The Windows Update utility program provides an automatic and easy-to-use solution for installing software updates for Windows 10 on your PC or tablet. Microsoft has made sure that users don't avoid updates by making them automatic, but they added a function to defer updates for some time. This feature will scan your system to locate outdated software.

Automatic Updates for Windows 10

Downloading the latest updates from Microsoft is very important as they often come with performance and security improvements. Here’s how you can customize Windows Update:

Open Settings.

Click or tap on Update & security.

While in the Windows Update subheading, click or tap on Advanced options.

You will see several fields on the next screen.

• Select the checkbox Give me updates for other Microsoft products when I update Windows if you want to receive other recommended updates for other Microsoft products that you own (for example, BitDefender or Microsoft Office).
• Some Windows 10 editions let you defer upgrades to your PC. When you check Defer upgrades, new Windows features won’t be downloaded or installed for several months. Deferring upgrades doesn’t affect security updates. Note that deferring upgrades will prevent you from getting the latest Windows features as soon as they’re available.
• Choose how updates are delivered allows you to update from more than one place. Windows updates and apps will be downloaded from other PCs in addition to Microsoft. This can help speed up app and update downloads. When this is turned on, your PC may also send parts of previously downloaded Windows updates and apps to PCs on your local network, or PCs on the Internet, depending on what you select.

Windows update has come a long way when it comes to picking a time when to restart. It will generally know when your most active time is and will notify you once updates are ready. Once it sees that you are not on your device for a certain period of time, it will go and restart the device if it is outside your active hours. You can also choose to restart your device manually either by clicking the notification sent by Windows update or going into Windows update settings and clicking or tapping Restart now.

You can also override active hours by setting a custom restart time. You can do this by opening Settings, click or tap Update & security. Go to the Windows update subheading and scroll to Restart options. Click on that and then move the slider to On and select a time and day. You can pick one of six days in advance. Your device will now use that time instead of your active hours and absence from the device.

If you have a PC that’s connected to a corporate network (via a network domain, for example), you might have to ask your system/IT administrator to turn on Windows Update.

You can always Check for updates manually if you think that Windows update hasn't downloaded the latest updates as soon as they're available or you want to have an update immediately instead of waiting for Windows update to check on its own.

Open Settings.

Click or tap Updates & security.

On the Windows update subheading, click or tap on Check for updates. Windows update will connect to Microsoft's update servers and download any available updates.

There you can also see when Windows update Last checked for updates.

How to View, Hide and Restore Updates

In Windows 10, your device is always kept up to date with the latest features and fixes. Updates and drivers are installed automatically, with no need to select which updates are needed or not needed. In rare cases, a specific driver or update might temporarily cause issues with your device, and in this case you will need a way to prevent the problematic driver or update from reinstalling automatically the next time Windows Updates are installed.

If a driver or update you are being offered is causing system crashes or instability and Windows was operating correctly prior to that update, you can follow these instructions to prevent the unwanted driver or update from being installed:

To uninstall the unwanted driver:

Launch the Device Manager with a right click on Start (Windows key + X) and a left click on Device Manager.

Located the device driver with the problem driver installed, right click and choose Uninstall.

In the uninstall dialog, check the box to Delete the driver software for this device if available.

To uninstall an unwanted Windows Update:

Type “View Installed Updates” in the Search box and then click on View Installed Updates – Control Panel from the Search results.

To uninstall the unwanted update, select it from the list and then click Uninstall.

To temporarily prevent the driver or update from being reinstalled until a new driver or updated fix is available, a troubleshooter is available that provides a user interface for hiding and showing Windows Updates and drivers for Windows 10. You can obtain and run the "Show or hide updates" troubleshooter by downloading it from the Microsoft Download Center.

Run the troubleshooter to hide a driver update or update and again if you want to make it downloadable again or unhide it.

Users who own a laptop or a tablet device with Windows 10 have a lot of tools at their disposal when it comes to managing and conserving battery power. While power consumption greatly depends on your usage and the device’s hardware, there are still a lot of ways to lower it just by using the built-in tools and a bit of application micro-management. In this guide, we will show you how to create and optimize your power plans. You can also read our article on using the Windows Task Manager to monitor and improve performance.

Power Plans in Windows 10

By default, your device will come with a couple of power plan presets that have already been configured. Laptop devices will have three power plans – Balanced, Power Saver and High Performance. You can select any of them by entering the Power Options menu (see the next section for detailed instructions).

Here’s an overview of these premade power plans and when they should be used:

High performance will maximize screen brightness and increase PC performance if there is hardware support on your device. Typically, this means that your processor will enter Turbo mode (if available). In this mode, the CPU works at a faster clock speed, which increases performance, but consumes more power.

Balanced offers optimized, full performance only when you are running intensive tasks and uses smart predictions to save power when you don’t need it. For most users, this is the best power plan, especially if you’ll be able to recharge your device within a couple of hours. This option might have a different name, depending on your device manufacturer (HP – HP Optimized).

Power saver is your go-to plan when you need to save as much battery power as possible, because you will not be able to charge your device anytime soon. This plan will save power by reducing the PC’s performance, preventing Turbo mode and considerably decreasing screen brightness.

How to Create Your Own Power Plan

Sometimes the premade power plans won’t offer exactly what you are looking for. The good news is that you can create your own as well. Creating your own power plan is very easy. Follow these steps:

Open Search.

Enter “power options” in the search bar and click or tap on Power options from the list of results.

In this settings window, you will see a list of all your power plans. You can switch between them by clicking or taping on the radio button next to them.

To create a new power plan, click or tap on Create a power plan and follow the instructions in the dialogue window.

On the next screen, you’ll be able to enter the name of the power plan as well as the preset you want to work on (as seen below).

Every power plan has two modes that you can customize. One mode determines the power options when the device is plugged in and the other will determine the options when the device is using the battery power. Customize these options according to your preferences.

Generally, if the device is plugged in to a power source, it makes sense to use high performance settings, but it is up to you to customize each power plan according to the situation. For an economy plan, it is advised to use the Power Saver template along with low brightness.