GWX Control Panel v1.4

UPDATE (October 20, 2015): Version 1.4 is now live. This fixes some of the more stubborn Windows Update issues folks have reported and *hopefully* finally fixes the dreaded Windows 10 "reschedule or upgrade now" cycle that some users have found themselves in. If you are one of these people I'd like to hear if we've fixed the problem for you.

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VERSION 1.4
Date: October 18, 2015
MD5 checksum: 959F1627A304DAE42305AA4D4D23B770
SHA-1 checksum: E58E0B2AD672793BCBD35D74E35EA4A2E371EA18
Changes: Greatly expanded checks and fixes for Windows 10 upgrade hijacking the Windows Update control panel. Added new Clear Windows Update Cache feature for fixing extra stubborn Windows Update issues.

Download link

 

Last edited: Oct 21, 2015

I was just going to post it until I saw this thread

 

Last edited: Oct 29, 2015

VERSION 1.6.0.1
Date: November 24, 2015
Installer MD5 checksum: 243B8266A11747CD9605F33FB12D45B2
Installer SHA-1 checksum: FAFC81D0379F759927A9046D85BA9F9888E1B275
Stand-alone MD5 checksum: D25D0085AE1520F5255485B03CF91397
Stand-alone SHA-1 checksum: D3DAE116A383EBAF13BFA5B435217AA9212D87ED
Changes:

• Monitor Mode. This optional feature actively monitors your computer and notifies you if it detects any known evidence of Windows 10 activity.
• Worry-free installer. This is the first version available with a traditional setup program: It creates shortcuts in your Start menu and on your desktop for easy access to GWX Control Panel and documentation. It will allow for safe upgrading to future versions of GWX Control Panel without leaving duplicate copies of the program laying around with different filenames like you might sometimes experience with the stand-alone version. And finally, it provides a standard uninstaller routine, available in the Programs and Features control panel. (If you don't use installers, GWX Control Panel is still also available as a stand-alone download.)
• Check for Updates. The built-in Check for updates feature tells you what version of GWX Control Panel you're currently running and takes you to the Ultimate Outsider Downloads page where you can download the latest version if a newer one is available.
  
• Save Diagnostic Info. This new feature saves a text file to your desktop that contains your current Windows 10-related settings and error messages encountered during the current GWX Control Panel instance. The text file includes info on where to send the file if you encounter unexpected problems with GWX Control Panel.
• More comprehensive protection. The Disable/Enable Operating System Upgrades in Windows Update feature now covers a slightly wider range of settings related to Windows 10 upgrades
• Restart Monitor Mode command available in the system menu, for launching Monitor Mode after previously exiting it manually.
• Reset Control Panel Window Position command in Monitor Mode pop-up menu fixes problems with GWX Control Panel being hidden or in an unreachable location on the desktop.

DDL Setup | Portable

 

Last edited: Dec 30, 2015

VERSION 1.7.0.1
Date: December 29, 2015
Installer MD5 checksum: 79942933EE50B402A59809B20A8E74DE
Installer SHA-1 checksum: AB3C73D3EDA101526EE375C4B0DEDE880D0CD6A7
Stand-alone MD5 checksum: 6636AE0B48B754C3B182C29171B3154F
Stand-alone SHA-1 checksum: A5DD2C397463DC70423F4AA26A4E978F543467C9
Changes:

• New "Delete Windows 10 Programs" feature deletes program files known to be related to the Windows 10 upgrade and their related scheduled tasks. Right now this only covers files from the KB3035583 patch, but future versions will include other files as more problematic programs are discovered. Important: These programs are the main reason people were seeing their Windows 10 Upgrades settings getting reset in the 1.6 version of GWX Control Panel monitor mode. This new feature is the best way to prevent those reversions; simply removing the Get Windows 10 icon from your notification area is not enough to stop Microsoft from continually reverting your settings.
• Now detects whether Windows Update is configured to automatically install updates (the "automatically install Windows Updates" field in the information section), because automatically installing new updates leaves you vulnerable to Windows 10 upgrades. (If you choose to ignore this alert, GWX Control Panel won't bother you about it again.)
• Added new "Change Windows Update Settings" feature where you can set your Windows Update preferences in the event that GWX Control Panel detects that you are in automatically install mode.
• Slightly reduced CPU and resource utilization (it was already pretty good before, but now it's even better).
• Renamed "Disable OS Upgrades in Windows Update" feature to "Prevent Automatic Windows 10 Upgrades" because the old name confused some users.
• Improved responsiveness and reliability of "Prevent Automatic Windows 10 Upgrades" feature.
• Now additionally detects 32-bit version of MS "Get Windows 10" app on 64-bit Windows.
• Tightened up Windows 10 detection logic; no longer triggers alerts in one case that's been determined to be safe. Added at least one new detection scenario.
• Save Diagnostic Info report now includes human-readable details on exactly what traces of Windows 10 were found. Indicates parent subkey and registry value of detected (or missing) settings.
• Some other additional details in diagnostic info, like whether current user is administrator and running status of some critical services.
• No longer prompts for restarts after Prevent/Allow Automatic Windows 10 Upgrades. (The improved reliability of the new logic should make restarts unnecessary.)
• Enable/Disable Monitor Mode feature now defaults to enabling Monitor Mode for all users instead of just the current user account. Per-user enable/disable is still available from a system menu option (see version 1.7 user guide for details). This new behavior is due to the very confusing way that Windows handles program credentials when users with Standard and Child accounts have to elevate to admin privileges when performing certain actions. The troubleshooting guide should include some background on this as well.
• End User License Agreement now appears as a child of the main program dialog, preventing the situation where it appears behind other open windows but users have no idea since the old EULA dialog didn't have an icon in the taskbar.
• Installer: Added shortcut to GWX Control Panel uninstaller in the GWX Control Panel folder of the Start menu.
• Installer: Start menu and desktop shortcuts are now created for all users on the computer instead of just the profile of the user who installed it.
• Installer: Added more logic to kill existing GWX CP processes during install/uninstall. NOTE: This doesn't work across multiple currently logged-in user accounts. Please log out all other user accounts before installing/uninstalling to ensure the program files can safely be installed/removed. Also, ideally you should run the installer from an administrator account, not an elevated Standard or Child account.

DDL Setup | Portable