I was excited the first time I saw the "Free Windows 10" upgrade notification. Yes, I decided to reserve my copy (totally unneccessary BTW). After a few days, I got tired of seeing the icon in the taskbar, so I followed the usual steps to hide it. I was a bit surprised it reappears every time I restart Windows! After Googling a bit, I found lots of other people with the same complaint. Also lots of discussion about possible solutions. My hat is off to Vishal Gupta, who had an extremely clear discussion of multiple ways to get rid of it:

http://www.askvg.com/how-to-remove-get-windows-10-app-and-its-icon-from-taskbar/

The solution I chose was to uninstall Windows Update KB3035583 - you also have to hide this update so it won't be installed later.

I had one computer sitting around where the solution above did not work. Microsoft is now trying to force me into upgrading to Windows 10. The solution I chose was to install GWX Control Panel. This software allows you to have more control over the "Windows Update" process than Microsoft would like. http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

Last modified: February 17, 2016