Configuring Mini-PC's With Zero Auto Updates On Windows7 and Tiny7?

Hello, I have some mini-PC problems, it started when Windows 10 kept pushing updates to flood my 32gb hard drives to a mere 100 mb's in my Asus VivoSticks TS10 making them inoperable. I had to keep deleting updates everyday and could not shut down the automatic updates in the policies no matter what I did.

The same thing happened with Windows 11 in my AceMagician T8 Pro (albeit it has a 256 gb sized drive, so size wasn't the issue there) but I was able to shutdown many update functions in many policies and directories, yet it still says its updating, but only during boot up. I'm trying to figure out how to shutdown all updates forever.

Frustrated, I wiped these drives on both mini-PC's and formatted to EXT4 with a Linux install. I've learned to hate Linux, its far too complicated to deal with and I don't want to waste days-on-end in the shell and I don't know code to play around in it. Linux was a dead exploration.

So now I want to go back to Windows for both mini-PC's but downscaling to a Windows 7 or Vista or XP where I can affectively shutdown the automatic updates features for real and not have it run secretly in the background without alerting the user. A real and permanent update shutdown.

I'm told by various people that Windows 7 is the last Windows op system where you can shutdown automatic updates for real and its not a fake shutoff. I'm wondering how true this is and what your input is? And if there will be a driver issue in downscaling to Win 7 or Vista for these particular PC's?

Now before 'some' start jumping-up-and-down shouting that shutting down automatic updates is wrong to do and you don't want to do that and blah, blah, blah. I've heard that all before, but I have my strong reasons to never update anything I own and I don't, and I've never had a problem doing so in 15+ years.

Lastly, I use these mini-PC's to run just 1 program - Think or Swim stock trading platform on TD Ameritrade/Charles Schwab. I do not use these PC's for any web browsing, photos, music, not even office like Word, Excel, any chat messengers or anything. These PC's will have no other programs loaded into it besides Think or Swim and never used for anything else. They are as barebones as you can get, only the default installed programs from the Windows disc. I use an iMac as my daily workhorse, I don't need to use these PC's for that.

So the update issue whether some think is good or bad is irrelevant. So with all that being said, my question is what Windows platform can I completely shutdown the automatic updates? Can a Dell reinstall disk do this with no product key code or a reusable key code for multiple machines? And I'm told that all the drivers for Windows 7 are the exact same file as used in Windows 10 so is that true as well? And it looks like Tiny7 is perfect for my 2GB RAM / 32GB HD Asus VivoSticks I think? Thank you.

Well, you can turn-off Windows Update in Windows 7, and the updates will genuinely be turned-off, as the forced-updating happened when they came out with Windows 10.

The other thing of note is that there simply are no updates being sent out by Windows Update for Windows 7 any longer, and as not all the updates were distributed via CD-DVD, I don't know how you would install Windows 7 and have it up-to-date.  And you also still have to deal with the install key, as that wasn't deprecated.  The last time I did a Windows 7 validation, I had to do it via a touch-tone landline telephone.

I don't know how you would install Windows 7 and have it up-to-date

They haven't been removed.

 Install new Windows Update software.png   59.97KB   0 downloads

OP getting help from other sites

https://www.sysnative.com/forums/threads/configuring-mini-pcs-with-zero-auto-updates-on-which-windows.40689/

https://www.techguy.org/threads/configuring-mini-pcs-with-zero-auto-updates-on-which-windows.1292051/?post_id=10009388#post-10009388

Edited by 6sixty6six, 26 May 2024 - 06:03 AM.

Edited by MoxieMomma, 26 May 2024 - 06:28 AM.

Doing so is the Topic Starter's prerogative.
But it can create confusion & can result in wasted time and effort for everyone.

And of course it looks 'spammy'.

But to give the benefit of the doubt.

As you don't appear to need/want Windows, and don't like Linux, then have you considered putting ChromeOS Flex on the machines?

 
https://www.androidpolice.com/google-chromeos-flex-install-guide/

Edited by Nukecad, 26 May 2024 - 06:37 AM.

