How Long Does Windows 10 Update Take? Windows 10 Update Taking Forever Fixes

A low-speedВ internet connectionВ or simultaneous downloads; Microsoft is constantly adding. Full steps

Workable Solutions	Step-by-step Troubleshooting
How Long Does Windows 10 Update Take 2018 /2019/ 2020/2021	It may take between 10 and 20 minutes to update Windows 10 on a modern PC with solid-state storage. Full steps
Why Does Windows 10 Update Take So Long
6 Useful Fixes for Windows 10 Update Taking Forever Issue	Optimize network, free up space, run Windows Update troubleshooter, disable startup programs. Full steps

Windows 10 Update Taking Too Long

Windows 10 pushes a lot of regular updates, with some improvement in stability and performance, and critical updates as well, mainly about bug fixes and shiny new features. Windows 10 update is quite normal and frequent, like twice each month. That’s the point! You seem to reach the frustrating moment again, where Windows 10 updates are taking hours and hours downloading and installing itself correctly on your PC. How long does windows update take? How are you going to skip such long waiting?

How Long Does Windows 10 Update Take

Between 10 and 20 minutes

It may takeВ between 10В and 20 minutes to update Windows 10В on a modern PC with solid-state storage. The installation process may take longer on a conventional hard drive.В Besides, the size of the update also affects the time it takes. Some updates are small, and you might not even notice them installing, others are massive and take a good chunk of time to install.В

Why DoesВ Windows 10 Update Take So LongВ

The amount of time Windows updates can be affected by multiple factors.

• A low-speedВ internet connectionВ or simultaneous downloads
• An old hard disk drive on your computer bursting with data
• Too many fragments cause Windows 10 update slow
• Microsoft’s servers are getting slammed with many people all trying to download at the same time
• Windows update components might be broken
• The software might be conflicting with Windows update

5 Effective Fixes for Windows 10 Update Taking Forever Problem

Do you see Windows 10 taking forever in every 2018 update? Like one of the most seen blue screen loop, saying «getting Windows ready, don’t turn off your computer». Be prepared. Your computer is now slowing down, plodding, frozen and stuck! Let’s try the following methods to fix Windows 10 update slow issue.

Method 1. Optimize Your NetworkВ

A faster internet connection may solve your problem and decrease the update speed. You can change to another faster connection by upgradingВ to a fiber-optic connection or purchasing more bandwidth from your internet service provider. You can also try a brandwidth management tool to ensure sufficient network resources are reserved for Windows 10 updates.

Method 2. Free Up Hard DriveВ Space by Cleaning Large and Junk Files

Windows 10 updates often take up a lot of hard drive space, so you need to make sure there is enough room for them to speed up the installation. This means deletingВ junkВ files and unnecessary large files. If there are a lot of files waiting for removing, manual deletion can be cumbersome and time-consuming. In this case, you can use EaseUS Tools M to help delete large amounts of files at once automatically.

Now, download this powerful disk management tool to fix the slow Windows 10 update issue.

Step 1. оњљ DOWNLOAD EaseUS Tools M for free and install it on your computer.

Step 2. Launch EaseUS Tools M in Windows PC. Select «Large File Cleanup» on the main screen.

Step 3. Select the drive and click «Scan» to let the program locate, find all large files on your disk.

Step 4. Identify and select useless large files and click «Delete» to remove those files from your PC or laptop. A message pops up and tells you this process will permanently delete the files. Click «Yes» to start the process.

Method 3. Fix Windows Update Errors with Windows Update Troubleshooter

Excluding the internal hardware factors, it’s probably just the system bugs that throw your computer onto a blue screen where Windows 10 works on an infinite update.

The Windows own little program called Windows Update Troubleshooter can fix the broken components that might break the update progress.

Method 4. Disable Startup Programs That Conflict with the Update

You never know that third-party applications always conflict with the update because they happen to start at the same time. Along with applications, services and drivers are making the same effect. So, if you feel certain that the problem does not come from a poor internet connection or hard drive bad performance, consider this factor, and you may try performing a clean boot of Windows 10 before attempting to get the new update.

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys to open Run.

StepВ 2. Type msconfig in the Run box and click OK.

StepВ 3. In the System Configuration, click the «Services» tab.

StepВ 4. Check the box Hide all Microsoft services.

StepВ 5. Click «Disable all».

StepВ 6. Next, return and go on with the Startup tab.

StepВ 7.В Click Open Task Manager.

StepВ 8. Click any startup program that is suspicious in conflicting with the update and click «Disable».

Repeat the previous step until all the startup programs in question were disabled.

