If you have no interest in updating your Windows 7 SP1 or 8.1 machine to Windows 10, you can remove the upgrade offer icon that is sitting in the system tray on your taskbar. The process is fairly simple, but does require you to restart the machine to complete:
- Windows 7 SP1 : Hold down the Windows Logo Key and Press R. In the run box enter appwiz.cpl and press enter to bring up the Programs and Features control panel
Windows 8.1: Hold down the Windows Logo Key and Press X, then select Programs and Features at the top of the menu. - In the left column of the Programs and Features control panel select View installed updates
- You will see a long list of updates. Click the name column to sort these by name. The scroll down to Microsoft Windows section and locate and click on Update for Microsoft Windows (KB3035583)
Update 3035583 is the update your want to remove.
- Right-click on the update and select Uninstall.
- Restart your Computer and wait (it takes sometime to uninstall this update).
Microsoft, won’t let you remove it that easily. Turns out, the next time Windows checks for updates it will want to install KB3035583. You will need to hide the update in order to prevent Windows from trying to reinstall it.
- Go to Windows Control Panel > System and Security >Windows Update > Check for Updates
- You will be presented a list of available updates similar to below
- Uncheck the box next to KB3035583, then right-click and select Hide Update (you need administrator privileges to do this). Once you ‘hide’ the update the checkbox is greyed out and once you refresh the list, the update will be gone.
One more thing, after you reboot you may suddenly a Homegroup icon on your desktop. You cannot remove this icon by right-clicking or dragging it to the recycle bin. It can be removed by following these instructions.
