One of the most important and sometimes most annoying features of Windows is Windows Update. On the second Tuesday of every month, Microsoft releases software updates and Windows fixes, which are usually plentiful, and most computers receive these updates automatically when Windows Update is enabled.
You may notice that your computer slows down while these updates are installed in the background. After installing them, the computer usually restarts automatically 5 minutes after the installation is complete.
If you are sitting at your computer, you can either restart your computer immediately, or select “snooze” and receive reminders again at a certain interval. However, if you are not near the computer, it will simply reboot after the specified time. If you have been doing some work and have been away from your computer for a while, you may lose some of your work due to automatic restart.
I definitely think the default settings are fine for most users as updates are usually security-related and should be installed as soon as possible to avoid any malware, spyware or hacking attempts.
That being said, I also feel that some aspects could be changed for power users like me. I regularly check for updates whenever I want and install them myself. If you have time to restart your computer from time to time, you can turn off the automatic restart feature and defer annoying reminders that appear every 10 minutes.
I’ll show you how to configure both of these options in Group Policy, and I’ll walk you through a few other options there and in the Control Panel. Unfortunately, this all only works on Windows 7 Pro, Ultimate and Enterprise, and Windows 8 Pro. If you have Starter, Home, or Non-Professional Windows, you cannot enter Group Policy settings.
Windows Update Group Policy Settings
First, let’s talk about how to disable automatic restart and how to change the interval at which you receive reminders from Windows about installing updates. We have to complete both of these tasks in the Group Policy Editor.
To go to the Group Policy Editor, click Start and type gpedit.msc. In Windows 8, you can start typing from the Start screen.
Now go to the following security settings:
Local Computer Policy – Computer Configuration – Administrative Templates – Windows Components – Windows Update
On the right side, you will see several options related to Windows Update. There are basically two settings that we need to manage in order to get what we want.
No automatic restart with authorized users for scheduled automatic update installations
Install for it is set to Enabled and Windows will wait for the logged in user to restart the computer instead of automatically trying to restart. As you can see in the Help window, the user will still be prompted to restart the computer, but this will not happen automatically.
It should also be noted that this setting will only apply if Windows Update is configured to automatically install updates. I’ll cover these settings in the Control Panel section.
Re-request restart for scheduled installations
Using this parameter, you can configure the restart message to be displayed again, but at a longer interval. Go ahead and double-click the setting and set it to Enabled. You will see that the default is 10 minutes. Go ahead and change it to something like 1440 minutes, which is one day. It’s best if you want to be reminded, but not as often.
Apart from the two above, there are a couple of other useful settings here.
Delayed restart for scheduled installations
Restart delay for scheduled installations
If you don’t want to completely disable automatic restart, you can defer it using this option. Instead of the usual 5-minute interval, you can specify a longer period for Windows to wait before performing an automatic restart. In my case, I will probably skip the longer interval anyway, so I don’t use this option, but it’s worth knowing about.
Allow automatic updates to be installed immediately
Allow immediate installation of automatic updates
In the Windows Update Control Panel settings, if you selected “Download Updates” but let me choose whether to install them, you may run into issues where certain updates will not be installed, even if they do not require a restart and do not interfere. with Windows services.
If you enable these settings, Windows will install only those updates and wait for you to decide when to install the rest.
Windows Update Control Panel Settings
Now, let’s take a quick look at the Control Panel settings for Windows Update. First, click on the “Change settings” link on the right.
You will see several different settings with a couple of checkboxes. First, you need to understand that there are three types of updates for Windows: important updates, recommended updates, and optional updates.
Important updates fix critical issues, and recommended updates usually fix non-critical issues. If you check the box Provide me with recommended updates the same way I receive important updates, then the recommended updates will have the same settings as for important updates.
Additional updates are never downloaded or installed automatically, no matter how your settings are configured.
The first section deals with important updates, and the recommended option is Install updates automatically. With this option, you will get automatic restart and reminders.
You can also select Download, but let me choose whether to install them, Check for updates but let me choose, download or install them, and Never check for updates.
There is a section called Microsoft Update that basically provides you with updates related to other Microsoft products that you may have installed on your system. I recommend leaving this box checked as it can be quite useful if you use a lot of other Microsoft software.
Hopefully this explains how to customize Windows Update to your liking without putting your computer at risk. If you have any questions, please leave a comment. Enjoy!
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