Stop Win 10 Re-booting after Update

[Jeff Gaines]

My Win 10 PC updated itself and restarted itself last night. I had
goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3 weeks and
just cannot risk losing data.

I have searched for this issue and found some astonishing answers.
Anything from MSFT says turn off automatically restart after system
failure, makes it look as if they are being deliberately obscure. Many
others say it's impossible, some suggest registry or policy tweaks.

Does anybody here have any suggestions, even a third party app (where is
Mike Linn when you need him?).

If not I will have ti turn off updates altogether, if that's even possible.

[GB]

Post by Jeff Gaines
My Win 10 PC updated itself and restarted itself last night. I had
goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3 weeks and
just cannot risk losing data.
I have searched for this issue and found some astonishing answers.
Anything from MSFT says turn off automatically restart after system
failure, makes it look as if they are being deliberately obscure. Many
others say it's impossible, some suggest registry or policy tweaks.
Does anybody here have any suggestions, even a third party app (where is
Mike Linn when you need him?).
If not I will have ti turn off updates altogether, if that's even possible.

You can pause updates for up to 7 days. Then do any updates that are
pending, whilst you supervise, then pause any updates again ...

That's not perfect, but it solves your problem.

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

Post by Jeff Gaines
My Win 10 PC updated itself and restarted itself last night. I had
goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3 weeks and
just cannot risk losing data.

It's absolutely shocking to me how MS will do this without also
providing a 'restore state' mechanism for apps to come back as they were
before the bounce, like the Mac has.

Best you can do is pause it for a few days and then do any updates
manually so you know.

Post by Jeff Gaines
If not I will have ti turn off updates altogether, if that's even possible.

Not really.

Cheers - Jaimie

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Does anybody here have any suggestions, even a third party app (where is
Mike Linn when you need him?).

Many thanks GB & Jaimie :-)

I did find an answer from a MVP that involved a registry tweak, it didn't
do what he said it would but update doesn't work any more. At worst I can
create an add and a remove file for the registry and have it under manual
control.

I have now asked in the MSFT Support Community, see if they come up with
anything. Two out of my three recent questions about Visual Studio were
accepted as bugs in the end and have been formally put on the bug list.

I might put Win 8.1 on a spare PC and see if that is better, I can protect
it with Malwarebytes.

[Andy Burns]

Post by Jeff Gaines
My Win 10 PC updated itself and restarted itself last night. I had
goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3 weeks and
just cannot risk losing data.

Let me state the bleedin' obvious ... save your work :-)

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Andy Burns

Post by Jeff Gaines
My Win 10 PC updated itself and restarted itself last night. I had
goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3 weeks and
just cannot risk losing data.

Let me state the bleedin' obvious ... save your work :-)

I have learned that in the last 42 years since my Vic 20. The work was
saved but I have no idea what was open between Visual Studio, Word,
Ultraedit etc. I am a grown up and I paid for Win 10 Pro so I must be able
to decide when the computer re-boots.

[Andy Burns]

Post by Andy Burns
Let me state the bleedin' obvious ... save your work :-)

I have learned that in the last 42 years since my Vic 20. The work was
saved but I have no idea what was open between Visual Studio, Word,
Ultraedit etc. I am a grown up and I paid for Win 10 Pro so I must be
able to decide when the computer re-boots.

I can't remember what Win10 offers, but here both Win11 Home and Pro
allow pausing updates for 1 to 5

[Mike Scott]

Post by Andy Burns

Post by Andy Burns
Let me state the bleedin' obvious ... save your work :-)

I have learned that in the last 42 years since my Vic 20. The work was
saved but I have no idea what was open between Visual Studio, Word,
Ultraedit etc. I am a grown up and I paid for Win 10 Pro so I must be
able to decide when the computer re-boots.

I can't remember what Win10 offers, but here both Win11 Home and Pro
allow pausing updates for 1 to 5 weeks ...

10Pro indefinitely. My box hasn't updated for 2-3 years or more. Suits
me. The info is out there somewhere.

