Prevent Windows 10 from being re-offered

Sep 14, 2015 10:06 GMT  ·  By

GWX Control Panel is a helpful application that can block the Windows 10 upgrade from being re-offered to users still running Windows 7 or 8.1 and qualifying for the free offer, but thanks to an update released today, it can do even more than that.

As you probably heard, Windows 10 installation files are automatically downloaded on Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs even if users do not reserve the free upgrade, and this new update helps you prevent this from happening.

GWX Control Panel (formerly known as GWX Stopper) can determine if Windows is configured to allow OS upgrades via Windows Update, which is the thing that allows Microsoft to download the Windows 10 setup files on your PC. These files can take up to 6 GB in size and obviously use your bandwidth to land on the hard drive, so it’s better to prevent them from downloading if you don’t actually want to install Windows 10 in the first place.

Remove installation files

Additionally, the new version of GWX Control Panel can locate and report the “total size of the hidden Windows 10 download folder (usually C:\$Windows.~BT) and gives you the ability to open the folder in Windows Explorer,” which enables it to get rid of these files faster.

As you can see, this update makes the app really useful if installing Windows 10 is not on your to-do list for the moment, so go ahead and download GWX Control Panel to see what it’s up to.

Nevertheless, if the Windows 10 installation files are already on your computer, there are ways to get rid of them manually, but take more steps and more time if you really want to reclaim your space and avoid being re-offered the upgrade. Learn here how to remove Windows 10 installation files from your Windows 7 or 8.1 PC and stay on your current OS version without being bothered with the upgrade ever again.