Thursday, March 12, 2009

How to stop Windows restart after an update

Solution
Windows may need to be restarted after an update has occurred, in order to allow files that are in use to be replaced. If you would prefer to restart the computer at your convenience, and not be nagged to do so, try one of the following solutions:

Method 1
Click Start, Run and enter the command net stop wuauserv
This will stop the Windows Update service until the next restart of the computer, which will stop the reminders to restart your computer for this update.

Method 2
If you are running Windows XP Professional, the following steps will increase the period between restart reminders to the maximum possible.

Click Start, Run and enter the command gpedit.msc
Select Local Computer Policy, Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Update
Double-click Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations
Change the value to 1440
Close the Group Policy Editor
Click Start, Run and enter the command gpupdate /force
This will stop the repeated reminders for this and all future Windows updates.


Here's how to prevent Automatic Update from rebooting your machine:

Start -> Run
Type: gpedit.msc
Expand Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Windows Update
Double-click "No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations"
Select "Enabled", then OK. Close the Group Policy configuration program.