With Windows 7 it was possible to use the task manager screen to shut down without applying updates (see https://superuser.com/questions/104771/how-to-shut-down-the-computer-without-the-update-on-windows-7 ). But that did not work for me on Windows 10. How can I shut down Windows 10 without installing updates. I might want this because: - I need to shut down or reboot quickly - The computer is acting funny and that's why I need to reboot (yeah, it's still Windows), and I don't trust running updates at that time. No point in making a bad problem worse. My Window 10 shutdown menu reads: - Sleep - Update and shut down - Update and restart The old Windows 7/8 trick does not work. New versions of Windows 10 have altered previous workarounds. Microsoft has lots of feedback on the topic, but has not taken action. See for example: feedback-hub:?contextid=158&feedbackid=1e175952-a19f-4cca-b1fb-d248945e9fe1&form=1&src=2 Or search *"Allow users to defer updates: on shutdown and on startup."* in the Microsoft Feedback Hub (search for "Feedback Hub" in Windows 10).