Prevent Windows 10 Enterprise 21H1 upgrade to 21H2

21H1 very old? Hmmm you say tomato I say tomoto. I get it, MS want's everyone in the cloud so the credit card meter is always on and if they could flip a switch today it would likely be that way for everyone. But then I suspect many wouldn't bite into that apple, they'd simply go somewhere else. Don't get me wrong, I've been with "MS only products" for 43 years and have no plans to change. But MS behaves as if money is no object, unless of course it requires them to pony up on making good to claims they've made, then it's a different story.

21H1 not supported any longer? If it's not supported, then why does MS track installations and licensing or provide upgrades that are pushed your system without getting consent from the person who's paid for the license and owns the hardware? When it blows up as it so often does, it's not MS's time that gets wasted. So, it looks to me like it's being supported, if not why bother with such details? Are there anymore oxymoronic comments you'd like to make?

I'm slow to upgrade because MS quality control has really slipped backwards over the last 10 years. It's become very difficult to get a stable platform, if you're an IT developer, until something has been out there for about 3 years. Developers need stable bits, not something where the goal line is constantly moving. This includes the long-term support cycle they've implemented. There's nothing bad about improving products, I agree with many that MS is world renowned for their innovative solutions, but they really fall short when it comes to documentation and quality control.

Example, I got a popup last week saying an upgrade to SQL Server Mgt Studio was available, so I clicked on it. Now I am rebuilding my SQL server from scratch. It didn't just change SSMS, it screwed up bits for SQL Server because MS doesn't do enough testing before releasing. So, forgive me but, until that changes, upgrading more often than not is a disaster rather than a benefit. And as I said, I've been doing this since 1981 and its exactly why I normally keep WSUS up and running, just so I can prevent these kinds of disasters. But this one slipped through because MS doesn't believe customers should have any choice, other than how much money to spend.

It's been a long time since I've posted here and asked for help, but I was curious to see if I would get some real help or that old you need to upgrade answer, and sure enough. You'd think MS would recognize when that old dog just won't hunt any longer. And trying to force it only drives customers to competitors.

Thanks for your suggestions I always appreciate help, I'll give it a try and we'll see if MS support is as good as they think it is.

Welcome to the Microsoft Community!

Thanks for your feedback.

From your description, it seems like you're dealing with a constant reminder about updates.

I can see that your system version is very old (21H1), and this version is no longer supported by Microsoft.

If you want our support, you'll need to update to the latest version.

However, there may sometimes be specific reasons to stay on an older version.

To get full technical support, you'll need to upgrade your system to the latest version once you've resolved those specific reasons. Here's a temporary method that can keep you on the current version.

Then, you'll need to reset the update cache by following these steps:

1. Search for CMD, find the command prompt, and choose to run it as an administrator.
2. Type the following commands one by one and press Enter after each line: net stop bits net stop wuauserv net stop cryptsvc rd /s /q %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution rd /s /q %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat" Net Start Bits Net start Wuauserv Net Start kryptsvc

After you've followed these steps, you can secure your Windows version to prevent Windows 11 updates:

1. Press the Windows key + R, type regedit, and open the Registry Editor. Follow these steps: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

Then, you need to find TargetReleaseVersion on the right. If you can't find this value, right-click in an empty space, choose to create a new DWORD (32-bit), rename it to TargetReleaseVersion, and set the value to 1.

2. Under TargetReleaseVersion, you need to find TargetReleaseversionInfo.

If you can't find this value, right-click in an empty space, choose to create a new string, rename it to TargetReleaseversionInfo, and set the value to 21H1

Disclaimer: Generally, changing subkeys or workgroups in the registry is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT professionals. It can help resolve some issues, but serious problems can arise if you edit the registry incorrectly. So, be sure to follow these steps carefully. You can achieve additional protection by backing up the registry before editing it. You can then restore the registry if a problem arises. You can find more information on how to back up and restore the registry by clicking here to view the article. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/322756/how-to-back-up-and-restore-the-registry-in-windows

Note that if you can't find the WindowsUpdate control, right-click on the Windows object, choose to create a new object, and rename the new object to WindowsUpdate.

Hope the above information can help you.

Lugoo Bei | Microsoft Community Support Specialist