You can be testing an update without warning if you do!
Following the problems with file deletion and the October 2018 update the question remains - Is it still safe to click 'Check for Updates'? It has been revealed that since April 2018 clicking this button indicates to Microsoft that you are ready and willing to receive updates that are still in the testing process. The October 2018 update in particular skipped the 'release preview' step of the testing process so that Microsoft could announce and release the update at a press event. I'm really not sure how they think it is okay to do this without any sort of warning. Surely there should be a warning either before or after clicking the button that shows you what you are agreeing to and allows you to opt out. Once the update starts downloading it is too late. Microsoft already have a Windows Insider Program that you can join if you want to become a tester so why would they assume that people who have not joined that program but have clicked 'Check for Updates' suddenly want to become testers?
The average man on the street may not click this button very often if at all but a System Builder like myself has spent a lifetime clicking the button over and over again. I have built a Windows 7 machine this week and as the Operating System is now 11 years old I must have clicked the button 20 or more times in order to apply all the updates. It's not acceptable for me to deliver an insecure machine with a load of updates missing but it's also not acceptable for me to be working on the machine for days waiting for all the updates to arrive of their own accord. I therefore need to keep clicking the button.
Microsoft have said that clicking the button only allows you to get major updates early and therefore this issue doesn't apply to every single update they release. In some ways this is good as you are only in danger once every six months but in some ways this is bad because the updates that you receive that aren't fully tested are the ones most likely to give you a problem (as with the file deletion). Do you even know when the major updates are released and when is the most risky time to press the button?
If you leave the updating process to itself then the updates are put through a number of different phases of testing with appropriate feedback to Microsoft so they can fix bugs. As the update nears the point where it will be released to you your hardware is actually checked for compatibility before you finally receive it, hence the rollout is phased and not everybody gets the update at the same time. This is much safer and how it should be because I've seen updates go through where the relevant graphics driver isn't available and people have just been left with a black screen. Microsoft have advised that the 'queue jumping' option is currently turned off and therefore the October 2018 update that is currently being rolled out will only arrive when they are sure your machine is fully compatible.
My recommendation is DON'T bother clicking 'Check for Updates' in the future and just allow your machine to update in its own time no matter how keen you are to get the latest version of Windows 10. Hopefully Microsoft will stop this process or at least offer some sort of warning having got their fingers burned this time.
With version 1809 now on its way out again please give me a shout if you experience any issues. You can call Mark on 07557 483438, e-mail mark@churchdowncomputers.co.uk or fill out the form at the bottom of theContact page.
