14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s offering Windows 10 as a free upgrade to those on Windows 7 and 8.1, and an update that was released on June 1 is supposed to offer a direct way to move to the new operating system.
Initially, this update allowed users to decide whether they want Windows 10 or not, but it turns out that some changes that the company has made recently to this upgrade system no longer allow options to delay or cancel the switch.
In other words, your computer might be automatically upgraded to Windows 10 after a reboot because, just as ZDNet writes, Windows Update only offers an option to start the installation of the new OS and nothing more. What’s more, no other updates are displayed for the time being, so unless you install Windows 10, you can’t do much else in Windows Update.
Third-party apps no longer working
What’s interesting is that it appears that some third-party apps that could previously block the Get Windows 10 app and delay the upgrade to the new OS forever no longer work, but it’s not yet clear if Microsoft blocked them on purpose or a recently-delivered update makes them ineffective.
Josh Mayfield, who created GWX Control Panel (previously known as GWX Stopper), says his app no longer works and he can’t tell for sure if there’s a way to bring it to life again in the future.
“GWX Control Panel is not yet able to help you, although I am looking into whether it's possible to fix these things through software. I do not have any recommendations at the moment, though, unfortunately,” he explained on his website.
There are some users, however, who claim that System Restore can really come in handy because going back to a previous OS state before October 14, the date when Microsoft reportedly made the change, could allow you to block the upgrade.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of users who might be impacted by this change, so we’ve reached out to Microsoft to see if they’re indeed forcing the Windows 10 upgrade and will update the article should we receive an answer.
Please note that we still haven't received an answer from Microsoft, so take the report with a pinch of salt until we find out what exactly happens on these Windows 7 PCs.
Update 1: There's a new report with an official Microsoft statement claiming that the company admitted it was all just a mistake and the Windows 10 upgrade was accidentally pushed to Windows 7 PCs.
Update 2: one of our readers explains in detail how Microsoft nearly installed Windows 10 on his PC without asking.
Update 3: a statement provided to us by a Microsoft spokesperson claims the company isn't forcing the Windows 10 upgrade and users see that prompt because they opted for the install in the place.