StepВ 9. Close the Task Manager and click «OK» in the System Configuration window.

StepВ 10.В Restart your PC and get the new update for the second time.

Method 5.В Schedule Updates for Low-Traffic Periods

Massive Windows 10 updates with long installation can happen at any time. But your Internet connection may not be fast all day long. You can disable auto-updates and schedule it for after-hours when your computers and office network aren’t in use. Open the Windows Update window and specify when you prefer updates to be installed. В В

Most of the time, people receive a Windows 10 unwillingly because Microsoft turns on an automatic update on our computers by default. To avoid receiving any problematic update in the future, you can always try to disable Windows 10 update for permanent.

By the way, whenever you suffer from a slow boot or startup issue after Windows 10 update, find solutions on this page.В

To Sum Up

This tutorial demonstrates how long does Windows 10 update take and why is Windows 10 update taking so long. The most six useful solutions here can help you fix Windows 10 update taking forever problems. Among them, freeing up storage space and defragmenting your hard drive is very useful. You can complete the job with the assistance of EaseUS Partition Master Free.

This free disk management program makes complex hard drive organization easier than ever, such as convert MBR to GPT, convert FAT to NTFS, convert a logical partition to primary or primary partition to logical, etc..

Windows 10 Update Taking ForeverВ FAQs

1.В How long does Windows 10 update take 2019?

Major updatesВ to the Windows OS come about every six months, with the most recent being the November 2019 update. Major updates may take a little longer.В The regular version only takes 7 to 17 minutes to install.

2. Why do Windows 10 updates take so long?

Why does Windows 10 update take so long? Windows 10 updates take so long to complete because Microsoft is constantly adding larger files and features to them. The biggest updates, released in the spring and fall of every year, usually take upwards of four hours to install.В Besides, it’s also relevant to the small available space, hard drive fragments, software conflicts, and other factors.

3. Can I stop a Windows 10 update in progress?

You can stop Windows 10 updatesВ in progress in the services.

Step 1. Open the Search windows box and type Services in Windows 10.В Right-click Services and select «Run as Administrator».В

Step 2. In the Services window, you will find out the list of all the services running in the background. You need to find the Windows Update service.

Step 3. Right-click «Windows Update», and from the context menu, select «Stop». Alternatively, you can click on the «Stop» link available under the Windows update option on the top left side of the window.

3. How long does it take to update Windows 10 1903?

It depends. On different devices, in different network situations, the time spent is different. The installingВ of Windows 10 1903В takes about 30 minutes.В Configuring, and restartingВ may takeВ a few times. In short, you’ll probably upgrade to Windows 10 1903В in an hour.В

Disable Windows Update during long running processes

Occasionally I have to run long running processes on one of my windows server 2012 servers. the processes can sometimes run for over a week. Windows update terminates this processes when it has to reboot.

I am looking for a way to stop the windows updates service programatically while one of these processes is running and re enable windows update after the process is finished. (instead of just disabling windows update on the server).

I have 2 Ideas on possible approaches:

2)call PowerShell commands from my program.

I am not sure on what would be the best solution. or if there is a better option that I am not seeing.

1 Answer 1

2 years ago I had to implement such a feature.

the way to do it is through the windows registry.

you have to edit registry values.

I do remember that Microsoft documentation does not expose all capabilities, has some mistakes and they changed some things between windows versions.

*to apply the behaviour, they edit some values and sometime add/delete some(on some of OS you also need to restart the WUA).

this link (at automatic updates configuration paragraph) contains more information about the registry values.

to solve those problems I played with the windows update agent, by the time i monitored the WUA with Procmon

That’s how I found most of the problems.

to interact with the registry do:

I can’t give you more information because that’s will be NDA violation.

hints: after you done I recommend you to force WUA by using the API

Windows 10 20H2 Running slow after Windows update ? Here how to fix!

windows 10 running slow after October 2020 update. laptop freezes not responding at startup? Here some effective tweaks to optimize windows 10 performance

Laptop Running very slow after the windows 10 20H2 update? System freezes for a long time at startup or windows 10 not responding mouse clicks after October 2020 update? For some others, Windows 10 fails to boot after Update, crashes with different Blue screen errors or stuck at black screen with a cursor. All these problems indicate updates not installed properly, the recent update is not compatible with your current system, Windows System files get corrupted etc. If you are also struggling with this problem, “windows 10 very slow and unresponsive” here some effective tips help speed up Windows 10 performance.

Windows 10 Running slow

Microsoft regularly releases cumulative updates with refinements. Install the latest windows update that may contain the bug fix causing windows not responding or freezes.