And here

https://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/429278-configuring-mini-pcs-zero-auto-updates-windows7-tiny7.html


Edit: and here:
https://msfn.org/board/topic/186232-configuring-mini-pcs-with-zero-auto-updates-on-windows-7/#comment-1266587

https://thewindowsforum.com/threads/configuring-mini-pcs-with-zero-auto-updates-on-which-windows.88002/

https://www.techsupportforum.com/threads/configuring-mini-pcs-with-zero-auto-updates-on-which-windows.1260699/

Doing so is the Topic Starter's prerogative.
But it can create confusion & can result in wasted time and effort for everyone.

Edited by 6sixty6six, 26 May 2024 - 07:06 AM.

Well, I also have posted it in 5+ more forums than you have found and listed here ...so what is the problem, is that a bad idea? It's not "spammy" its a real problem that I need fixing.

Herefore, I'm going to copy-and-paste (yes my favorite thing to do) this same reply in any other forums where other immature cry-baby users get their panties all bunched up over a user posting the same question in other forums.

After all, every user here has other forum accounts as I do, which is how you found my other postings on other forums. So what is the difference then if we are all the same? The last time I checked, being a member on a forum wasn't a marriage til' death do us part. And it is not sacrilege to post the same question in other forums.

From what I have learned in the past about using forums is that it is much more advantageous to post in multiple forums than just 1 forum to get many  opinions from users. I want to see who says go this way or that to gauge the knowledge of users, as some don't know what the hell they are talking about, but some do, and some are just jerks that b!tch and moan.

So I have to mass post my question, gather all the information and then make my own gut-decision on what sounds best from whom sounds the smartest. I'm seeking the best advice possible which could come from ANY user, Any forum or Any source.

But how do I know that I picked the best forum with just 1 posting on just 1 forum? I don't, that's an impossibility. I know my approach is far more effective and timely rather than your approach of limiting my feedback and data results on just 1 forum. It's just not smart to limit yourself to just 1 forum.

Why would anyone want to wait several days or weeks if no one responds back or gives bad advice. Then I would have wasted all that critical time waiting on just 1 forum. I want to get the problem fixed yesterday, not a month from now waiting on few replies from only 1 thread. I have some threads that went cold with few replies, some with bad advice, some completely dead, so why would I wait weeks for that garbage? Doesn't that make tremendous sense?

And don't give me the argument of "duplicating efforts" if there was any advice overlap then I would say so in the forum to prevent the repetition because I don't want to waste the time either to read the extra words just like you don't when writing them.

Regardless, back to the original Win 7 problem at hand, it still exists, I get all kinds of conflicting advice. Some users say that it is 100% true that you can NOT turn off Windows automatic updates completely while others say that you CAN completely turn them off. From my own observations I believe you can NOT because I have been through every policy, directory and subdirectory path, etc.

So now I'm trying to figure out the best, smallest-sized platform approach to run with "absolute zero updates" and now I'm exploring an OSX install onto Tiny 7 or Windows 7 and run the Think or Swim platform (which is the whole point of this exercise) from either High Sierra or Mojave generations.

This is taking longer time and research than I expected, I don't have the extra time to dedicate to finding the solution myself inbetween medical care, and I'm about to commission a repair shop to do these installs, even though I thought I would be fully capable of doing this myself.

Meanwhile, I hope I made my position clear that my 10+ year technique of mass posting the same question on multiple forums will not be abandoned because others don't like my more-effective method for retrieving forum advice. But to each-their-own I guess.

I still welcome good, sound, competent advice on how to remedy this problem. But if your next post is to chastise my unwavering approach in seeking tech advice then just keep it to yourself. I'm trying to keep this thread civil and professional. Thank you for reading.

Edited by Bondppq, 02 June 2024 - 02:13 AM.

Geesh. Someone is very entitled ‍ :flame:

Edited by Hmm888, 08 July 2024 - 05:29 AM.