How Big Is Windows Update 1803

Woody Leonhard

By , Columnist, Computerworld |

Running Win10 version 1803 or 1809? You have options. Hither'southward how to control your upgrade.

With support for the venerable Win10 version 1803 officially at an stop, and 1809 non too long for this earth, it'southward fourth dimension to think seriously about upgrading. Fortunately, you have lots of options — and a surprising amount of command over your Win10 destiny.

The older versions of Windows 10 are growing long in the molar. Microsoft officially released its concluding cumulative update for Win10 version 1803 (Dwelling house or Pro editions) on Nov. 12. It's scheduled to kill off Win10 version 1809 on May 12 of side by side year. If y'all currently run either 1803 or 1809 you should call back difficult well-nigh moving on to i of the next versions, either 1903 or 1909. The good news is that you tin can command your future version.

If you leave your version migration up to Microsoft, y'all'll become pushed, fix or not. Fortunately, in that location are relatively easy means to take matters into your own easily — yes, even for Win10 Home customers.

Which version are you running?

Start by determining, for sure, which version of Win10 y'all're running. Downwardly in the search box, type About and click Well-nigh your PC. Scroll downwards a fleck and you should encounter a Windows specifications pane like the one in the screenshot.

That will tell you, crucially, which version of Win10 you're running right now, and which edition you're using — Dwelling, Pro, Instruction, Enterprise, Pro for Workstations, LTSC, or a handful of variants. In general, the instructions here for Pro also include Pro for Workstations, Education and Enterprise, providing you aren't attached to a network with an update server. (If you are so encumbered — er, privileged — you accept to talk to your network admin to get upgraded.)

Which version do yous want?

Each of the three available versions has significant features — and they aren't the ones you'll read about in the documentation:

Version 1809 — Past far the most stable version at this betoken. It'due south been baking out in the wild for near a twelvemonth and, in spite of a horrendous rollout, has had few hiccups lately.

Version 1903 — Has been in concluding beta testing (er, release) for six months, and in Microsoft's nebulous "ready for wide development" corral for ii months. Each cumulative update still contains enormous numbers of small fixes , combined with a few epic, lingering bugs . That said, 1903 has the single almost important characteristic improvement ever in Win10: The ability for everyone to Pause updates. That'south powerful incentive for all Win10 users, particularly Abode users, to motion to 1903.

Version 1909 — The minimally invasive "service pack" version — has a few bugs of its own , mostly Explorer Search related, but information technology's but been available for a few weeks. If yous trust Microsoft'southward patching ability, there's no reason to filibuster moving to 1909. On the other hand, if you want to wait and run into what happens, you'd exist well advised to await a couple of months or more than.

If you're on 1803, yous desire to motility with some due haste to either 1809, 1903 or 1909.

If you're on 1809, y'all can await and see whether Microsoft's 1903 (and 1909) patches pause more than things before you're forced to jump ship.

Most importantly, if y'all're running Win10 Home — either 1803 or 1809 — you desire to jump ahead to 1903 right away. All of the known and unknown problems with 1903 stake in comparison to the ability to pause updates.

In the by, I and many other experienced Windows victims have recommended that Win10 Home users pay $100 or so to upgrade to Pro. With Abode 1903 (and 1909) and the pause update feature, I no longer recommend upgrading to Pro — Habitation should be just fine for about everybody. With Win10 1903 Domicile, yous're no longer a beta-testing republic of guinea pig.

How to upgrade Win10 Pro

If yous're running Win10 Pro (Didactics, Enterprise, etc.) and y'all want to move on to a later version, here'southward how to land where y'all want.

Footstep one. Back up

There's a chance that changing versions will completely hose your computer, or go out your machine tied up in automatically installed knots. Make a full system paradigm fill-in before you venture down any path.

I have long recommended both Macrium Reverberate Free and EaseUS Todo Backup . Don't rely on the congenital-in Windows backup, which dates back to Win7 days and is notoriously unreliable.

Step two. Set feature update deferral

Upgrading Win10 Pro version 1903 to 1909 is quite straightforward; I have "Download and install now" recommendations in an earlier Computerworld mail .

From Win10 Pro version 1803 or 1809, it's relatively piece of cake to adapt Windows Update to have information technology land on the version that y'all want. Using an administrative account, click Showtime > Settings > Update & Security. And so click Avant-garde Options at the bottom. See the screenshot.

You'll see the same screen regardless of whether you're running Win10 1803 or 1809.

The mathematics is a flake hairy, just you lot want to fix the feature update deferral days so Windows Update will state on your called version.

If you're running Win10 1803 and want to motility to version 1809 , choose Semi-Annual Aqueduct and 240 days feature update deferral.

If you're running Win10 1803 or 1809 and desire to motility to version 1903 , choose Semi-Annual Aqueduct and 180 days feature update deferral. You'll terminate upwards with a version of Win10 Pro that has a "Download and install now" offer to upgrade to 1909.

