Windows and Blasted Cortana

[jimtherev]

One of my lappies - in a way obsolete, but useful to have in the church office - has an obsession! Doing a bit of work, fearing no evil and all that, and allofasudden there's a pop-up "Sign in to Cortana to update your details." or somesuch. Can't ignore it, covers half the screen, in fact can't do anything until I've clicked the little x, perhaps for the fifth time in half an hour.
I don't want to put any personal details on this machine for obvious reasons, but in any case I've never used Blasted Cortana and never will. Although Micro$haft obviously thinks I'm poorer without it I disagree. So,

1. what did I do to deserve this? and
2. How can I get rid?

Signed,
Frustrated of Derbyshire

[ea200]

As a starting point: go to Settings, Apps, select Cortana, click Advanced Options, turn off Runs at Log-In

Good luck

[jimtherev]

Cheers. I'm down in Derby in the morning, will have a stab then.

[SignalSquare]

1. Press Windows+R to open the command prompt, type gpedit. ...
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search, then double-click Allow Cortana in the right pane.
3. Select Disabled, then select OK.