[Ian Jackson]

Post by Mike Scott

Post by Andy Burns

Post by Andy Burns
Let me state the bleedin' obvious ... save your work :-)

I have learned that in the last 42 years since my Vic 20. The work
was saved but I have no idea what was open between Visual Studio,
Word, Ultraedit etc. I am a grown up and I paid for Win 10 Pro so I
must be able to decide when the computer re-boots.

I can't remember what Win10 offers, but here both Win11 Home and Pro
allow pausing updates for 1 to 5 weeks ...

10Pro indefinitely. My box hasn't updated for 2-3 years or more. Suits
me. The info is out there somewhere.

Just a word of warning.....
My W10 - PC is pretty ancient (it started life on W7), and Windows
'updates' can really screw things up.

After throwing a couple of spanners in the works, for two years I had
the updates successfully blocked. Unfortunately, I foolishly installed
some program (really just to see what it did), and during the
installation selected a "Check for updates" ticky-box, expecting it to
check for the latest version of the program. It didn't. Instead it meant
to check and install the latest updates for Windows 10, which it
proceeded to do.

subsequently did the 10(?) day further update suspension, to give me
time to re-apply the update spanner - but being Christmas and New Year
period, I've never got around to it. Fortunately, although the
suspension time will now be well expired, no further updates have
occurred - so hopefully it was a one-off event.

[Mike Scott]

Post by Ian Jackson

Post by Mike Scott
10Pro indefinitely. My box hasn't updated for 2-3 years or more. Suits
me. The info is out there somewhere.

Just a word of warning.....
My W10 - PC is pretty ancient (it started life on W7), and Windows
'updates' can really screw things up.

Which is why I disabled them. The sole raison d'etre of this box is to
run Garmin's satnav updates; otherwise we're 100% linux at home. After a
year's off-time, I turned it on, so it chucked in an absolute mound of
updates. One of which broke the boot sequence right royally. It took me,
IIRC, 4 days to fix it.

The whole concept of windows (or anything else for that matter) updating
when it feels like it is sheer madness IMO. If I want to use /my/
computer, I'll use it when /I/ want, not when some charlie thinks
they'll let me.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Andy Burns

Post by Andy Burns
Let me state the bleedin' obvious ... save your work :-)

I have learned that in the last 42 years since my Vic 20. The work was
saved but I have no idea what was open between Visual Studio, Word,
Ultraedit etc. I am a grown up and I paid for Win 10 Pro so I must be
able to decide when the computer re-boots.

I can't remember what Win10 offers, but here both Win11 Home and Pro
allow pausing updates for 1 to 5 weeks ...

I had a reply from a Windows forum saying "you can't" so I responded and
said I had read the policy could be changed with the group policy editor.
The same chap said "oh well if you have that then you can". It's on every
copy of Win Pro.

He has also pointed me to a different MSFT forum so I'll give that a go.

I put Win 8.1 back on a laptop and it is quite refreshing to be able find
things again, and have grown up options for updates, but I'm not sure my
new build will run it

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines
He has also pointed me to a different MSFT forum so I'll give that a go.

And my question has been deleted for breaching he rules, no idea what one.
I've tried posting it again and asking for an explanation.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Jeff Gaines
He has also pointed me to a different MSFT forum so I'll give that a go.

And my question has been deleted for breaching he rules, no idea what one.
I've tried posting it again and asking for an explanation.

I asked three times and one of them was published. I said:

"is it possible to set up a policy like that in Win 8.1 - download but
don't install until authorised?"

And the response was:

"Do you want to disable Windows Update or Pause it?".

I despair :-(

Incidentally I can only defer updates for up to 35 days, I am sure
somebody said they had deferred them for a much longer period?

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Incidentally I can only defer updates for up to 35 days, I am sure
somebody said they had deferred them for a much longer period?

