So I opened my laptop today, ready to work. Instead of the login screen, I see a light blue screen: windows is updating, do not turn off your computer. The percentage went up really slowly and I ended up waiting for more than half an hour for it to finish. Fortunately I was not in a hurry to use my laptop, but I can easily imagine a nightmare scenario: ready to give a lecture in front of a class of 130+ student, but could not get my laptop to work… So, my question is: in this case, is there anyway to skip the update screen without potentially damaging the system?
Details: I have windows 10 and the update was version 1607 (anniversary update?).
Best Answer
No, you can't, since whenever you see this screen, Windows is in the process of replacing old files with new versions and/out converting data files.
If you'd be able to cancel or skip the process (or turn off your PC) you could end up with a mix of old and new that won't work properly.
Starting with Windows 10 Anniversary Update you're able to define times when not to update. Just have a look at Updates in the Settings App. There's now also an option to allow Windows to login/finish updates unattended.
Both options combined should do the trick, so Windows applies the updates when you don't need the PC, e.g. in the night.
Also, if you know you'll need the laptop later, login earlier and just keep it in standby.