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Remove Automatic Restart After Windows Updates

Jun 16th, 2006 - Subscribe
Keywords: remove, automatic, updates, restart, windows

Remove Automatic Restart After Windows Updates
by FrosT

Introdcution
Windows has always been a pain in the butt. Today's story is no different. Everyone who has a Windows machine has Windows Update, which chances are is turned to on. In the past few months I noticed Windows added an extra annoyance to Windows Updates. 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 every 10 minutes that gives you 5 minutes to decline or have your Windows system reboot automatically. Well thanks to some careful internet searching I have found your solution!

Windows, Let Me Chose to Restart!
Well I for one have been fed up with Windows Updates automatic restart from day one. Once I found out that it will reboot my computer, even if I am not there, really ticked me off. Reason being is I like to convert AVI files to MPG for burning onto a DVD. Well the process for converting an AVI file to an MPG file can be time consuming, so it requires at least 1 hour for a 400 MB AVI file. What I do is start the conversion process in the morning and when I get home for work viola my AVI file has been successfully converted to an MPG file, or has it? Well Windows Update has screwed me many times, enough to where I disabled Windows Update completely. I do not like the fact that I will not ever receive any more updates because now I am potentially vulnerable.

After months of searching for maybe a registry hack to disable this automatic restart after Windows Update, updates I finally found the solution. Yes, I am going to be nice enough to share the information on how you can prevent Windows Update from automatically restarting your personal computer!

Removing the Automatic Restart After Windows Updates
Just a short disclaimer, I will take no responsibility for any action you chose to take regarding this article. After you read this article, you are liable for any adverse effects this may cause to yours or someone else's computer.

Alright, first off let's click the Start button. Once the menu pulls up we can click on "Run". Now you should have a field to type in, let's type "gpedit.msc" and hit enter. Once the screen comes up click the + next to "Local Group Policy" than "Computer Configuration" than "Administrative Template" than click on the "Windows Updates" folder. In here you will find a bunch of different variables. If you click on them in the right pane there should be some definitions of what each one does. I will not go in-depth on all of them because you can obviously read. The key we are looking for is "No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates Installations". Right click on that value and hit properties. Now click on Enabled, than hit "Apply" and "Ok". Now close the Console1 window. It will prompt you to save, choose "Yes" and than "Save". Now that you have saved the settings a reboot is necessary for the policy to take effect.

Ending Notes
Now you have successfully stopped Windows Updates from automatically restarting your computer after updates have been installed. If you have any contributions to make to this tutorial feel free to do so. Breathe easier as you can now have your computer fully updated all the time without having to re-boot!

Comments: 36

Comments:

s0rry
on June 22nd, 2006

I only have a minute but i just wanted to ask how you stopped... I can't get him to stop and it's really killing me on the inside because I know he's ruining his life with everything.
Thanks...

imaginary
on June 23rd, 2006

I find your blogs very informative, in a jargon-illiterate sort of way. It gives me hope that I may one day understand technology.
<('o')>

lucylou
on June 26th, 2006

thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! this has been happening to me at work...then, when i go to lunch it will restart. soooo annoying!

many thanks! =)
ps. i'm lindsay. nice to meet you!

anonymous
on July 14th, 2006

just a small update to this, the local policy path is as follows on SP2 machines.

LOCAL COMPUTER POLICY -> COMPUTER CONFIGURATION -> ADMINISTRATIVE TEMPLATES -> WINDOWS COMPONENTS -> WINDOWS UPDATE

Also by clicking yes to the save after closing it you are saving a default MSC file when really you should NOT be doing this and really making and creating your own.

anonymous
on July 17th, 2006

this does not work on windows 2000??

frost
on July 17th, 2006

Screw windows 2000, update your OS.

--FrosT

anonymous
on August 13th, 2006

Thank you SO much. I always leave AIM open with an away message overnight so that people can still send me messages while I'm asleep... well Windows Update just cloeses the program and I never get the messages. BUT NO MORE THANKS TO YOU!!

Wow Windows really sucks sometimes... but Mac can really suck sometimes too... that's why I've got both

anonymous
on August 28th, 2006

(First sorry for my english but i am from austria)
For OS Win2000.
If there isn´t Windows update in Administrative Template,
1. Right-click on Administrative Templates and choose Add/Remove Templates….
2. Click Add…, and choose wuau.adm
3. Click Close. Windows Update should show up in the list now.

anonymous
on October 05th, 2006

Cheers to the Austrian guy! -tga

anonymous
on January 12th, 2007

The method using Group Policy Editor (gpedit) will only work on Windows XP Professional Edidion as gpedit is NOT included in Windows XP Home Edition.

