How to Remove Installed Updates in Windows 10 and Windows Server?

Sometimes it happens that the security updates for Microsoft products (released under MS Patch Tuesday) cause problems with the OS or third-party software. The issues caused by the updates can be either mass and occur in a large number of devices or private that occur in some combinations of the Windows OS version and some apps.

If the Windows (or Office) patch causes a problem on the computers of many users, and this is confirmed by Microsoft experts, the update is pulled by the company and after a while is replaced by a new one with the bugs fixed. But if necessary, in Windows there is a way to uninstall any security update or patch.

In this article we’ll show how to properly uninstall updates in Windows OS (the article covers Windows 10, 8.1, 7 and Windows Server 2016, 2012/R2, 2008/R2). These ways of removing updates can be used if you installed the update manually from a CAB or MSU file, your device automatically received it from the Windows Update servers or your WSUS server.

There are several ways to uninstall updates in Windows (Windows Server):

How to Uninstall Windows Updates Using the Control Panel?

Let’s look on how to uninstall updates in Windows 10. Open the menu Settings app and go to the Update & Security -> Windows update -> View Update History -> Uninstall updates.

You can also go to the “Uninstall an update” panel using the classic Control Panel (Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features) and press the button “View installed updates”.

A list of all Windows and Office updates installed on your device will appear. Find the necessary update in the list (or, to be more precise, unnecessary :)), select it, click the Uninstall button. The uninstall update wizard starts.

Click Yes when prompted if you want to uninstall this update.

And wait till it is uninstalled. After the update is removed, Windows may request a system restart.

How to Prevent (Block) a Specific Update from Installing in Windows 10?

If your computer is configured to automatically receive Windows updates through Windows Update or WSUS, this update will most likely be installed on your computer again. But you can prevent the installation of a specific update by hiding (blocking) it. To do this, use the official tool Microsoft Show or Hide Updates https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3073930/how-to-temporarily-prevent-a-driver-update-from-reinstalling-in-window

1. Download and run the wushowhide.diagcab;
2. Select the option Hide Updates;
3. Select the update you want to hide and click Next;
4. After that, this update won’t be installed in Windows automatically via Windows Update. You can remove the hidden update by selecting it in the Show hidden updates.

WUSA.exe: Removing Windows Updates via the Command Line

Windows updates can also be uninstalled from the command prompt. To do it, there is a built-in CLI tool wusa.exe (Windows Update Standalone Installer).

You can list all updates installed on a computer with the command:

wmic qfe list brief /format:table

Using the following command, running as administrator, you can remove the specific update (KB 4100347):

wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:4100347

A user must confirm the removing of the update.

If the update has to be uninstalled in a quiet mode without a user request and notifying about of the subsequent system reboot, the command will look like that:

wusa.exe /quiet /uninstall /kb:4100347 /promptrestart

If you need to suppress the reboot request, use the command:

wusa.exe /quiet /uninstall /kb:4100347 /norestart

You can also remove the update from PowerShell using the PSWindowsUpdate module. The Remove-WindowsUpdate cmdlet is used:

Remove-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID KB4100347 -NoRestart

The Windows update uninstall event is recorded to the Setup log with the EventID 7 from the WUSA source:

Using PsExec you can uninstall an update on a remote computer, the command is as follows:

psexec.exe \\RemotePCName C:\Windows\System32\wusa.exe /quiet /uninstall /kb:4100347 /warnrestart:600

How to Uninstall a Windows Update using WSUS?

If a corporate WSUS server is used in your company to install updates on a domain computers and servers, you can remove the update approved for install using the Update Services management console. To do it, right-click the Updates branch and then click Search in the menu.

Specify the KB number or a security bulletin you need to find and click Find now. In the list containing the updates that have been found for different Windows versions, select the updates to be uninstalled and click Approve in the menu.

Then select the WSUS Target group you need and choose Approved for Removal in the drop-down list.

In our example, we want to uninstall update on a group of computers named Servers (more about WSUS GPO targeting).

After updating data on the side of WSUS clients (which occurs on a schedule in accordance with the WSUS policy and the synchronization frequency, which is set by the Automatic Update detection frequency, or can be done manually by running wuauclt /detectnow ) , the corresponding update appears with the prefix (Uninstall:) in its name in the Windows Update panel.

After the update has been uninstalled, this event is displayed in Windows Update History.

Removing Windows Update Using the GPO

If you want to remove a specific update on multiple computers of Active Directory domain that doesn’t use WSUS, you can use Startup/Shutdown GPO scripts.

To do it, create a new GPO object linked to the necessary OU, AD site or computer group. Then create a new startup script with the wusa.exe command in the section Computer Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Scripts (Startup/Shutdown).

You can also use PowerShell startup scripts to remove installed updates.

How To Uninstall Windows Updates When Computer Is Not Booting?

Sometimes it happens that you cannot remove an update directly from the Windows, since the OS simply not booting after installing the problematic update. In this case, you may have to boot the computer from the rescue or install boot disk and delete the updates via DISM (see the article “Computer Won’t Start After Windows Update”) or using the “Hotfix uninstall” utility from the MSDaRT.

So, we have covered common scenarios of how to uninstall updates on Windows computers.

How to uninstall latest Quality Update or Feature Update in Windows 10

It may happen that after installing a Windows Update, Quality Update, or Feature Update, your Windows 10 computer does not boot. In this case, you may have to uninstall the update. In this post, we will show you how to uninstall the latest Quality Update or Feature Update, when your Windows 10 computer will not boot, by entering Advanced Options.

