Microsoft Is Still Driving Some Windows 7 Users Crazy With Nagging Ads To Upgrade

BI ^ | Julie Bort

[blam]

Julie Bort
October 26, 2015

If you're running Windows 7 on a machine capable of using Windows 10, chances are you getting swamped with ads from Microsoft telling you to upgrade.

Last month, Microsoft said it accidentally tried to make Windows 7 and 8 machines automatically upgrade to Windows 10 and said it fixed its mistake.

But some people on Twitter are complaining that even from Microsoft's latest upgrade this month, they are being plagued by nagging upgrade notices that take over their whole screen with no obvious way to turn them off.

If you like your Windows 7 PC the way it is and don't want to upgrade, that doesn't make Microsoft's nagging go away.

(snip)

[SgtHooper]

“Disable the two tasks listed under gwx (right-click/left-click “Disable”).”

All fine until I got here. I see three subwindows, so I arbitrarily disabled launchtrayprocess and refreshgwxconfigandcontent. Correct?

[adorno]

Same with me and my 4 PCs at home, and an Asus tablet which I also upgraded. All went without a hitch, and all run better and faster than with Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1.

My daughter and husband upgraded their 3 PCs, and my son and his wife upgraded their 2 PCs too. None of them have any problems, and we’ve all been problem-free since the upgrade.

Methinks that, most (if not all the problems) lie with the people that don’t know what the heck they’re doing, even as simple as the upgrade is to get done. Press the upgrade button and then a few more buttons to get to the end of the upgrade. Even my cat can do that ‘accidentally’ with no problems.

Then, there are all the others; the anti-MS trolls, who, no matter how great the upgrade is, and no matter how few problems there might be, and no matter how easy the upgrade procedure is, will always figure out a problem to complain about. I’m pretty sure that those are the Apple and Google and Linux fanatics, who will always prefer their choices, just because they hate Microsoft and/or Windows.

Microsoft may have to send a whole army or service representatives to people’s homes, just to hold their hands while the MS representative presses the buttons to get the upgrade going. Heck, I’ll go to people’s homes to get their upgrades installed and working, for a very tiny fee of $20, which would be infinitely more expensive than what MS charges for the upgrade.

[zeugma]

Through responses to previous posts on this subject, I've put this together...

You can save this as a batch file, and execute any time you think one of these things have snuck back in...(you either have to "runas" administrator, or run it as an administrative user

echo KB3068708
wusa /uninstall /kb:3068708 /quiet /norestart
echo KB3022345
wusa /uninstall /kb:3022345 /quiet /norestart
echo KB3075249
wusa /uninstall /kb:3075249 /quiet /norestart
echo KB3080149
wusa /uninstall /kb:3080149 /quiet /norestart
echo KB3035583 Win10 Installer
wusa /uninstall /kb:3035583 /quiet /norestart
echo KB3083710
wusa /uninstall /kb:3083710 /quiet /norestart
echo KB2952664
wusa /uninstall /kb:2952664 /quiet /norestart
 

[Smokin' Joe]

...and who has the oldest version of Windows on the oldest computer.

I have an operable Toshiba laptop with Win 95 on it, and the screen smaller than a Kindle.

I still have an old TI in the box, never powered up...

...but I run XP SP3 now.

[W.]

I got that upgrade notice. On my new laptop. Running Windows 10. WTF, LOL! [Almost typoed Widows 10]

And FWIW, my old laptop ran Win7 for 5 years+ without so much as a single hiccup.

[redfreedom]

The instruction I gave came from a different site. I followed them as such:

Open Task Scheduler.

In the left pane, expand “Task Scheduler Library” (expand = pressing the + sign).

Then expand “Microsoft”.

Then expand “Windows”.

Then go down to “Setup” and expand it.

Click on the “gwx” folder.

All of the above are in the left pane.

Now in the top center pane are the items to disable. I had four. I right clicked and disabled them. I am no computer expert.

[Prince of Space]

Bflr.

[TomGuy]

I have an extra hard drive with Win 7, so I decided to try Win10 on it. First attempt didn’t work. The instructions were rather vague.

Yesterday I tried again and got it installed.

It is pathetic! The themes are too glitzy. Open program windows slide bars are hidden, controls are non-distinct and difficult to locate. It is a massive boondoggle.

I needed to switch hard drives later, and was glad to return to the ‘classic’ theme I use in Windows 7, where I could actually see slidebars, menu items, window borders.

I did some searching, and, apparently, there are no good solutions to make Win10 into a productivity OS.

Win10 GUI IS CRAP!

[TomGuy]

Per Google threads, the update KB 3035583 is the culprit.

Uninstall it and the nag should go away.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2907472/operating-systems/windows-10-upgrade-nagware-patch-kb-3035583-now-marked-important-on-some-win7-pcs.html

[the_daug]

Does that apply to Linux too?

[TomGuy]

I turned off the auto-updates feature on Win7 a long while ago, because some upgrades would create problems.

I still notice frequently my Win7 Desktop gets glitchy and I have to do a system restore. It shows that MS has recently installed a ‘critical update’, even though auto-update is OFF.

[blam]

"I still notice frequently my Win7 Desktop gets glitchy and I have to do a system restore."

My system restore will not work anymore. It runs about half way through a restore then everything shuts down. I have to do a restart and I'm back to my original point.

Any ideas?

[TomGuy]

Do you try just the most recent System Restore Point?

If so, you might try an older SRP.

System Restore can be problematic.

You might also try by booting into Safe Mode and try running System Restore there.

Several years ago I started using imaging software to ‘clone’ the OS drive. I use the free-home version of Macrium Reflect. I make a new image occasionally, especially after major software installs or program upgrades.

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Image restores have save me many times. They can be a lifesaver, once you get familiar with using them.

[blam]

Thanks. I’ve tried all that.

[dayglored]

Nag, nag, nag, that's all ya do any more... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Thanks to ShadowAce for the ping!!

[SgtHooper]

Thx! Can’t hurt. I’ll disable the other two.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Indeed! I get 3 a day.

[Alas Babylon!]

You are so right!

As another FReeper who runs a different technology company's ping list (and I'm not naming the company or the person) once said, "Haters got to hate."

[ro_dreaming]

I’m one of those. Won’t upgrade my existing because I don’t want the headaches. I run specific versions of various software due to my job. I have no idea if they’ve been tested with Windows 10 or not. I’ll wait til my next laptop at work.

[Alas Babylon!]

Not really. At all.

Let’s be honest.

I have several Windows 10 and one remaining Windows 7 system. I haven’t seen a pop-up to upgrade on the 7 box for several weeks now.

Question for you. Do Apple OSX systems ask if you want to upgrade from an older OS version? I’m not complaining about Apple, I think I’d be happy to be told.

It seems to me this thread is a joke, because who wouldn’t want to be reminded that something newer (and FREE) is available? So whether I was running a Apple, Linux or Windows OS, getting informed periodically about upgrades is at worst, a VERY minor annoyance, or at best, a helpful tip.

Getting it multiple times a day? No. If you are, something is broke.