How to uninstall any Windows update

Here's how to salvage yourself from a bad Windows update

Contributing Editor, ITworld |

windows8 uninstall windowsupdate
Preston Gralla

Every once in a while, you get a bad Windows update, similar the one last month that caused problems with some Windows 7 machines. Fear not --- here'south how to uninstall a bad one.

How you lot uninstall varies slightly depending on the version of Windows you have, so I'll show you how to practice it in Windows Vista, Windows vii, and Windows 8.

On Windows 7 and Windows Vista

If you've got a Windows 7 or Windows Vista car, click the Get-go button and choose Programs-->Programs and Features-->View installed updates. Y'all'll see a list of your most recent updates. Click the 1 yous want to remove, click Uninstall, then follow the prompts. That should practise the play a trick on.

If that doesn't work, the problem might be that your computer is connected to a corporate network which is managed by Group Policy, and that won't let you uninstall. In that instance, y'all'll need to ask your It staff to solve the trouble.

Sometimes you lot recollect the problem was cause by Windows Update, but it might in fact have been acquired by another problem on your system. If uninstalling Windows Update doesn't solve the problem, your best bet is to utilise System Restore. To utilize it, get to System Restore past typing System Restore into the Window search box, pressing Enter, then clicking System Restore. On the screen that appears, select either "Recommended restore," which is the most recent restore signal, or else selecting "Choose a different restore point," then browsing through them and choosing a unlike one. (Your best bet is to select the recommended one.) From and then on, just follow the wizard.

On Windows viii

You uninstall a Windows update on Windows viii in essentially the aforementioned way that you practise on Windows 7 or Windows Vista, except that you lot get to the uninstall screen in a slightly unlike mode. On the Starting time screen, press the Windows Key + W and in the search box that appears, type in "View installed updates." Click the "View installed updates" link. You'll run across a list of your most recent updates. Click the one you want to remove, click Uninstall, then follow the prompts.

As with Windows Vista and Windows 7, if that doesn't do the trick, the trouble might be that your figurer is connected to a corporate network which is managed by Group Policy, and that won't allow y'all uninstall. In that case, yous'll need to ask your IT staff to solve the problem.

If uninstalling the Windows update doesn't solve the problem yous're having, there may be another issue on your system. In that case, your best bet is to use Organisation Restore. To use it, when yous're on the Start screen, type System Restore, so select "Create a restore betoken." On the screen that appears, click System Restore. A wizard launches. Click Side by side, and follow the sorcerer to get to a previous Restore point.

This story, "How to uninstall any Windows update" was originally published by ITworld .

Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld and the author of more than 45 books, including Windows 8 Hacks (O'Reilly, 2012) and How the Internet Works (Que, 2006).

Copyright © 2015 IDG Communications, Inc.