How do I cancel a Microsoft Update in progress?

While Windows updates are necessary for system security and overall performance, they can be extremely time-consuming. And there is no easy way to halt a running Windows update.

Force restarting the system could be one way to stop it, but depending on the level of the update, this may put your system at risk.

It is impossible to avoid the Windows update service after it starts. Worse yet, Windows does not allow you to pause them once it begins. The only way to halt the process is to disable automatic Windows Update permanently.

Ways to Disable Automatic Updates

Stop Windows Update Service

Stopping the Windows update service is the best way to kill off the update from happening.

Disable from Group Policy Editor

A slightly advanced method. Note that you need Administrator privileges to edit this setting in Group Policy Editor.

Disable maintenance from Registry Editor

Registry Editor allows making core system changes like windows updates an easy task.

Using metered connection setup

Metered connection setup can be used to limit downloading updates. Note that you have to set this up with each home or work Wi-Fi that you connect to.

Turn on game mode

The game mode does not directly control Windows updates. But, as long as the game mode is on and you are playing a game, it can pause system drivers from updating.

• Go to the Start Menu and search for game mode.
• Select Game Mode settings.
• Under Game Mode, turn on the toggle option to turn Game Mode on.
  
  

  How to Cancel Update in Progress in Windows 10. *

  * Note:To cancel a Windows 10 update in progress, follow the instructions at method-1 if you can boot to Windows, otherwise, (if you cannot boot to Windows), follow the instructions at Method -2 to cancel the update progress using the recovery environment.

  Method 1. Cancel Update in progress from Windows GUI.

  Method 2. Cancel Update in progress from Windows RE.

  Method 1. Cancel Update in progress from Windows GUI.

  To cancel an update in progress in Windows 10, proceed and delete the "SoftwareDistribution" folder (C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution), which is the location of the downloaded Windows updates.

  To delete the Windows Update Storage folder:

  1. Simultaneously press the Win

  
  + R keys to open the run command box.
  2. Type the following command and press OK.
  • services.msc
  

  3. From the list of services, at the right pane locate the Windows Update service.
  4. Right click on "Windows Update" service and choose Stop. *

  

  6. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows folder.
  7. Locate and then Delete the SoftwareDistribution folder. *

  

  8. Restart your computer.

  Method 2. Cancel Update in progress from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

  If Windows fails to boot, then you have to cancel the update in progress from the WinRE, by starting your PC from a Windows installation media (USB or DVD). To do that:

  • How to download & create a bootable Windows 10 DVD installation media.
  • How to download & create a bootable Windows 10 USB installation media.

  1. Boot your computer, from the Windows 10 installation media (USB or DVD).
  2. At the Windows Language Setup screen press SHIFT + F10 to access command prompt, or click Next –> Repair your computer –> Troubleshoot –> Advanced Options –> Command Prompt.

  

  3. Inside the command prompt window, type the following command and press Enter, to view all the available drives on your system:

  • wmic logicaldisk get name
  

  4. Now, by using the "DIR Drive_Letter:" command, examine the contents of the listed drives (except the drive X:), to find out which drive contains the "Windows" folder. *

  • dir C:

  * Notes: The above command will display a list of the folders on the drive C:. If you can see the "Windows" folder, then continue to the next step. If you cannot see the "Windows" folder on the C: drive, then move to the next drive on the list. (e.g. dir D:, dir E:, etc.), until you find out which drive contains the "Windows" folder.

  e.g.: As you can see in the example below, the Windows folder is located on drive D:

  

  5. When you locate the drive with the "Windows" folder, then navigate to that drive, by typing its drive letter. At this example, the "Windows" folder is located at "D:" drive, so we have to type:

  • D:

  6. Create a new folder and name it "Scratch", by typing this command:

  • mkdir D:\Scratch
  

  7. Finally type the following command, to undo the update progress and to rollback your system to its previous state, before starting the update:

  • DISM /Image:D:\ /ScratchDir:D:\Scratch /Cleanup-Image /RevertPendingActions

  * Note: Change the drive letter D according to your case.

  

  8. Once the above command executed, you should receive the following message on screen:

  "Reverting pending actions from the image….
  The operation completed.  Any revert of pending actions will be attempted after the reboot
  The operation completed successfully."

  

  9. Close the command prompt window, and remove the installation media.
  10. Restart your computer and let Windows to boot normally.

  10. After restarting, you 'll see a message that says "Undoing changes made to your computer". Just wait for the operation to complete and then you should be able to login to Windows normally.

  

  11. After booting to Windows 10, follow the steps at Method 1, to remove the downloaded updates files.

  That's it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.

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  Can you stop a Windows Update in Progress?

  In Windows 10, version 1903 (or later), Windows 10 Pro, version 1809, or Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1809: Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update . Select either Pause updates for 7 days or Advanced options.

  How do I cancel a running update?

  What to Know.

  Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Security and Maintenance > Maintenance > Stop Maintenance..

  Turn off Windows automatic updates to cancel any updates in progress and prevent future updates..

  On Windows 10 Pro, disable automatic updates in the Windows Group Policy Editor..

  How do I remove a stuck Windows Update?

  Fix Windows Update stuck on downloading in Windows 10.

  Method 1. Restart your device. ... .

  Method 3. Reset Windows Update components. ... .

  Method 4. Restore corrupted system files. ... .

  Method 5. Make a batch file to apply a quick fix. ... .

  Method 6. Use the System Restore tool. ... .

  Method 7. Reset or reinstall Windows 10..