Remove & disable the “Get Windows 10” icon shown in the notification area (tray)

10/27 UPDATE: Microsoft continues to push Windows 7/8.x updates nagging and deceptively trying to upgrade them to Windows 10. A good overview here from ZDNet.

The best solution is  now a utility called GWX Control Panel which combines the registry changes, Windows 10 hidden install files, and the ability to restore the update all into one simple-to-use program. Download here directly from the developer; confirm MD5/SHA-1 checksums to verify. See here, thanks to Raymond, for why and how to use MD5/SHA-1 checksums.

8/1 UPDATE: Now that Windows 10 is out, the best method is to disable ‘Get Windows 10’ using a registry update.

You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this option.

This option will show you how to enable or disable to show the Get Windows 10 icon on the taskbar notification area for all users on the PC.

This way the Get Windows 10 app is not removed from the PC when disabled, and you will be able enable it again to use it when you like in the future.

The .reg files below will add/change the DWORD value in the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\GWX

DisableGWX DWORD
0 or delete = enable tray icon
1 = disable tray icon

Steps to disable GWX  (Get Windows 10).

  1. Download the registry file here: Disable_Get_Windows_10
  2. Extract the .zip file to a reasonable location (e.g. your Desktop)
  3. Double click/tap on the “Disable_Get_Windows_10.reg” file to merge it (you can use the “Enable_Get_Windows_10.reg” to re-enable GWX if you want to undo disabling it).
  4. If prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
    UAC-registry
  5. Restart the computer to apply.

Original post based on this superuser.com post

Thank you Optmet.  I packaged his scripts into a .zip file and I modified the .bat file to automatically elevate (run as Administrator).
Windows10BlockerHider.zip

Save, extract, and launch the “BlockWindows10.bat”.  Hit “Yes” to allow the script to run as an Administrator.

Per the batch file as of 2015-06-02, the script removes the following KBs that are not specifically for a Windows 10 upgrade:

  • KB2952664 – Compatibility update for upgrading Windows 7
  • KB2990214 – Update that enables you to upgrade from Windows 7 to a later version of Windows
  • KB3022345 – Update to enable the Diagnostics Tracking Service in Windows
  • KB3035583 – Update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1

It also hides the above KBs from reinstalling through Windows Update.
If you want to uninstall/undo the Windows 10 blocker script, Google “Restore and install hidden updates” or use a tutorial such as this one to restore (unhide) the KBs listed above.