By Don Trauger – Kennett
Technology Tips – Published August 2020 in the Guide and Digest
On May 27, 2020 Microsoft released their latest version, referred to as a Feature Update, or May 2020 Update, or Feature Upgrade “2004”. Take your pick. The “20” means year and “04” is the month (April). Oh well, it was only a month late due to a security issue. They have been working on “2004” since early 2019 and yet it was released with 13 embedded problems. As of June 16 they have fixed 3 and only issued work-arounds for 2 others. Do you want to install this version on your computer? I hope not! Fortunately, Microsoft is not forcing it on you but you need to take some measures that will protect you from some unpleasant surprises. If you click Settings, then click Update & Security do NOT click any button that is labeled “Check for updates” or “Download and Install” as it relates to “Feature update to Windows 10 version 2004”. The “2004” update is a major type of update that occurs twice per year. The next one may be labeled ”2010” or thereabouts.
Here’s updated information from a previous article:
It’s very easy to see that Microsoft issues updates starting on the second Tuesday of each month then spends the rest of the month figuring out how to fix them. Let me guide you away from this scenario.
Here’s how to configure Windows update to avoid Microsoft’s mistakes. In Settings click Update & Security. Move down to and click Advanced options. Scroll down to Pause updates. Assuming you get your updates in the first week of the month click the down arrow in the field and select the last Friday of the current month (at the earliest) or the first Friday of the following month. Microsoft limits you to a 35 day maximum delay. Whenever you receive your new updates then you can reset a new 35 day delay window.
You can see this feature will always delay updates up to 35 days. However, the first time you use it depends on receiving stable updates during the first week of the month that don’t require patching during the second, third or fourth week of the month. Be alert to any system problems that occur after an update. Click the Resume updates button located in Update & Security under Settings and download the fix. It may take a week or longer to download a stable fix.