How do I stop Windows Update from restarting my computer in Windows 7 Home Premium?

Anonymous

While I do not mind Windows Update automatically updating my PC, hacing it force a reboot when I am logged in is causing a problem. I currently have WU set to perform the updates at 3am, and when it finished, if there needs to be a reboot, I am not there to tell it to wait. I would prefer to leave the time settings as they are, and simply disable the automatic reboot, instead opting for WU to let me know it needs to reboot the PC. I found ways of doing this in XP and Vista, including registry edits and group policy modifications. However, The registry is obviously slightly different so the keys do not exist compared to what I found, and since I am running Home Premium I do not have gpedit.

Where in the registry can I make a change so I don't have lost data when WU resets my computer at night?

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Anonymous

Another way to do it without hacking the registry, which can be scary for some users), is to follow the instructions on the following website:

http://weblogs.asp.net/jgalloway/archive/2006/02/11/438009.aspx

I've pasted in the main parts of it, in case the link goes dead (but no nice pictures though):

Go to Start -> Run(or in Vista and 7 simply press the windows orb)
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.

That should stop it autorestarting.

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41 additional answers

Anonymous

2009-11-05T04:06:54+00:00

Hi MikeWest82,

Welcome to Microsoft Windows Forum!

Try this and check if it works :

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search box or run dialog, and navigate down to the following key, creating new keys if they don’t exist.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

Create a new 32-bit DWORD value named NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers and give it a value of 1 to prevent automatic reboot while users are logged on. Delete the value to put things back to the way they were.

Important : This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows :http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

Hope this information helps!

Thanks and Regards:

Azeez Nadeem - Microsoft Support.

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Anonymous

2009-11-05T04:33:34+00:00

When I go to that branch of the registry, my editor shows the following:

Do you want me to create the entire WindowsUpdate branch?

I have made the change while awaiting your response, I'll let you know if it reboots next time it updates with a patch that requires one.
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Anonymous

2009-11-06T01:46:24+00:00

gpedit doesn't work/exist in Home Premium. Not that you can't probably download it and have it run, but the msc isn't there by the default install.
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Anonymous

2010-03-10T23:31:53+00:00

this doesn't work in ultimate.

The horror show continues.

So fin stupid.
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