Microsoft is forcing users to upgrade to Windows 10

[Edi]

Haven't seen those since I upgraded to Windows 10 a couple of weeks ago, but Microsoft has for the past couple of months pushed the various upgrade updates outside of regular schedule in addition to hiding them in the regular batches. Probably to get them in for those people who have automatic updates enabled but who keep their guard up on patch Tuesdays. Having them outside the normal cycle will slip them past most such people.

[SpottedKitty]

Note: I'm particularly wary about those mystery Optional updates because the one time Win10 almost slipped past me and went ahead to update, it appeared as an auto-selected Optional. At that time I didn't always look at the Optionals (I do now) because none of them were ever auto-selected.

[Rogue 9]

Related, I've found through happy accident that Malwarebytes' junkware removal tool kills the Windows 10 nag app, at least temporarily.

[phongn]

The real way to do it is via these steps.

[Executor32]

Alternatively, just download and run Never10.

[Zaune]

Am I the only person who thinks the fact we're even having this discussion is a major argument in favour of Linux?

[Ace Pace]

Am I the only person who thinks the fact we're even having this discussion is a major argument in favour of Linux?

Sure. Except similar arguments exist in the most wide-spread Linux Desktop (Ubuntu). For different reasons but arguments against upgrading exist and cause forks and other fun stuff.

[Purple]

Am I the only person who thinks the fact we're even having this discussion is a major argument in favour of Linux?

Sure, but it falls flat thanks to being let down by the fact that there are a trillion major arguments against linux. Fact of the matter is that desktop linux just isn't suitable for the average home or corporate user who values ease of use, efficiency and wants his machine to work 100% plug and play.

[Civil War Man]

In other news, there is a Windows update that ends up preventing Windows 7 from booting if it's running on an ASUS motherboard, and Microsoft has moved it from "Optional" to "Recommended", which means it will automatically install unless you specifically tell it not to.

Earlier this year Microsoft warned users that Windows 7 has serious problems. I dismissed its claims as a desperate attempt to shift copies of Windows 10 (and I still do), but now Microsoft has warned of a new serious Windows 7 problem that is very real – even though it makes no sense whatsoever…

In short: Microsoft has made a seemingly small yet completely bizarre tweak to Windows Update on Windows 7 and confirmed it is crippling many users’ PCs.

The tweak? It switched the status of Windows 7 update KB3133977 from ‘Optional’ to ‘Recommended’. The bizarre part? Despite acknowledging the problems, Microsoft knew they would occur in advance and it has no plans to do anything about it.

Ok, let’s put some meat on these bones.

PCs That Suddenly Won’t Start

It all centres around Asus motherboards.

Now 27 years old, Asus is one of the largest PC component makers and supplies motherboards to many of the world’s biggest PC makers. Recently it enabled Secure Boot in UEFI on all its motherboards. This wasn’t a problem for older PCs because Windows 7 didn’t support Secure Boot, that is until KB3133977 came along in March and enabled it.

Initially the fallout was small. Asus confirmed the problem, Microsoft confirmed the problem. But the best news was KB3133977 was an optional Windows 7 update so it had to be manually installed to take effect. The solution was simple: just steer clear of KB3133977 (aka do nothing) and you’d be fine.

Then last month – for some bizarre reason – Microsoft made KB3133977 a ‘Recommended’ update. The result was every user running Windows 7 and default Windows Update settings (the vast majority) would find the update now installed automatically.

And then everyone with an Asus motherboard was hit.


A Global Problem

As InfoWorld’s Windows expert Woody Leonhard notes “I’m now seeing problems reported from all over the globe about Windows 7 machines that suddenly won’t boot”. Affected machines simply show a red box which says:


All of which does nothing to pinpoint the problem or solve it for those without a second secured boot device. In short: you’d be screwed.

The Good News And Staying Safe

The good news is Asus has now issued a workaround to get PCs booting up again. Furthermore Asus must take some of the blame for not reacting faster when KB3133977 presented a potential landmine and issuing new updates to its motherboards.

How do you know if you have an Asus motherboard in your Windows 7 PC? Go to: All Programs > Accessories > System Tools and select System Information. This will list your PC’s components, including the motherboard.

One downside: some major PC makers like Dell and HP rebrand the motherboard as the computer’s model number. In which case you should do a web search on your model or call the manufacturer directly.

The Bad News And What Comes Next

As for the bad news? It’s Microsoft’s reaction.

On the plus side, Microsoft did update the support document for KB3133977 with a warning which states: “After you install update 3133977 on a Windows 7 x64-based system that includes an Asus-based main board, the system does not start”.

