Computeractive

Stop & control Windows updates
BRING BACK THE TOOLS WINDOWS UPDATE REMOVED
Restore programs from
Windows.old
As mentioned on page 51, the November
update saw Microsoft move some of your
favourite programs to the mysterious
‘Windows.old’ folder.
It is possible to restore programs from
this folder. Microsoft hasn’t yet updated
its site to explain how to do this in
Windows 10, just Windows 8.1 (www.
snipca.com/18835). Funny how Microsoft
is so eager to impose dramatic OS
updates but can’t update its own
website with vital information.
Luckily, the steps used to restore
programs in Windows 8.1 seem to work
in Windows 10 as well – up to a point.
In short, open the Windows.old folder,
open Users and then open your username
folder. Find your missing program fi les
and copy and paste them back into
Program Files or on to your Desktop.
We tried this and found it hit and miss
at best. You can’t just make a program
work again simply by pasting it on to
your Desktop. Instead, we recommend
emptying the Windows.old folder
completely and reinstalling your lost
programs from scratch.
Uninstall missing programs fi rst
We recommend reinstalling your
missing programs from their developers’
sites rather than messing around with
Windows system folders. But fi rst, you
should completely uninstall them and
their leftovers.
Uninstalling previous versions of
programs – and their leftover fi les – is
always a wise move before you install
software. But it’s especially important in
this case, because you have no way of
knowing what Windows Update did to
the programs it moved.
Install and run the free tool IObit
Uninstaller (www.snipca.com/18839),
then scroll through its list of your
installed programs and plug-ins. If you
The best way to restore programs is to
download them from the maker’s site
You can restore
programs from
‘Windows.old’, but
there are better
solutions
spot one of the programs that was
kidnapped by Windows Update, click the
Uninstall (or ‘Quick Uninstall’) button
next to it. Wait a few moments for the
program to be removed.
IObit will then automatically check
for leftovers in your Registry. If there
are none, you’ll see a box saying so.
Th at’s it, job done.
If there are leftovers, tick the top box in
the window that opens (see screenshot
bottom left) – this automatically ticks all
the sub-boxes as well – and then click
Delete to get rid of them all.
Reinstall missing programs
from scratch
On page 51 we mentioned some of the
programs the November update meddled
with – including Computeractive
favourites Speccy and CPU-Z – and gave
links to their developers’ sites. In the box
on the next page you can fi nd links for all
the programs Microsoft removed, along
with links for portable versions of the
programs if available.
By downloading and installing
programs from their makers’ sites, you
can be sure you’re getting the latest (and
legitimate) version. You can also see
release notes of the kind Microsoft
couldn’t be bothered to include with the
November update, and get help from the
developer and other users.
Remove previous installations and Registry leftovers before you reinstall a program
Use portable programs
No-one outside of Microsoft (or perhaps
even inside Microsoft) knows what the
next big update – codenamed Redstone
and due in spring 2016 – will bring. You’d
be forgiven for assuming it’ll just remove
all your reinstalled programs and put
back all those unwanted apps – again.
To help ensure the next update makes
9 – 22 December 2015
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