Patchfluent: Control Windows 10 Updates Manually

Windows 10 has been on the market for more than five years, and despite user complaints, its position on automatic updates hasn't changed. The process is essentially mandatory, with no way to exclude specific updates—unless you use an external tool. That's where Patchfluent comes in, drawing inspiration from the official Windows Update interface to give you greater control over what gets installed and what waits.

From a technical standpoint, we have to admit that most Windows 10 users haven't had any issues with mandatory hotfixes, but at the same time, we've learned to fear major updates. Each one drags thousands of forum posts and social media messages describing problems, errors, conflicts, and loss of compatibility across multiple systems. Everything points to Redmond not changing its one-size-fits-all approach to updates, but as users we will never stop demanding greater control over the process.

This need has led some developers to dedicate time and effort to creating tools that turn Windows Update into a more flexible and user-friendly resource. One that definitely deserves your attention is Patchfluent created by Builtbybel, whom we previously knew as Mirinsoft with its CleanMgr+. It's free, open source, and doesn't even require a formal installation. Running it from a temporary folder is more than enough.

How to Control Windows 10 Updates with Patchfluent

Based on the Windows10ManualUpdate project by Slavanap, Patchfluent gives you an additional layer of control to specify which hotfixes to install. In other words, small checkboxes where you can place ticks. Once you've selected the updates, click Install Updates and wait for Patchfluent to finish the job. You won't receive any additional feedback except for a pop-up at the end.

Now, Patchfluent recommends disabling Windows 10 automatic updates, and even enables the option to do so from its interface, but we know it's not that simple. Certain builds of the operating system allow modifying its behavior via group policies (gpedit.msc), but odds are that in the basic editions of Windows (Home, Single Language, 'S' version) this won't work. Moreover, the cat-and-mouse game never ends, and Redmond could tear it all out in a future update.

In any case, we recommend downloading a copy of Patchfluent and giving it a try. We've seen it work quite well on Windows 10 2004, and we even noticed the offer of Microsoft Silverlight (the same happens on several fresh Windows 8.1 installations), an essentially abandoned resource with extended support until October 2021. In short, if you want more control over Windows 10 hotfixes, this will help.

(Editor's note: A false positive in VirusTotal)

Official website and download: Click here