However, one another method using Registry Editor and that should work on all XP versions is this:

1. Navigate to the registry key HKLMSOFTWARE
PoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdateAU.
(create the key(s) if not exist)

2. Change the value "NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers" to "1".
(create as a new dword value if not exist)

anonymous
on January 12th, 2007

Ooopss (slashes were deleted)....
The registry key path in my previous commend should be:
HKLM -> SOFTWARE ->
Policies -> Microsoft -> Windows -> WindowsUpdate -> AU.

anonymous
on April 13th, 2007

ooh! suck sexy answers!

anonymous
on April 15th, 2007

Have been trying for ages to stop automatic reboot on windows 2000 and the Austrian guy has solved the problem that I could not find anywhere else - many thanks

david
on April 23rd, 2007

Becouse of automatic updates my recovery process flopped, I really hate you Micro$oft.

anonymous
on May 10th, 2007

This is fantastic for anyone who leaves their computer running unattended for CAD rendering or any other processor intensive tasks. It's so frustrating to see the 12 hour job you left going the night before has been wasted. Thanks!

anonymous
on May 24th, 2007

Same go's for an backupmachine that autoreboots and stops the bachup routine, many thanks

anonymous
on May 26th, 2007

hmmm. The regedit operation above didn't work. I went to HKLM -> SOFTWARE ->
Policies -> Microsoft -> Windows but Windowsupdate wasn't there. Damn

anonymous
on June 15th, 2007

Didn't work for me for the same reason.

anonymous
on July 03rd, 2007

Thank god for this, this has been annoying me for ever, thank you thank you.

anonymous
on July 12th, 2007

Thanks for the useful tip!

anonymous
on September 22nd, 2007

Many thanks. Windows is incredibly annoying in so many ways and this helps to make it slightly less so.

anonymous
on October 11th, 2007

Just last night it did it too me. It somehow screwed my outlook. Thankyou for this information.May the Computer angel of good fortune smile on you, if you ever have to fight with technology.

anonymous
on October 11th, 2007

Why wouldn't you simply do the following:
Start
control panel
Security Center
Automatic Updates
click "Notify me but don't automatically download or install item"
Apply
OK

That way, you are completely in charge of when updates are installed and its restarts.

I despise microsoft too, but this seems much simpler

anonymous
on October 17th, 2007

Local Computer Policy
Computer Configuration
Administrative Templates
Windows Components
Windows Update

thats the path I had to take, to get to the No restarts. Very minor change can change for maybe everyone.

anonymous
on November 20th, 2007

hi,

how to remove directory temp in windows after restart.
i mean like cron linux

so, directory temp will be always empty

thanks

anonymous
on November 28th, 2007

After doing the Group Policy update open a cmd prompt and type:

gpupdate /Force

This will reload the Group Policy on the machine and should prevent you from needing to reboot the system after doing this process.

Thanks.

anonymous
on December 14th, 2007

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdateAU]
"NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers"=dword:00000001

anonymous
on March 12th, 2008

thanx for this

anonymous
on June 02nd, 2008

on October 11th, 2007
Why wouldn't you simply do the following:
Start
control panel
Security Center
Automatic Updates
click "Notify me but don't automatically download or install item"
Apply
OK

That way, you are completely in charge of when updates are installed and its restarts.

I despise microsoft too, but this seems much simpler

THANK YOU!!! This method is sooo much more simple than everyone made it out to be, I could never follow the above described registry paths for Windows (Home) XP. Hopefully the problem is solved!

anonymous
on June 17th, 2008

GR8 info and totall investigation... thx for putting this on public!!

anonymous
on July 09th, 2008

Thanks to everyone involved in this! - I couldn't believe that Microsoft had the audacity to assume that they knew better then the user in terms of when to forcibly reboot a machine. I work in developing heavily numerical routines, and a machine that decides to reboot at will .... say no more...!

I'm running W2K and I've no plans to 'upgrade' to XP - so an extra thanks to those of you who persevered with the W2K thread.

PS: comments such as: "Screw windows 2000, update your OS." - are really unhelpful and totally unproductive. If one has the compulsion to always clamber to use the latest M$ offering, then good luck. But some of us don't do this for good reasons - you might like to consider that before making such comments..!?

anonymous
on August 14th, 2008

Thank you so much for the solution. It is heartbroken to see my program intended to run for 48hr to be interrupted due to the d**n auto restarting. Now I can sleep in peace.

anonymous
on August 15th, 2008

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > WindowsUpdate > Auto Update > NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers

And modify it to give it a hex value of 1. If it doesn't exist, make a new DWORD with that name first.

anonymous
on August 15th, 2008

easier way for XP :start menu press run and Type "services.msc" in the box and press Enter. Scroll down the list that appears to the item "Automatic Updates". Right-click that item and choose "Stop". All done. No more notice.

anonymous
on August 20th, 2008

Thanks very much indeed for taking the time to document this - it has been driving me nuts for ages!

anonymous
on August 28th, 2008

I manage a network with Windows Server Update Service and the "Notify me but don't automatically download or install item" option would never work becuase I would have users installing their own updates. I use Domain policies to auto download/install the approved updates in conjunction with the "No Auto Restart" policy to keep the PCs from rebooting on the users. I also use Group Policy to remove the restart balloon. For some reason the PC just started rebooting again and the policy has not changed. All was working and then about 3 weeks ago POOF! no more. Any suggestions.