• Press Windows + I to open windows settings,
• Click Update & security than Windows update,
• Now click Check for updates button to install the latest windows updates.
• After that restart windows and check windows running smoothly.

A virus, malware, or malicious software also causes your PC to run slowly. Other symptoms include unexpected pop-up messages, programs that unexpectedly start automatically, or the sound of your hard disk constantly working. The best way to handle viruses and malicious software is to try to prevent them by running antimalware and antivirus software and keeping it up to date.

Perform a clean boot

A clean boot is performed to start Windows by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you install a program or an update or when you run a program in Windows 10. You may also troubleshoot or determine what conflict is causing the problem by performing a clean boot.

• Press Windows + R, type msconfig and ok to open the system configuration utility
• On the General tab, click Selective startup.
• Clear the Load startup items check box.
• Click the Services tab.
• Select the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox (at the bottom).
• Click Disable all, Click OK.
• Restart Windows, and check windows running smoothly.
• If yes then one of the services causing the problem.

Repair Corrupt System Files

Most of the time Corrupt system files cause number of problems to windows 10 system like blue screen error, the system not responding, apps not open, show different error codes while open explorer or any application. And may this windows 10 not responding problem occur due to corrupt system files. We recommend checking your system files using the windows system file checker Utility.

• Type cmd on start menu search,
• from search results Right click on command prompt select run as administrator,
• Type command sfc /scannow and press enter key.
• This will start scanning windows system files for corruption.
• If found any the sfc utility attempts to repair it by copying a cached copy of each corrupted file from the %WinDir% \system32\dllcache folder.
• Wait until 100% complete the scanning process.

If no corrupted system files were found in the previous state, then I suggest you try the following steps:

• Again open the command prompt and run the DISM command below

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

• This will repair Windows images, including those used for Windows PE, Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE), and Windows Setup.
• Close the command prompt and restart the PC and check if it works.

Disable background apps

Microsoft is a big fan of its native universal apps, which might be why it allows them to run in the background even when you haven’t actually launched them. That means you can access their features more quickly, but it’s a waste of system resources. And when most of the system resources used by background apps then also system may cause the windows 10 not responding problem.

• Press Windows + I to open windows settings,
• Click on privacy then Background apps,
• Turn off the toggle switches next to the apps you don’t want to have running all the time.
• Of course, you can still launch these programs manually if you need them.

Change the paging file size to improve performance

The paging file is an area on your hard disk that Windows uses like memory. Increasing the paging file size can help improve your PC’s performance.

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type advanced system, and then select View advanced system settings, which has Control panel listed underneath it.
2. In System Properties, on the Advanced tab, select Settings in the Performance area.
3. In Performance Options, select Advanced > Change in the Virtual memory area.
4. Clear the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives check box.
5. Select Custom size, then enter an initial size (in MB) and maximum size in the corresponding boxes.
6. Select Set > OK.
7. Restart your PC by selecting Start > Power > Restart.

Use your PC then see if it’s running better. If it’s not, try the next tip.

Note: To Calculate the pagefile size always Initial size is one and a half (1.5) x the amount of total system memory. The maximum size is three (3) x the initial size. So let’s say you have 4 GB (1 GB = 1,024 MB x 4 = 4,096 MB) of memory. The initial size would be 1.5 x 4,096 = 6,144 MB and the maximum size would be 3 x 4,096 = 12,207 MB.

Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows

Windows 10 includes many visual effects, such as animations and shadow effects. These look great, but they can also use additional system resources and can slow down your PC—this is especially true if you have a PC with a smaller amount of memory (RAM).

To adjust the visual effects in Windows

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type performance, then select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.
2. On the Visual Effects tab, select Adjust for best performance > Apply.
3. Restart your PC and see if that speeds up your PC.

Update Installed Device Driver

After Upgrade to Windows 10 20H2 update, Some of your programs and drivers may work without issues, but some may just become incompatible of which the most common one affected is the Video/Graphics driver. There are other causes as well aside from Video/Graphics driver but since this is the most common one. We recommend to check and install the latest driver software for your current windows version.

1. Press Windows + X key on the keyboard,
2. Go to device manager,
3. Expand Display Adapter,

Right-click on the installed graphics driver, select Update Driver Software,

1. Click Search automatically for updated driver software and let windows to check and install the latest driver software for you.

Or visit the device manufacturers’ website, download and install the latest display/graphic/video and audio/sound/Realtek drivers. Restart windows and check windows running smoothly.

Did these solutions help to optimize windows 10 1903 performance? Let us know on comments below, also read: