A new chapter has opened in the history of Windows 10, and its first paragraph isn't exactly pretty. From the very first day, the Redmond giant promised that the upgrade offer for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users would be "optional"; however, in recent days many users have reported being forced to install Windows 10 on their computers. The reason? A "technical error".
Some companies seem doomed to repeat their past. As an example: I remember very well the months before the launch of Windows Vista. According to Microsoft, it was going to be the solution to all our problems, even if we had to invest a fortune in hardware upgrades. Reality hit Redmond in the face with the delicacy of a baseball bat. Something very similar happened with Windows 8. Microsoft's new vision demanded almost total submission to touch screens, and to put into the background an interface that had accompanied us for more than fifteen years. Since there wasn't a carpet big enough to hide all the negative feedback that Windows 8 generated, Microsoft even went so far as to skip a version number to distance itself. That said, no one denies that the acceptance of Windows 10 has been much higher, and the latest reports reveal that the new operating system is available on more than 100 million devices.
Now, there's a small detail: if we follow the information that appeared on the Web in recent days, a small percentage of those installations would not have been voluntary. I'm sure our readers remember very well the "preventive downloads" that Microsoft acknowledged last September, whose goal is to "speed up" the installation when the user decides to carry it out. The difference is that several users found themselves with the installer kicking into action, and offering nothing more than a maximum delay of 48 hours for its complete application. We have multiple reasons to believe it's intentional, but Microsoft said all incidents were due to an internal technical error. As you can see in the first image, the general update to Windows 10 appears under the "Optional" category in Windows Update... but there's a check mark in its box. That check mark shouldn't be there unless the user places it, and if the system is configured to install hotfixes automatically, well... we know what follows.
Microsoft indicated that the error has been fixed, and there shouldn't be similar incidents in the future. Still, there are several things to do on our side. Those who didn't manage to escape the Windows 10 installation can "go back" thanks to the automatic file backup created in the process (and assuming they haven't deleted it). But if the Windows 10 offer already appears in Windows Update and the plan is to get rid of it, you have to uninstall hotfix KB3035583, and when it appears (again) in Windows Update, right-click on it to hide it. Of course, this is nothing more than a temporary solution. Microsoft has the ability to "reveal" previously blocked hotfixes, therefore, the best option is to put Windows Update in manual mode and closely control each patch that appears in the list.
