
I recommend using this setting network-wide because it will reduce the number of angry help desk calls significantly. Turn off automatic reboots ^īut the best option is simply to turn off automatic reboots with this Group Policy setting: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update\No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled automatic update installations. If this setting is enabled, Windows Updates automatically installs updates that neither interrupt Windows services nor restart Windows. However, there is a Group Policy setting for allowing the installation of these unproblematic updates: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update\Allow Automatic Updates immediate installation. The disadvantage of this method is that this also prevents the installation of updates that don't require a restart if the user ignores the message from Windows Update. If a user doesn't install them right away, Windows will do so when the user shuts down the computer. Windows will then inform users about new available updates. This configuration can be set through the Control Panel applet Windows Update (type Windows Update at the Start Search prompt) or through Group Policy (Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update\Configure Automatic Updates).

You can configure Automatic Updates to only automatically download the latest update but let users choose when to install them.

Let users choose when to install Windows updates ^ You can let users choose when to install updates or you can disable auto-restarts. There are two ways to turn off automatic Windows Update reboots.

No Windows update is important enough to delete a whole morning's work of your boss.Īnd if a new dangerous computer worm is really threatening your PCs, then network-wide restarts have to be managed and controlled by humans, not computers. If security measures can destroy the work of users, then the bad guys have already won. In my view, a computer should never ever automatically restart without explicit confirmation from the user.
