Microsoft Windows Automatic Updates is a component for Windows XP and Vista that can schedule and automatically download and install important security updates from Microsoft in background without using the browser. The updates are marked by Microsoft as high-priority updates, and most of the updates fix security holes identified with Microsoft software.

This feature can be very useful for any Windows users but it can be terrifying as well. Here’s an example. Let’s say you are working on a document on your computer and you have to leave the office for a few hours to meet a client. You think that since you will be coming back to office to continue working on the document, you just leave it open. But when you get back, you find that your computer has been rebooted and all your work is gone! It is not because of bad RAM or power sag that cause the automatic restart but it’s Automatic Updates! Here’s why…

Anytime you install a Windows Update that requires you to restart your computer, you must restart it or be annoyed with a pop-up message that says “Updating your computer is almost complete. Your computer needs to be restarted for updates to take effect. Windows will restart your computer automatically in 5:00 minutes. Do you want to restart your computer now?”

Disable automatic updates restart

This annoying popup will appear every 10 minutes and gives you 5 minutes to decline or have your Windows system reboot automatically. Here are a few ways to fix this problem.

1. Set Automatic Updates to “Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them”. Go to Control Panel > System > Automatic Updates tab.
Configure Automatic Updates

2. Disable auto restart for automatic updates in Group Policy. Go to Start > Run > type gpedit.msc and click OK. Navigate to Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update. Double click “No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installation”. Select Enabled and click OK.
gpedit.msc disable auto restart

3. If you’re on your computer and this annoying popup is nagging you, you can use Leave Me Alone!. Take note that this tool only TEMPORARILY turns off the source of these restart messages. When you boot up your computer the next time, you’ll still get the annoying reboot your computer message after installing windows updates.
Download Leave Me Alone

[ Download Leave Me Alone! ]

Windows shouldn’t be so “helpful” in forcing and annoying the crap out of the user to restart the computer after a windows update. A notification would be fine, but an annoying popup that appears every 10 minutes and gives you 5 minutes to decline or have your Windows system reboot automatically, that’s WRONG! We should have more control over our computer.

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