Uninstall Quality Update or Feature Update in Windows 10

To uninstall the latest Quality Update or Feature Update, do the following:

• Boot into Advanced Startup Options screen
• Select Troubleshoot
• Select Advanced Options
• Press Uninstall Updates
• Choose to uninstall the Quality Update or Feature Update.
• Follow on-screen instructions.

Boot into Advanced Startup Options screen

Since your system does not boot normally, you have the following three options to get to the Advanced Options screen:

1. Use Installation Media: On the first screen, look for a link “Repair your computer.” Click on it. It will boot your computer into the Advanced Options screen.
2. Press F2 or F8: When your Windows 10 PC boots up, press F2 to access your BIOS settings or press F8 to access the boot or startup menu. This can vary from OEM to OEM. When you access the boot menu, you may have to press F11 to open the Choose an option screen. From here you have to press Troubleshoot and then Advanced Options.
3. Power-down PC thrice: Abruptly power down the PC when you have powered it up. Do it multiple times. After 3 times this may force Windows to think that there is some problem with your PC, and it will force push the Automatic Repair screen. From here, you can get access to the Advanced Startup Options.

Select Troubleshoot

Once you have reached the Recovery environment, click on Troubleshoot.

Select Advanced Options

You will next be offered two options. Select Advanced options.

Press Uninstall Updates

On the next screen select Uninstall Updates.

Choose to uninstall Quality Update or Feature Update

Depending on what your requirement is, you may opt to:

• Uninstall latest quality update
• Uninstall latest feature update

Follow on-screen instructions

Once you have made your choice, you will be offered a screen to select the particular Update.

Click on it, follow the on-screen instructions and wait for Windows to uninstall the problematic update.

Once done, your system should reboot normally.

Date: March 24, 2021 Tags: Boot, Troubleshoot

How to uninstall Windows Updates in Windows 10

We all prefer to keep our Windows operating system updated. But sometimes some Windows Updates may make your PC go crazy. Maybe your Windows computer has gone in an endless loop! In this post, we will see how to remove or uninstall Windows Updates and troubleshoot & fix problems caused due to them in Windows 10/8/7.

If you find yourself in one of these situations while dealing with Windows Updates, then try some of the solutions provided here. These are some of the most common solutions to the most common problems. In some cases, you may have to enter the Safe Mode to be able to carry out the suggestions.

Uninstall Windows Updates in Windows 10

To remove a particular update do the following:

Updates are meant to enhance the security of your computer; it’s best not to remove an update unless you’re certain that it is causing a problem. Take these steps to be certain you want to remove an update:

In Windows 7, click Start and then click All Programs and select Windows Update from the list of programs. In Windows 8, open the WinX menu and click open Control Panel. Now open the Windows Update applet.

From the View update history, select the update that you want to remove, and note down its KB number. I suggest you go here first as it offers some description too.

Now open the Program and Features applet of the Control Panel, and from the left side click on View Installed Updates. Right-click on the Update you wish to uninstall and click on Uninstall. The update will get installed. You may be required to reboot your computer.

In Windows 10, open Settings > Update and Security > Windows Update > View update history and then click on Uninstall Updates.

This will open a window that will show the list of all the installed updates on your computer. Then you can select the update you want to uninstall and click on the Uninstall button on the lower right corner of the window.

It is important to mention that if you have used the Disk Cleanup Tool to delete the Windows Update Cleanup option, then you might not be able to uninstall the Update.

Remove Windows Updates using the command line

To uninstall Windows Updates using the command line, open an elevated command prompt window, type the following, and hit Enter:

Here 1234567 should be the number of the Update you wish to uninstall. Here we are using the built-in WUSA or Windows Update Standalone Installer tool.

TROUBLESHOOTING SCENARIOS AND TIPS

1. A recently installed update is causing the problem: If you are sure enough that a recently installed update is causing the problem then only try these steps or before uninstalling it try to find information about any problems that have occurred on the computer by checking for a solution. If no solutions are available, check the Windows Update history to learn more about recently installed updates.

• Click Start and then click All Programs and select Windows Update from the list of programs.
• In the left pane, click View update history.
• To view more information about an update, double-click it.

2. You are not able to remove an update: You may face this error because you might be connected to a network where updates are managed by Group Policy. These network-wide settings can prevent you from removing an update. In other cases, you might not be able to remove an update because it applies to a security-related area of the operating system. If you think an update that you can’t remove is causing problems, contact the system administrator of your organization.

3. A removed update is getting reinstalled automatically: Your computer is probably connected to a network where Group Policy settings determine which updates must be installed on each computer. These network-wide settings can reinstall any required updates that you’ve removed.

You might also have Windows set to automatically install updates, which is the recommended setting for your computer. If you don’t want Windows to install an update, you need to hide it.

• Click Start and then click All Programs and select Windows Update from the list of programs.
• In the left pane, click Check for updates.
• When Windows finds updates for your computer, do one of the following:
  • Click on important updates links if you have important updates to hide.
  • Click on optional updates links if you have optional updates to hide.
• Right-click the update you don’t want to install, and then click Hide update. The next time you check for updates, the update won’t be automatically selected or installed.

The same steps are also applied if you want to stops Windows Updates from offering an update that you don’t want to install like Language packs.

4. Your Device or Hardware is not working after updating its device drivers from Windows Update: You might need to revert to a previous version of the driver for that device. Check the manufacturer’s website for a more recent version of the driver, or remove the driver and restart your computer.

Date: January 31, 2020 Tags: Windows Updates