Yeah. I had the same issue and could not stand the update nagging anymore.

Thankfully, a buddy of mine pointed me to SetupDiag, which parses the logs to get you more info. In the end, the update was failing due to an accelerometer driver (!!).

Is a fresh install not an option for the system you're describing? I'm not suggesting that it's a sane thing to have to do, but after a couple of hours of resesrching the problem with no leads it seems like the best choice.

A fresh install is the solution to every windows problem. The issue is that we are not young anymore and we don't have the time to do it. Windows 10 being a quality disaster does not help either.

> Is a fresh install not an option for the system you're describing? I'm not suggesting that it's a sane thing to have to do, but after a couple of hours of resesrching the problem with no leads it seems like the best choice.

A fresh install with my original media failed in the same way during updates.

A fresh install (on a spare HD) with the media creation tool worked once, but crashed and burned after the first time I ran Windows update. I might try again, but I'm a little worn out.

I actually wasted hours with MS chat support, but they offered no insight except running me through a fresh install script. Once I hit the end they started talking about BIOS updates. However that's an entirely different wall, because apparently my MB shipped with an update that's not recommended for my CPU, but I cannot downgrade. I'm now debating whether to shell out $$$ for CPU upgrade (not even to current gen), but the ones I want are out of stock and only being sold by iffy sellers.

Yes - Windows update is one of the most unreliable pieces of software I've had the misfortune to use. On one of my machines checking for updates hangs indefinitely. The whole update service is stuck and can't be stopped. I can do some hacks involving deleting the update catalogue in safe mode, but it just breaks again a few weeks later.

Meanwhile, updates work for me but don't ask for user consent after downloading them.

I just come back to find my PC randomly rebooted overnight.

Better that than the Internet being attacked by botnets full of machines that users never patch because they're constantly "doing important things overnight".

> Better that than the Internet being attacked by botnets full of machines that users never patch because they're constantly "doing important things overnight".

Force updates are debatable for security patches, but they're entirely unacceptable for new features.

In case you weren't joking, no, that's not "better" at all. Even when it's about your own life at stake, and therefore an argument for overriding your decisions may have a better standing, you are still allowed to refuse treatment even if it comes from professional people that even took the (Hippocratic) oath to make your well-being a priority. Now let's get back to the personal computing and what's happening here with these forced updates, which is more akin to breaking and entering, when are not being authorized by the owner. How the hell did it come to this?

Paying for MSDN to get LTSC is worth it.