Remove a Windows update

If Windows no longer starts after an update, remove that update from the recovery environment with O&O UpdateManager.

Prerequisites: O&O BlueCon is started and the Windows installation is selected as the target system.

Remove the update

1. Click Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > O&O UpdateManager.
2. Check the Target: at the top. O&O UpdateManager uses the Windows installation selected in O&O BlueCon.
3. Wait until the installed updates are listed. Reading them can take a while.
4. Select the update that was installed last before the problem began. The Installed on column helps; expand an entry to see its details.
5. Click Remove….
6. Check the summary and start the removal, for example with Remove 1 update.
7. Wait until the removal is complete, then restart the computer from its disk.

Some removals are completed the next time Windows starts.

Result

The update is removed from the installation. Windows Update offers it again later; postpone or block it until the manufacturer has corrected it.

Stopping a removal

Windows removes the selected updates one after another. An update whose removal has started is always finished; you can stop the removal of the remaining ones.

Updates that cannot be removed

Servicing stack updates are permanent, and packages that are part of Windows cannot be removed. O&O UpdateManager says so in the list.

History

O&O UpdateManager records every change in its history, and Undo… carries out the opposite operation where one exists. In O&O BlueCon the history is kept on drive X: and is lost when you restart the computer.

Next steps

Repair a Windows installation if Windows still does not start