But Microsoft also uses the document an opportunity to promote upgrades to Windows 10:


Microsoft has also done nothing to modify KB3133977 or release a new patch so users with Asus motherboards don’t run into this problem in the first place. Furthermore, at the time of publishing, KB3133977 remains a ‘Recommended’ in Windows Update for Windows 7.

Needless to say, conspiracy theorists will have a ball seeing it as yet another new way Microsoft can push users to Windows 10. Especially with upgrade rates slowing in April. This in itself is remarkable given the increasing number of heavy handed and devious ways Microsoft has been pushing Windows 10 onto Windows 7 and Windows 8 users.

Regardless, the message is clear: life is going to become increasingly uncomfortable for Windows 7 users from now on. Whether they like it or not…

[Purple]

Again, this tells me that only a fool sets his windows updates to anything but "Not unless I order you to!"

[TheFeniX]

In other news, there is a Windows update that ends up preventing Windows 7 from booting if it's running on an ASUS motherboard, and Microsoft has moved it from "Optional" to "Recommended", which means it will automatically install unless you specifically tell it not to.

So, at what point are we looking at a class-action lawsuit against MS for intentionally or negligently bricking their old software?

Again, this tells me that only a fool sets his windows updates to anything but "Not unless I order you to!"

Yes, because the old days of hundreds of thousands of WinXP bots rooted by reverse engineering MS security patches was somehow better? The fact is, I should be able to trust a vendor to not brick my paid device intentionally and expect a quick response when they do it accidentally. The information provided by MS patches via the OS is hilariously brief and nearly worthless. Should we expect the average user to follow bullshit linkthroughs to actual patchnotes, which are also vague, understand them, and intelligently decide whether they have an ASUS board either bought retail or a manufacturer chipset relabel?

Here's a fucking crazy idea: have the patch read the hardware ID of the board. If it says "ASUS," do not install the patch. Modern firmware and BIOS update developers mastered this decades ago. It's nice to know Microsoft is incapable of doing so and instead drops the responsibility off on people who just need a computer that works.

The good news is: Microsoft continues to keep thousands of IT professionals employed indirectly. Only costing their customers money in the process. But being on W7 means you haven't coughed up money to MS in a few years, so Microsoft customer friendly response, as always, is: "fuck you."

[SpottedKitty]

Again, this tells me that only a fool sets his windows updates to anything but "Not unless I order you to!"

Don't forget always checking at every Update Tuesday that the most recent Update update hasn't jumped up and down on your preferences with large spiky boots. I've had enough Weird Stuff™ happen over the last couple of years that I always re-check everything now, every time I see the little "!" shield in the Start>Shutdown button.

[Purple]

All I am saying is that there are two kinds of people in this world when it comes to dealing with software vendors. The paranoid kind and the kind that gets screwed over. And as I am a programer you can quote me on this as being my official professional opinion.

[Lord Revan]

the update program crashes when I try to change the update time past tomorrow, I wonder if MS is trying to force me to update then or is just a glitch that's poorly timed. it says "try again later" but still it's it feels fishy. oh well I got until 00:00 tomorrow to try change it.

[Dominus Atheos]

God Microsoft is botching the roll-out of this operating system. The actual OS is good, but every decision relating to anything besides the core OS is boneheaded as fuck.

I can literally picture how these conversations must have gone at Microsoft:

Legal Dept: "For Windows 10 we want to clarify the EULA. Every license agreement put out by modern corporations has 2 main points:

1. We can do whatever we want.

2. You can't sue us for any reason ever.

Some people still don't seem to get it though, so we're going to make the language crystal clear for Windows 10. We in the Legal Dept can't think of any reason not to do this, right?"



Engineering Dept: "People keep complaining that Windows is unreliable, but without examining the exact set of circumstances around every crash on every individual computer, there will always be crashes. So for Windows 10 we're just going to have the computers send us information about everything. We in the Engineering Dept can't think of any reason not to do this, right?"



Marketing Dept: "Since it will make things easier for everyone (especially Microsoft) later, we want this operating system on every computer possible. The problem is that most customers are idiots, and may accidentally not upgrade (I mean, why would they not upgrade on purpose? It's free!), So we're going to make absolutely sure that no one can may" accidentally" not upgrade. We in the Marketing Dept can't think of any reason not to do this, right?"

[Rogue 9]

In other news, there is a Windows update that ends up preventing Windows 7 from booting if it's running on an ASUS motherboard, and Microsoft has moved it from "Optional" to "Recommended", which means it will automatically install unless you specifically tell it not to.

I just checked, and the update number named in the article is still listed under Optional on my system. Also, System Information doesn't tell me a damn thing about my motherboard manufacturer.