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
2010-11-01T15:40:17+00:00 NB: If & when Automatic Updates installs one or more updates, your computer remains subject to the vulnerabilities addressed by the update(s) & continues to be at-risk until you've rebooted.
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) ~ MS MVP (IE, Mail, Security, Windows & Update Services) since 2002 ~ Disclaimer: MS MVPs neither represent nor work for Microsoft
This is not an appropriate answer. an appropriate answer should be something along the lines of "the lack of gpedit.msc in Home Premium is an oversight by Microsoft and should be looked into in the future." The constant nagging of the automatic restart function is irritating at best, and rage inducing at worst. Its honestly a bad feature to have.
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Anonymous
2010-10-13T22:18:46+00:00 Thank you! Having trawled through half a dozen posts containing a method I could not use, this was a breath of fresh air :D
***I totally agree, and WHY does gpedit not exist in 7 Home Premium? Frustrating to say the least.
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Anonymous
2010-11-10T14:48:09+00:00 Brilliant. This is the correct answer. Not the one marked as answer by a Microsoft Support Engineer.
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Anonymous
2009-11-05T20:28:49+00:00 Thank you!