If your computer has become glitchy after a Windows update, it is possible to uninstall Windows 10 Update on your computer and roll back to the previous version.
Uninstall Windows 10 Update
Microsoft services its Windows 10 operating system by providing “Feature updates” (Every 6 months) and “Quality updates” on a monthly basis.
Feature Updates are practically new versions of Windows 10 and become available twice a year (Spring and Fall).
Quality Updates which are also known as “cumulative updates” are automatically downloaded and installed on your computer every month (second Tuesday of every month).
With this understanding, let us move ahead and take a look at the steps to Uninstall Windows 10 Update on your computer.
Note: Storage sense and the Windows.old folder is present in the root of the “C” drive.
1. Uninstall Windows 10 Feature Update
Whenever a Feature update (major update) is installed, Windows 10 keeps the files required to revert back to the previous version on your computer.
However, these files only remain on your computer for 10 days, after which they are automatically deleted by storage sense.
If you are within 10 days of a Feature update, you can follow the steps below to Uninstall Windows 10 Update on your computer and revert back to the previous version.
1. Click on the Start button and click on the Settings Icon.
2. On the Settings screen, click on Update & Security Icon.
3. On the next screen, click on Recovery in the left pane. In the right-pane, click on Get Started. button located under “Go back to previous version of Windows 10” section.
4. Follow the instructions to complete this process.
If Get Started option under “Go back to a previous version” section is greyed out or not working, your computer does not have the required files to roll back to the previous version of Windows.
Your option in this case is to use system restore or reinstall Windows 10 from a backup that you may have saved on your computer.
2. Uninstall Windows 10 Cumulative Update
As mentioned above, cumulative or quality updates are minor monthly updates and these can be easily viewed and uninstalled on your computer.
1. Click on the Start button and then click on the Settings Icon.
2. On the Settings screen, click on Update & Security Icon.
3. On the next screen, click on Windows update in the left pane. In the right-pane, scroll down and click on View update history link.
4. On the next screen, click on Uninstall updates link.
5. On the next screen, you will see a listing of recent build Quality Updates on your computer. Simply, click on the Update that you want to delete and click on the Uninstall option.
6. On the confirmation pop-up, click on Yes to confirm.
and restart your computer to complete this process.
3. Remove Temporary Update Files
While most of the downloaded Windows Update files become part of the system, some files may not be used and remain on your computer consuming storage space.
Follow the steps below to remove temporary update files and recover valuable storage space on your computer.
1. Open Settings > click on the System.
2. On the next screen, click on Storage in the left pane. In the right-pane, click on Free Up space now link.
3. Wait for Windows 10 to analyze the storage space on your computer.
4. On the next screen, check the boxes next to Delivery Optimization Files, Windows Update Cleanup and click on Remove Files.
Windows 10 will quickly remove all the selected temporary files on your computer.
4. Remove Uninstalled Windows 10 Update Files
Sometimes, the problem with Windows 10 updates is due to some of the update files failing to install on your computer.
In such cases, you may find Windows update getting stuck on your computer or being aborted.
If this happens, you can follow the steps below to remove uninstalled Windows Update files and fix problems with Windows Update on your computer.
1. Open Settings > click on Update & Security.
2. On the next screen, click on Troubleshoot in the left pane. In the right-pane, scroll down and click on Windows Update > Run the Troubleshooter.
3. If prompted, enter your Admin Password.
Wait for Windows to remove Uninstalled Update Files and fix problems related to Windows Update on your computer.