What are Windows Updates?

What are windows updates?

This applies to Microsoft software - usually running on a laptop or desktop computer (non-Apple).

Until recent versions, many users found the updates time consuming and performance hindering. You can now limit how they are installed and make more pleasant experience.  The default setting on your system is where updates automatically download and install affecting pc speed and performance.  Many users complained that for some reason they had a system that was slow or freezing, not realising that in the background their system was busy applying the updates.

Why do we need them?

Microsoft use these updates to fix bugs and issues that were found from time to time.  How it became the "norm" to do this is a mystery.  Many debates have argued it is unnecessary.  MS deem them necessary at the expense of the naive pc user - imposing an inadequate system on them in the first place.  Why wasn't the system perfect out of the box - but this a separate debate.

How can we stop them?

W10 and W11 now have switches where you delay these updates for a more than four weeks.  This is handy if you are having an important zoom meeting or presentation and do not have the patience for windows updates consuming your power and performance at a critical time.  You can't stop them indefinitely, but the pause button is handy.