Question from Alan J.: Rick, I travel frequently and I use my mobile phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot via “tethering” for my laptop. The problem is I’m only allotted 2 GB of data transfer per month.
2GB would be enough but something on my laptop is constantly checking for updates and downloading them. I need to put a stop to the auto-updates because they’re using up my paltry supply of monthly data.
I’ve already turned off automatic Windows Updates. How can I prevent ALL auto-updates from my laptop with Windows 8.1?
Rick’s answer: Tethering is a great way to access the Internet when you’re on the go Alan, but as you well know it’s important to keep a close eye on your data usage. The steps listed below should disable all automatic updates on your laptop:
1 – Press the Windows+R key combination to open a “Run” box.
2 – Type services.msc into the Run box, then press the Enter key.
3 – Click the Standard tab that’s located at the bottom of the Services window.
4 – Double-click on Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
5 – Find the “Startup type” field and select Disabled from the drop-down menu.
6 – Click Apply, then click Ok.
7 – Double-click on Windows Update.
8 – Find the “Startup type” field and select Disabled from the drop-down menu.
9 – Click Apply, then click Ok.
10 – Click File>Exit.
From now on there should be no auto-updates executed from your laptop. Just be sure to manually check for new Windows Updates on a regular basis. Here’s how:
1 – Press the Windows+S key combination to open the “Search” pane.
2 – Type windows update into the Search box, then select Windows Update from the list of search results.
I hope this helps Alan. Good luck!
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