If yous're running Win10 1803 or 1809 and desire to motion to version 1909 , cull Semi-Annual Channel and 10 days feature update deferral. Or yous can skip the middleman and upgrade online using the Windows Media Creation Tool . (Yes, the "Windows ten November 2019 Update" is version 1909.)

"Ten" out of the Windows Update advanced options settings dialog.

Step 3. Look

Don't do annihilation else. In particular, don't click "Check for updates." Merely use your PC equally usual, possibly turning it off then on again to awake the upgrade genie. Y'all may have to look a twenty-four hour period, but sooner or later y'all'll get upgraded to the version you've chosen.

There's a tiny take a chance that your PC will be proactively blocked from upgrading, normally equally a effect of recently discovered hardware, commuter and software incompatibilities. Those are normally listed on the Release Information Status page . At least in theory, y'all don't have to sweat the details — Microsoft should hold off on the upgrade until your auto passes muster.

How to upgrade Win10 Home

If you're already on Win10 version 1903 Domicile, you're in expert shape. Merely avoid clicking on the 1909 Download and install now link (screenshot) and y'all'll stay on 1903 until the terminate of time. Or until Microsoft changes its listen, anyhow.

For those of you on Win10 version 1803 or 1809 Home, there are some additional hoops. Note that I strongly recommend Win10 version 1803 Home folks upgrade to 1903, skipping 1809, specifically so yous take access to the new Pause Update feature.

Here's how to cull the version you'll get.

Step 1. Back up

Just as in the Pro/Pedagogy editions, there's a take chances that changing versions will completely hose your computer, or leave your motorcar tied upwardly in automatically installed knots. Make a full organisation image fill-in before yous venture down any path.

Once once more I recommend either Macrium Reflect Free or EaseUS Todo Backup . Don't rely on the congenital-in Windows backup, which dates back to Win7 days and is notoriously flaky.

Stride two. Let Windows Update run its form, if y'all tin

If you're already on Win10 1903 Dwelling house , you have full access to the Break Updates characteristic. I talk about the proper settings every month on the twenty-four hours before Patch Tuesday. (November's alert looks like this .) Follow those recommendations, and y'all'll stay patched without getting thrown to the beta testing wolves. When you're prepare to move to Win10 1909 Home, you tin can click the link to Download and install at present.

If yous're on Win10 1803 or 1809 Home and moving to Win10 1909 Dwelling house , you can simply remove whatever updating blocks you may have (such every bit setting your cyberspace line to a metered connexion) and let Windows Update run its class. Alternatively, you can use the Windows Media Cosmos Tool folio and go upgraded directly.

Step iii. Install from a saved ISO, if necessary

The other permutations aren't so simple.

Moving from Win10 1803 Home to either 1809 Home or 1903 Domicile requires the use of an ISO file — an image of a Windows upgrade disk.
Moving from Win10 1809 Home to 1903 Home as well requires the use of an ISO file.

There are tricky means to avert using the ISOs — you can fifty-fifty manually block the 1909 upgrade — but for most people, the ISO approach is convoluted enough already.

Footstep 3a. Retrieve the right ISO

If you're moving from Win10 1803 Abode to Win10 1809 Home , you demand to become an ISO for Win10 version 1809. If you lot're moving from either Win10 1803 or 1809 to Win10 1903 Home , yous demand an ISO for Win10 version 1903.

In that location's a chance you already take an ISO in your hip pocket. Back in September, I recommended that you download and squirrel away a copy of Win10 version 1903 and in Apr I recommended that you store a clean copy of Win10 version 1809. Those will work.

If you don't accept a clean ISO to work from, at that place's a astounding batch program from AveYo available on pastebin that lets you choose and download (from Microsoft!) the official older ISOs. Go to AveYo'southward MediaCreationTool site on pastebin . On the upper right, click Download. With an ambassador account, right-click on the downloaded MediaCreationTool.bat file and cull Run every bit administrator. Y'all may need to click through "Windows protected your PC" screens (click More info, Run anyhow) only in the end you'll have a list of ISOs to cull from (screenshot).

Click on the version y'all want. Windows takes a while to download the package, but in the end, you're tossed directly into the Win10 installer, every bit described in Step 3b.

Stride 3b. Install Windows from the ISO

If you take an ISO file and want to utilise it to upgrade your Win10 Home version, using an administrator account, double-click on the ISO file, and then right-click setup.exe and choose Run as administrator. The Win10 installer kicks in and will guide y'all through the procedure. You have the pick to either install make clean, or to keep your files and settings ("Choose what to go on") and install the new version.

Step four. Reboot

Restart your machine if you oasis't been forced to do then already, and you'll be running that new version.

You can double-check that the upgrade succeeded by typing About in the search box and looking for the version number.

Recollect that you have 10 days (by default) to curl back to your previous version of Win10 — just click Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Get back to the previous version of Windows 10.

It's funny how something so unproblematic — decision-making your upgraded version — has turned into something so horrendously complex.

If you have any suggestions for this procedure, or demand help, skilled volunteers await on the AskWoody Lounge .

Thx, @PKCano, @abbodi86.