Windows 10: Enable or Disable Driver Updates in Windows Update in Windows 10

Nothing working (W10 Pro x64 1607) ...and whats more even GPO settings are partially ignored... at least for Display Drivers (nVidia). Only Realtek Audio drivers not showing up anymore.
Well anyone can test this... First completely uninstall Your display drivers with "Display Driver Uninstaller" (tested with version 17.0.2.0) (classic uninstall is not enought), clear cache in SoftwareDistribution and after restart run WU again... In every case nVidia Display Drivers are downloaded and waiting for install.

 

I installed the AU then ran DDU and installed Nvidia drivers 362.00. Not sure if WU has downloaded Nvidia drivers, but they haven't been installed. If they have been downloaded, it's not showing in the WU GUI.

 

yes, they waiting for manual or automatic install (in free hours)... but they will be installed after you get somewhere else from PC

So there is NO way how to prevent download/install all drivers.

 

It's been several weeks, and it's showing nothing is waiting for install. And I'm still on 362.00. So it would appear our experiences diverge.

 

I mean on system without Display drivers... you installed 362.00 before WU could strike, if I understood correctly.

Point is "ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate" ignore only some drivers on clean system...

 

With any fresh clean install not upgrade install of 10 seen so far the WU looks up the available drivers for each of the hardwares detected when the option for checking for all updates is left checked during the install. Holding off on that and manually searching to look up the drivers(correct ones) that will work then becomes the task to avoid any of these other issues.

And that is precisely what I had to do here with older now discontinued hardwares where the 10 installer would grab the wrong one or simply not find any. For the expansion cards other then the older model AMD/MSI/Radeon card the 10 installer had no problem putting on both drivers and the Radeon software itself while the sound card and tv tuner needed sound card wares and a substitute model's application for the tv tuner card which won't tune much of anything from the digital cable system but allows for analog input from vhs, older camcorders, etc.

You can see where the Windows installer or WU can get confused a bit at times as far as older hardwares go especially when having already been discontinued several years back! The solution at first when these types of problems come up is the obvious choice of a manual S&D operation as far as weeding out the incorrect for the correct to insure working results.

 

Saw another example of the exclude drivers GP setting not working today: Synaptics touchpad driver appeared in WU list despite GP setting. Synaptics drivers had been installed manually months ago (ie. this was not a brand new clean install or anything).

Yes there is, by disabling full auto WU (via GP) and then manually hiding the drivers with the WUShowHide Tool as they appear in the WU list. I explained this in posts #64 and #58.

 

I ended up needing to turn the WU off entirely! While not being seen on the second desktop's Insider build there the main with the Redstone 1 update still going has been seeing "updates 100%" followed immediately after with "have to undo all changes" and this goes on and on every time an unwanted language package update is trying to be installed by the WU.

The other AMD and security updates never run into that type of problem and when checked the AMD and other devices are all found to be currently updated. I just checked on the Radeon drivers to find that is also the latest available on without a problem while sound has to taken care of manually for each new build or update put on. And this is being seen noting that the Active hours are scheduled and this one update still is being pushed yet not wanted!

 

Hi all. A bit late to this thread.

I am battling with a persistent driver issue that is affecting a lot of people who use a specialist product which employs a FTDI driver.
We have a repeated BSoD issue across Windows 7 8 & 10 caused by the latest driver not working properly.

Focusing on W10... is there any further ideas on this annoying invasion by mircosnot forcing broken drivers on us.

I am involved in a support team for this product and we have lots of users globally who are at worse computer illiterate and at best slightly aware of some of the deeper levels of windows. I am trying to find an easy to follow guide for those non technical people who are on W10 Home.

Or are we still in limbo until either new drivers are issued (assuming that will fix the problem) or MS gives us control back?

Cheers
Oscar

 

@Oscar71 Welcome to Tenforums!

The second solution in this tutorial is currently only available to testers in the Insider Program (see note on page #1), not to general public running 14393 or earlier Windows versions. The first may work.

Also, be aware that Home edition users are very restricted in what can be tweaked.

I see that FDTI drivers are Win 10 certified from this site:

FTDI Drivers

There may be a way to stop downloads and updates for certain drivers by following the steps in the tutorial I've linked below. It's not a guide, per se, for semi-literate users. Not something they could easily understand and do. You would need to package it somehow and have it available to them. Or remotely do it for them. Don't know enough about your user base to even guess.

Check this Tutorial and see if it could be of any use. TC

Windows Updates - Hide or Show in Windows 10

 

Thanks for replying TC

I know that the Drivers from the FTDI are certified - been dealing with this since the November updates. FTDI have also acknowledged a problem but are not doing anything to release a revised driver in the near future. Version 2.12.24 of the driver (latest) is the issue and rolling back is only a temp fix thanks to MS updates bringing the latest back in.

I have been reading the suggested fixes, but will endeavour to find one that helps our people. My next step this afternoon is to look at the WUShowHide and see if I can write a guide for our system users. Trust me, when I say some are windows illiterate I really mean it *Rolleyes
I will go back through all the suggested fixes and hope to find something that I can use.

Thanks again for the reply *Smile
Oscar

 

So is the new Windows Update GUI checkbox toggling exactly the same switch as the "Do not include drivers with Windows Update" Group Policy, and if so, have they fixed it so that it actually excludes all drivers? If not, this new feature is largely worthless and will only cause further confusion. Device Installation Settings reincarnate.

 

The Advanced option in the Update & Security section sees three check boxes for 1) Give me updates for other Microsoft products when I update Windows, 2) Defer feature updates, and 3) Use my sign in info to automatically finish setting up my device after an update. This is how the Redstone 1 Anniversary update and later Insider Preview builds are seen while the pictorial in Option One off the guide here is based on builds prior to the 14328 Insider build.

Option Three however is where you want to be looking for the "Do not include drivers with Windows Updates" item of interest. Once you double click on that a new screen appears with the default setting of "not configured" you simply change to enabled to prevent separate driver updates from being included at the same as the typical cumulative updates seen with the WU. That will allow you to look up a specific driver set at the manufacturer's support if problems are seen with what the WU brings in with it.

 

"2" = Notify to download, notify to install (does not auto-reinstall)

 

With that stubborn update that continued to cause reverting back issues I simply disabled the WU by way of the Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Services>Windows Update for a temporary stretch until that particular update was no longer showing up.





Following the green line shows each step of the process there to change the WU active role back and forth from Automatic or Automatic with delayed start another option, manual, or totally disabled from running at all. That is an option for when wanting to get rid of a stubborn driver update by preventing the WU from putting one that causes problems before you go direct to a manufacturer's support site to look what alternative updates are available. Of course you can also very easily right click on the device listing in the Device Manager there to temporary disable a particular hardware. device which will then prevent the WU from any automatic driver search.