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Apr 18 2016

How to disable Atom auto update on windows

Nowadays, Updating means not to fix bugs, but to add new bugs. You can feel that from Windows 10, PhpMyAdmin, and ,of course, Atom.

What’s worse? Atom, a hackable text editor for the 21st Century? they didn’t provide a switch to disable auto update on windows.

I find a way, which can disable Atom auto update, the totally bullshit.

Let me tell you how to disable it first, and I will explain why you should disable it.

Disable Atom auto update

  1. Uninstall Atom from Windows Control Panel.Just uninstall it, and you will find there is no Y/N, no progress bar, even not a box to tell you what is going on! The Atom is removed ,silently.Don’t remove your ‘.atom’ directory. It contains plugins and can be used after we finish.
  2. Download the atom-windows.zip from https://github.com/atom/atom/releases/ instead of AtomSetup.exe.Choose the version you like. Do not download the Pre-release/beta version until you know what you are doing.You should download the last stable version (called Latest release) or the version you are used of.
  3. Unzip the atom-windows.zip where you want.I would better unzip it to root, such as ‘E:\Atom’, not ‘C:\Program Files\Atom’. The ‘Maximum Path Length Limitation Problem’ is horrible. I will explain it later.
  4. Run atom.exeYou get it. Your Atom won’t auto update now.
    https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap111

Notice that you can’t use apm on cmd now, and you can’t use Right Click Menus Open with Atom.

If you want apm back, there is a apm script in the atom directory, you can invoke it directly or add it to the PATH.

If you want Right Click Menus Open with Atom, try to edit registry and add it by yourself.

Why you should disable Atom auto update

Update means more bugs

At first, I didn’t have any problems in using Atom itself, I did have problems with the plugins. I watched this plugins on GitHub, and when they updated it, I updated these plugins, and when the Atom update automatically, this happened.

https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap105

What’s more?

https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap104

The .lnk often lose its icon. I realized that the .lnk don’t direct to atom.exe. It’s ugly, like a Chinese Malware.

I uninstalled the lastest version, and installed an old version. Everything turns out to be fine.

https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap110

What the heck is in the atom package

Did you download the atom-windows.zip of v1.7.1? What the heck is in the package?

https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap106

d3dcompiler_47.dll?
ffmpeg.dll?
xinput1_3.dll?

  • Does a editor need Direct3D API?
  • Does Atom convent media files?
  • Can I coding with a joystick?

What were they thinking!

What the hell is going on

When I were going to try how to disable Atom auto update on a new installed system in a virtual machine…

https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap103

What the hell? .NET4.5 is needed? Why? Is Atom not a cross-platform editor?

Try to use atom-windows.zip, and it works.

Found the Update.exe is compiled by .NET4.5. OK, A bullshit compiled another bullshit.

The long file path hell

Oh my gosh, this is the worst thing when you try to run node on Windows.

First things first, You should know there is a limit called Maximum Path Length on Windows. It’s not the limit of NTFS, but the limit of Windows API.

You can get more information from: Why does the 260 character path length limit exist in Windows?

This limit causes a mess of problems. You can store files with a long file path, but you can’t handle it.

When there is a file with a long file path, What can you do?

  • Open it? Maybe.
  • Move it? No.
  • Delete it? No.
  • Rename it? Maybe.
  • Copy it? Maybe, and you want more problems?

https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap107

https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap109

Sorry, I don’t have the snap of English version of Windows.

Now let’s see in .atom, the directory Atom store plugins and files.

https://zenphoto7.catscarlet.com/albums/wordpress/201604182282_how_to_disable_atom_auto_update_on_windows/snap108

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!

What a file path looks like?

C:\Users\sunfu\ATOM~1\packages\ATOM-B~1\NODE_M~1\ANALYT~1\NODE_M~1\SUPERA~2\NODE_M~1\PROXY-~1\NODE_M~1\PAC-PR~1\NODE_M~1\PAC-RE~1\NODE_M~1\REGENE~1\NODE_M~1\defs\NODE_M~1\yargs\NODE_M~1\cliui\NODE_M~1\CENTER~1\NODE_M~1\ALIGN-~1\NODE_M~1\kind-of\node_modules

WTF? What the file path is prepare for? a DOS or a Win9X SYSTEM?

Before Windows 10 is released, I dreamed that the limit will gone, so we can use the limit of NTFS, 32767, but a fact that the life is nothing but fuck.

if the conditions permit, try not to use node on Windows. Try Linux or OSX. Show yourself mercy.

Update manually

Not only Atom ,but also all other ware, Upgrading, means input some new bugs into old system now, not fix old bugs, but only get new bugs. PhpMyAdmin 4.6, some languages are broken. Windows 10, you know what I am talking about. Atom, you just read this.

Use the version you are used to.

Unless there is a important security problem fix, or a new feature you need urgently, do not update the Atom and the packages/plugins. There may be many problems about version-dependence.

Auto Update? That’s not updating, that’s more like the Divine Coder! Testing a hundred update of bugs.

2 comments

  1. 方室网志

    非常扯淡的是我竟然看完了!atom是什么鬼?Windows最长路径点开看了眼有些晕,博主能简要说一下吗?

    1. 石樱灯笼

      Atom

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