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
2012-09-13T02:25:01+00:00 I just suffered the same thing. The only difference was I was USING the computer when it decided to reboot. No warnings. No pop ups asking me to postpone the restart or anything. This is the first time it's happened, and as far as I know, the automatic restart was disabled before, and I don't see why it's spontaneously enabled itself.
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Anonymous
2012-10-11T14:18:30+00:00 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.
^THIS^ IS NOT THE "ANSWER". What a bunch of self serving BS. My PC rebooted last night. I had important things in place, but not according to Microsoft. And the nerve of the little green shield that pops up, "Looky what I did! I rebooted your PC! Aren't you happy with me?" *SMACK* A backhand to Windows Updates and Microsoft for this.
Use the registry fix for anything Home and under and gpedit.msc for Pro and greater.
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Anonymous
2012-10-17T08:39:47+00:00 Agreed. Windows 7 restarted for 5 updates as I was playing Borderlands 2. Hopefully, I won't lose that much for my game save. Thanks to Abberance for the fix.
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Anonymous
2012-12-16T22:15:14+00:00 I also agree that automatic restarts is a very infuriating feature of Windows. I hate when my software creators think that all users of their software are idiots who know nothing about computers. I am a Microsoft Certified tech and I still get treated as if Microsoft knows best about things like restarting my computer... I still don't understand why Windows can not be made like Linux? Just restart the service or process that was updated! Why must the whole machine be restarted!?!?