In Windows Update, click on change settings. Under Important Updates, select 'Download updates but let me choose whether to install them'. This will give you the control on when to install and restart if required.
I want to turn off the automatic restart for Windows Update on Windows 7 Home Premium. How do I do this?
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Anonymous
I went to sleep last night and when I woke up my computer had been restarted. I did not tell it to restart, I did not want it restarted, and I had documents opened that I cannot recover because it restarted. It restarted because Windows Update had a single update to install. I am running Windows 7 Home Premium, so I do not have the group policy editor, and the registry key that some websites mentioned to use to disable the restart is not there.
Keep in mind, I just want to prevent an involuntary restart. I do not want to turn off Windows Update, and I don't mind being prompted to restart. I just don't want my computer restarting on its own ever again.
Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
2009-11-05T20:28:49+00:00 Thank you!
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Anonymous
2010-05-02T13:33:04+00:00 - Click Start -> Run
- Enter “gpedit.msc”
- Go to Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
- Double-click on “No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Update installation”
- Enable it!
- Reboot the computer
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Anonymous
2010-08-06T10:21:23+00:00 This mis-feature of Windows makes me so cross. How Dare you, Microsoft, control my computer? It's MY Computer. I am a PC, but Microsoft tells me when to re-start. It's not as if your own software is good at shutting itself down so that documents can be recoverd.
Shame on you, Microsoft.
PS, in my Windows 7, Run -> gpedit.msc does not work.
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Anonymous
2010-08-12T10:38:33+00:00 gpedit.msc is only available to the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate versions of Windows 7. Ergo, the original post cannot access it.
I can only guess that the registry key gpedit modifies in those versions also applies to all the other versions of Windows 7. If so, if MSFT Support can provide us with the specific registry key for this, it would help a lot.
The desire for this specific implementation is so that both download and installation remains an automated process. In this method, downloaded updates will be installed when the user performs a shutdown. The previous answer suggested by Djvan solves the primary problem of users losing their work due to automated shutdowns, but places users back into the role of managing their Windows updates. As long as there are users who forget to perform update installations, the problem of having unprotected machines will remain.
Whereas most users simply circumvent the auto-reboot simply by deactivating their automatic updates, it would be much safer to leave the update process automated. Providing the "no auto-restart" for all versions of Windows 7 affords all users safety with their work and safety with their machines.