Disable Windows 10 automatic restart after updates

Anonymous
2019-02-14T12:17:31+00:00

Is there any REAL way to disable this cancer feature?

This is not the first time i have lost unsaved work due to this annoying function, that almost every Windows user hates.

I'm trying to behave, but it is really hard to keep calm after loosing unsaved work multiple times.

Why is it that Windows cannot just wait until the user decides to restart at a convenient time? It's not like the end of the world that users doesn't restart at a specific time.

In a time where Apple's Mac is already "stealing" a lot of Windows customers, it is a very risky (and dumb) feature to add to Windows.

This alone is very difficult to argue against in a Mac vs. Windows discussion.

Luckily (for Microsoft) Microsoft have secured themselves from a law suit in their policy.

MS knows that all Windows users hates this feature, and yet they still have it. WHY?

So back to the question. Is there any official/unofficial way (FOR GOOD)  that allows me to disable this annoying feature?

I tried following some tutorials on YouTube, but little did it help obviously, as i just came home and found my computer restarted, and my work deleted.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Settings

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

114 answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2019-10-09T08:06:34+00:00

    Very simple, PERMANENT solution in a few basic steps:

    1. Create a new text file, located wherever you want, preferably hidden somewhere in the system so you don't accidently delete the file; my preference is placing it in the windows update orchestrator folder (the piece of cancerware responsible for this idiotic design flaw); this folder is located at C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows\UpdateOrchestrator
    2. It is unnecessary to put anything in the text file; name it whatever you want, but change the file extension from .txt to .bat
    3. Open up the start menu, type in "task scheduler" and open it
    4. Open the left-most viewing pane, click the drop-down icon next to "Task Scheduler Library", then "Microsoft", then "Windows", and finally scroll down near the bottom and select "UpdateOrchestrator"
    5. In the top-middle pane, select the "Reboot" task and right click it, then select "Disable"
    6. Right-click on the "reboot" task again, go to the "Triggers" tab, select any triggers there and delete them
    7. The final, and most important step (this is the process that keeps re-enabling automatic restarts), go to the "Actions" tab, EDIT the "start a program" action, and change the default file to the text document/.bat file you created in step 1-2

    That's it! So long as that file exists on your computer, it will prevent Windows Update Orchestrator from checking/initializing the "Reboot" file, the process responsible for taking your computer hostage......

    Was this answer helpful?

    50+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  3. Anonymous
    2019-09-13T22:19:35+00:00

    I HATE THIS SO MUCH! Get rid of it Microsoft. Please.

    You think you are doing it right by re-opening a few things. Maybe if I am lucky a browser will open back to where it was. But I have servers and processes running around the clock that need my actual physical input for them to start running, and when the computer reboots they all stop and your update services is not able to put all my software back the way it was.

    Do you think automatically saving my excel spreadsheet before a reboot was all you needed to do?

    STOP REBOOTING MY COMPUTER! There is a reason I hate Apple and love Microsoft/Google/Android. This is a feature Apple would implement... not Microsoft. Please don't go down that road.

    Was this answer helpful?

    100+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2019-09-12T14:19:37+00:00

    Have you turned on Settings > Windows Updates > Advanced Options > Update Notifications?

    (Don't know if this available on "non-Pro" editions though.)

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2019-09-12T14:11:02+00:00

    I don't mind restarting my PC to keep it up-to-date.  The problem comes in if the restart happens automatically in the middle of the night without me even knowing a restart is coming. 

    I just turned on a setting (that appears to have been off(!!) by default on my Windows 10 Pro) called "Update Notifications" (Show a notification when your PC requires a restart to finish updating).   I hope that helps to at least reduce the "surprise" restarts.

    This is under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced Options

    Why this is off by default is beyond me.

    Was this answer helpful?

    100+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments