How to uninstall Windows Vista updates
Tue, 10/16/2007 - 10:12 — Ciprian
In our previous article about Windows Update we have shown you how to update your system and how to configure the automatic updates of your system. In this short tutorial we will show you how to uninstall updates installed via Windows Update.
To uninstall any Windows update you need to go to Programs and Features. There are several ways to find it. One of the simplest is to use the search box from the Start Menu.
In the Programs and Features window, click on the View installed updates link.
After a few seconds, Windows Vista will load the list of installed updates. Scroll down until you find the update you want to remove, select it with the mouse and then click on Uninstall.
Windows Vista will ask you to confirm that you want to uninstall the update you selected. Click on Yes and the uninstall procedure will start.
Depending on the size of the update, the uninstall procedure can take from a few seconds up to several minutes.
Wait until the above window disappears and then, if needed, reboot your PC. The update is now removed.
Related articles:
How to work with the new Windows Update
How to add and remove Windows Vista features
Add/Remove Programs - nowhere to be found?
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Comments
Updates come back after
Updates come back after removing using above method
I removed mutiple updates (click "restart later") at one go. Does this cause all these problems?
Also, I noticed "CPU performance" (control panel > power options > change plan settings > change advance plan settings) has disappeared after reformatting. I formatted again but that option has vanished for some reason. Please help!
Windows Update
After I installed the Service Pack 1 windows update, I got problems after problems:
1. When I reboot, I get a chkdsk running, and all my registries and indexes are changed. deleted or what have you.
2. Then I lost my sound. My volume icon shows "No audio output device is installed". I did everything like uninstall the driver from the Device Manager but still no sound.
3. Next, my photos could no longer be viewed and even my wallpaper is gone.
4. Next my windows update won't run, then my AVG virus file won't update.
5. On start-up, I get messages like
a. Bad image: Windows\system 32\WindowsCodecs.dll may be corrupted or missing.
b. Conexant HD Smart Audio 221 is not designed to run on this blah blah blah
c. Exception Processing Image: OxC00007b Parameters 0x759692A0 repeatedly
d. C:\Windows\system32\jscript.dll
I e.ven get an Ocx error.
I also got a bad image message like CLayout Host-Wind Tool-tip YahooM-1.exe blah blah and then my yahoo mails won't show the body text of my emails but only show the subject.
Please help
uninstalling updates
I tried uninstalling Windows Vista Service Pack 1. However, after running uninstall, I get message "Not all updates were uninstalled" How do I get to remove all so I can either live without the SP1 or reinstall it if it did not previously correctly install?
I still do not have my sound and images. Is there some registry fixes I can download so I can retrieve my old setup?
Uninstall Optional Updates
Optional updates don't show up under installed updates the way the others do but they do show up under update history. How do you uninstall those?
How to delete all KB file updates after the update is installed
In XP I used to be able to do delete the KB update files after the updates were applied. The KB files were then just data files. I could delete them using $Unintall. How can I delete the same KB files in VISTA?
THanks.
uninstall windows updates
I am trying to uninstall a windows update that has compatablity issues with my accounting program. I can view the updates, but when I click (or right click) on them, I get a message to expand or collapse, and that's all. No message to remove. How do I get this message?
Windows Updates
Hi,
I have updated vista last january, now when after i updated it again few days back, i see there are lot of updates been installed in "installed updates" (including the previous updates on January)...i feel there is a quiet a lot of updates which takes more space with many updates named security update & update for windows.......Is that Iam installing the same update again and again or can i identify the unwanted one and remove them all.....? plz help
A Windows Update I uninstalled and would like back
Due to the idiotic new update that restricts the use of unsigned drivers I've been through every update in detail.
I'm using Vista Home Premium x64.
Now I found that update (KB932596) is the one I needed rid of, but while doing that I got the numbers mixed up and uninstalled (KB938979) as well. This one is a windows performance update, frees up RAM and allows a greater amount of the Virtual memory to be used on graphical burdens, I want it back but the download the Center sent me to says it's not for my system.
It would help if you could just tell me how to get Windows to search for it from the Update section, I know exactly which one I want and it's obviously still in my update history. Problem is finding a way of reinstalling it.
Vista Update Removal using another method...?
Is there any other way to delete an update besides the 1 shown above... it turns out this update (KB938371) can break AVG and eventually cause you to experience the Blue Screen of Death... and i want to delete it but i don't get that ''uninstall'' option at the top bar... is there any other way to do it, like using the CMD or something please i have started experiencing the Blue Screen and i've tried almost everything... and reinstalling Vista is not an option... please help me!!
Also need another way to remove updates.
I just installed two important updates and several optional ones, only to find that after they were installed that it now takes over five minutes for my system to fully boot to the desktop. I expected some slow down on the reboot after the installation, but having booted three or of four more times, I'm still experiancing the very long boot-ups. After the cylon thingie my screen goes black for a longer than normal period, then the mouse pointer shows, followed by the Vista curtin and logo, but then the screen goes black for an even longer period, which it didn't do before the updates were installed, and finally the desktop shows, but again blinks out, before it stays up, but even then I don't have control for another minute or so.
When I look at the system event logs I see a service hung error message that followed by several more services that can't start because they are dependent on the hung service.
My hope is that I can remove the updates one at a time until I figure out which one is causing the problems, but I can't use the regular way because when I go to the installed updates screen my system just shows the circle thing and doesn't show any updates after several minutes.
By the way this happened when I installed the same set up updates in Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit, and I ended up wiping the system and starting over with 32-bit version because eventually the video card starts to 'reboot' itself.
If I restore to a checkpoint then I will loose all of the updates, and I'd rather just know how to 'downgrade' updates should this problem reoccur.
Thank you.
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