Unigine benchmark
on a similar fresh install with all configs the same, except for Windows Update is now enabled and has installed 170 some odd updates, Unigine score drops to 820
this only happens when doing a fresh reinstall, because before i had the 860 Unigine score with updates enabled before i stupidly decided i needed to reformat my pc
i havent been able to determine which exact update is causing this, but it is some kind of conflict bringing down my overall system performance
on a fresh install of Win7 with updates disabled i get 860 on Unigine benchmark
on a similar fresh install with all configs the same, except for Windows Update is now enabled and has installed 170 some odd updates, Unigine score drops to 820
this only happens when doing a fresh reinstall, because before i had the 860 Unigine score with updates enabled before i stupidly decided i needed to reformat my pc
i havent been able to determine which exact update is causing this, but it is some kind of conflict bringing down my overall system performance
Clean install 8.1 then.
Normally, Microsoft publishes updates at 10.00 AM PST on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Sometimes, they also publish on the 4th Tuesday but these updates typically are performance related or optional. A couple of times a year, they may publish a non- scheduled update if they view waiting until the next Patch Tuesday to be risky. News of the non-scheduled updates are mentioned on most Tech sites.
I have set Windows Update to manual for as long as I can remember and always run it manually on the Tuesdays I mentioned above and if I read about an out-of-cycle patch. I choose manual because I did not like being interrupted when I was doing something else and I wanted control over what was downloaded and installed.
Last week I was reminded of why I wanted more control. I was in the process of installing Win 8.1 and left the computer for a short time. I came back and noticed the monitor resolution was higher than when I left. I checked and discovered Win Update had installed NVidia drivers (classified as important) at least six months old (340.?? versus 344.75 that I wanted) plus three NVidia apps that I did not want at all.
I have set Windows Update to manual for as long as I can remember and always run it manually on the Tuesdays I mentioned above and if I read about an out-of-cycle patch. I choose manual because I did not like being interrupted when I was doing something else and I wanted control over what was downloaded and installed.
Last week I was reminded of why I wanted more control. I was in the process of installing Win 8.1 and left the computer for a short time. I came back and noticed the monitor resolution was higher than when I left. I checked and discovered Win Update had installed NVidia drivers (classified as important) at least six months old (340.?? versus 344.75 that I wanted) plus three NVidia apps that I did not want at all.
futurefields
Diamond Member
thinking about it but i know ill want 10
hate giving msoft all this money
i wish i could find which specific update is causing the slowdowns
Ketchup
Elite Member
There is no need to continue opening threads about your "Unigine benchmark" program. OS's will get a little slower as they are updated with fixes. There is no need to open your computer to vulnerabilities to keep this from happening. Most benchmarks also run better just after reboot. As you can see, most here are talking about applying updates on a schedule, but not cutting them out entirely.
Be glad you are on 7 and not XP. When it came out, it ran fine on 256 MB of RAM. Currently I don't even run it on a VM with less than 1 GB.
futurefields
Diamond Member
huh? you dont understand, Unigine was 860 before with updates
this only happens for me on a fresh reinstall
you dont need to tell me what i can and cant post either
im trying to fix my PC, as i get closer to finding the source i might refine my search by posting a more targeted query in the appropriate subforum
this only happens for me on a fresh reinstall
you dont need to tell me what i can and cant post either
im trying to fix my PC, as i get closer to finding the source i might refine my search by posting a more targeted query in the appropriate subforum
DigDog
Lifer
i have it disabled since 2007, but not because i dont want updates to render my machine a helpless piece of garbage, but FOR SCIENCE!
yes, i want to see how many years i can survive without having a single virus, keylogger, worm or rootkit installed maliciously.
for now, it's been 7 years clean, but ofc thats just the beginning. you know someday, i will regret it.
+Avast
yes, i want to see how many years i can survive without having a single virus, keylogger, worm or rootkit installed maliciously.
for now, it's been 7 years clean, but ofc thats just the beginning. you know someday, i will regret it.
+Avast
VirtualLarry
No Lifer
You're not the only one. I found that web browsing, while playing internet radio in Flash Player, is smooth and causes no skips in the music, after doing a fresh install of Win7 64-bit Home Premium with SP1-U, but after doing all of the updates, then the music skips when scrolling the web browser. Have to disable Hardware Acceleration.
It seems that one of the updates causes latency issues dealing with the graphics subsystem.
futurefields
Diamond Member
yes I am experiencing that as well, the cynical side of me is saying this is how they make new OS appear faster release an update that subtly slows down Win7...
Chiefcrowe
Diamond Member
The nvidia thing is bizarre. In all my years working on PCs, I have always seen video and other drivers be under optional updates and they have never gotten installed automatically.
I think for people who are tech savvy and will do the updates themselves, you can set it to download only and notify, but for the majority of computers I work on, I set it to automatically update.
I think for people who are tech savvy and will do the updates themselves, you can set it to download only and notify, but for the majority of computers I work on, I set it to automatically update.
NVidia video are the only drivers that appear as "Important". I have seen it with each clean install of Win 8.1. The few other drivers that are shown are listed as "Optional". Another default setting in System/Advanced/Hardware/Device Installation may play a role in this. The default setting is to download driver software automatically.
I always disable this as well as set Win Update to manual. I just did not do it fast enough in the instance I mentioned earlier. I fixed it by wiping the disk and re-installing -- this time with the network cable unplugged.
Chiefcrowe
Diamond Member
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