What is Update.exe from GitHub and What does it do?

Many users reported noticing an Update.exe file on their system and the file was found to be from GitHub but the users were not using anything related to it. In some cases, users saw the bombardment of multiple Command Prompt windows on the system startup for a few seconds.

The Update.exe file is reported to be from Discord and the issue is due to a programming error of Discord or Squirrel (the Windows Installer for Electron Apps used by Discord) as the installer failed to tie the Update file with the main app. This bad programming caused an Update.exe entry along with the Discord entry in the Windows 10 Startup. Moreover, a more descriptive name would have been a lot easier for users.

But a natural question comes to the mind of many users why a file from Discord will have GitHub as the publisher’s name. The Update.exe file is published by GitHub (acquired by Microsoft in 2018) and signed by Discord.

A fun fact: Some users even reported that when they typed Update in the Windows Search, they saw Discord as a result.

So, let us find the location of the Update.exe file and how to disable it.

Location of the Update.exe on a System

You can access the location of the executable on your system by following these steps:

1. Right-click on Windows and select Task Manager.

   

2. Now, right-click on the Update.exe and select Properties. Some users may have to look in the Startup tab.

   

3. Then, check the location of the file, and most probably, it will be from Discord. You can further verify the details of the file in the Details and Digital Signature tabs.

   

4. Once the location of the file is found, copy the file’s address and paste it in the Address bar of the File Explorer. Do not delete the file, otherwise, the Discord app might fail to update and even fail to launch. Usually, the file is located at the following address:

   C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Discord

   

How to Disable Update.exe at the System Startup?

You can disable Update.exe at the system’s startup by the following three methods:

Through System Startup from Task Manager

1. Open the Task Manager of your system (as discussed above) and head to the Startup tab.
2. Now, right-click on the Update.exe and select Disable.

   

3. Then restart your system after applying your changes and hopefully, you will not see this file again on the system startup but this may cause a hindrance in updating the Discord app.
4. If the file still starts with the system startup, then check if disabling the Update.exe and Discord in the Startup tab of the Task Manager solves the problem.

Through System Startup from Windows Settings

1. Right-click on Windows and select Settings.

   

2. Now, open Apps, and in the left pane, head to the Startup tab.
3. Then, in the right pane, disable Update (from GitHub) by toggling its switch to the off position, and afterward, restart your system to check if the Update file is not launching at the system’s startup. Otherwise, you may disable Discord at the system’s startup from the above menu.

   

Through System Startup Behaviour from Discord App

1. Launch the Discord app and navigate to its Settings.
2. Now, in the left pane, select Windows Settings, and then, in the right pane, disable Open Discord by toggling its switch to the off position.

   

3. Then apply your changes, restart your system and hopefully, there will no Update.exe at the system’s startup.

If that did not do the trick, then check if reinstalling the Discord app may solve the problem.