I assume things sometimes change even between minor versions, so let's talk the latest, which afaik is 6u35.

Is there any REAL way to disable the auto update feature?

These parameters

JAVAUPDATE=0 JU=0 AUTOUPDATECHECK=0

don't do anything despite what people claim, so I assume it is not possible to do during installation (and no I do not want to use any repacks).

Similarly, [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Update\Policy] doesn't seem to exist (anymore) either.

Unchecking the update feature in Control panel adds HKCU\Software\Javasoft\Java Update\Policy subkey with EnableAutoUpdateCheck value with some huge hex string in it, but the data seems to vary, so I am not sure it's an option...

Any experiences?

Did you even bother to read my post?????

Not sure where it is, but Kel created an XP "Package" to do just that. It involved AFAICT, actually installing it, then "repackaging" it to force it to be "turned off".

If this is for Windows 7, I will "assume" that the same method will work for it. You'll have to, of course, look at the "package" to see how it's done.

Look here for latest "dual" J7U5. Modify accordingly?

Did you even bother to read my post?????

If the policy keys don't exist anymore, then you need to create them, as the reg hack will do.

I've deployed this reg hack to over 500 computers. It works. The update tab disappears. not even admins get bugged about updates anymore.