Revert Windows 10 from 1703 to 1607 after the revert period

You have to reinstall.

Beginning with the Anniversary Update the rollback window shortened from 30 days to 10: http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/microsoft-shortens-recovery-rollback-period-10-days-windows-10-anniversary-update

You can check the Windows.old directory on the root of your system disk to see if there's any chance of rolling back. If it still has pretty much the same files and folders as your C:\Windows directory, you may still be able to rollback using the normal mechanisms in Settings > Updates. If it's mostly empty though, you're out of luck.

music2myear

Posted 2017-10-13T19:04:21.907

Reputation: 34 957

I have no such directory under C:\Windows. – user780218 – 2017-10-13T19:14:14.807

I'll be under C:. C:\Windows.old. This will have a ProgramData, a Windows, and perhaps a few other directories. Or it won't. – music2myear – 2017-10-13T19:15:14.607

I have no such directory under C:\. – user780218 – 2017-10-13T19:16:54.930

Then your system was able to do a better than average cleanup on the old image and, outside advanced forensic data restoration, you will be unable to roll back using the standard mechanisms. – music2myear – 2017-10-13T19:18:03.447

While I have to very carefully balance the time lost reinstalling against the increased stability of 1607, I will accept your answer. Alas, I have insufficient amounts of "reputation" to upvote your answer. – user780218 – 2017-10-13T19:19:44.003

1Do you have stability issue with 1703? – music2myear – 2017-10-13T19:20:24.303

In my experience, version 1703 has actually been noticeably more stable than version 1607. Once again, if you would share with us why you feel that it is absolutely necessary to avoid 1703 at all costs, we may be able to save you a great deal of time and effort. – Run5k – 2017-10-13T19:31:22.570

@Run5k windows 1709 pretty much screwed me up as well, and I am not going to install any newer versions beyond 1607 :( – xavier_fakerat – 2018-07-30T18:22:03.960

11607 is out of support and no longer receives regular security updates. If there are security requirements for your job or any work you perform on your computer, you may not be meeting the requirements at this point. I would advise you to perform a clean install of the latest build of Windows 10. I would also advise you to check your hardware for faults, and find and download all updated drivers. In my experience, each successive build of Windows 10 has had fewer issues and is more stable, and this is across an installation base of nearly 1000 machines of various types and personal computers. – music2myear – 2018-07-30T18:29:40.360

1If you don't mind me asking, is there a compelling reason why you would need to utilize version 1607 instead of version 1703? A full wipe-and-reload requires a healthy amount of time and effort. – Run5k – 2017-10-13T19:09:35.787

While I may not be prepared for the "healthy amount of time and effort", if that is my only choice, then that is what I will be doing. – user780218 – 2017-10-13T19:11:48.460

1But is there actually a technical necessity for you to revert, or is it just your own personal preference? – Run5k – 2017-10-13T19:14:18.393

2Perhaps another question you could ask is how to get whatever it is you're working on to work in 1703. – music2myear – 2017-10-13T19:14:34.737

Also, in about a week, maybe two (forgot the date) 1710 comes out. – LPChip – 2017-10-13T19:50:56.097

@LPChip, Windows 10 version 1709 is scheduled to be released on October 17th.

– Run5k – 2017-10-13T20:39:55.447

Revert Windows 10 from 1703 to 1607 after the revert period

Answers