The advice from the supposed official Windows forum is terrifying and much
of it is wrong. Apparently one update has set a limit on how long you can
defer Windows updates although I don't know which one. Couple of points:

1) Mike Scott said he hadn't updated for some years - doe he have time to
check what version of Win 10 he is running?

2) Has anybody tried un-installing Win 10 updates with any success? I know
it's theoretically possible but wonder if it is practical. I could then
roll back to the update before the limit was put on deferring updates.

Many thanks

[GB]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Jeff Gaines
Incidentally I can only defer updates for up to 35 days, I am sure
somebody said they had deferred them for a much longer period?

The advice from the supposed official Windows forum is terrifying and
much of it is wrong. Apparently one update has set a limit on how long
you can defer Windows updates although I don't know which one. Couple of
1) Mike Scott said he hadn't updated for some years - doe he have time
to check what version of Win 10 he is running?
2) Has anybody tried un-installing Win 10 updates with any success? I
know it's theoretically possible but wonder if it is practical. I could
then roll back to the update before the limit was put on deferring updates.
Many thanks

What is terrifying you about this? You want your system to act reliably,
as you have a court case in 3 weeks. Fair enough, then, install the
security updates.

Okay, you don't want overnight updates. So, pause updates for a few
days, then install them when it's convenient.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by GB

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Jeff Gaines
Incidentally I can only defer updates for up to 35 days, I am sure
somebody said they had deferred them for a much longer period?

The advice from the supposed official Windows forum is terrifying and
much of it is wrong. Apparently one update has set a limit on how long
you can defer Windows updates although I don't know which one. Couple of
1) Mike Scott said he hadn't updated for some years - doe he have time to
check what version of Win 10 he is running?
2) Has anybody tried un-installing Win 10 updates with any success? I
know it's theoretically possible but wonder if it is practical. I could
then roll back to the update before the limit was put on deferring updates.
Many thanks

What is terrifying you about this? You want your system to act reliably,
as you have a court case in 3 weeks. Fair enough, then, install the
security updates.
Okay, you don't want overnight updates. So, pause updates for a few days,
then install them when it's convenient.

The advice is terrifying from a supposedly MSFT run Windows forum because
so much of it is wrong.

It's people who just accept things, like you seem to, that causes us to
have crap operating systems. Why on earth should I accept somebody
re-booting mu computer remotely when they they want to for goodness sake?

[Daniel James]

Post by Jeff Gaines
The advice is terrifying from a supposedly MSFT run Windows forum
because so much of it is wrong.

MS actually have very little to do with the running of 'their' forums --
it all costs money, you see -- and are seemingly happy to have Joe
Public and his dog spread half-understood half-truths instead.

Post by Jeff Gaines
It's people who just accept things, like you seem to, that causes us
to have crap operating systems. Why on earth should I accept somebody
re-booting mu computer remotely when they they want to for goodness sake?

What you NEED to accept is that Windows is flaky enough to need regular
updates for stability and security, and is badly-enough designed that it
can't update some parts of itself without a reboot. With those two
things in mind it's clear that you either have to let Windows reboot now
and again, or have to expect Windows to say "I need to be rebooted now
to install the updates".

I'm sure it used to do the latter, and I suppose people complained about
it if they've switched to doing the former.

I used to leave my PC running overnight (and it got automagically backed
up to a NAS in the wee small hours) on the grounds that the cost of the
electricity was small and not power-cycling the hardware probably made
it last longer. Even so I closed every application when I stopped work
(partly so that all the data would be in a fit state to be backed up_.

Since then the cost of power has gone up, we're all being told to save
the planet, and I've come to realize that modern PCs last longer than
even I want to run them for. I power down in the evening and up again in
the morning. It really doesn't take that long.

I haven't put the current box on a power meter plug, but the previous
one used about 65W at idle. At current domestic electricity rates (say
30p/kWh) turning the box off for 8 hours overnight saves just under £60
a year. I used to say that in winter that didn't signify as the energy
was heating the room anyway, but now I have more efficient heating from
a heat pump about £40 of that £60 really is waste even in winter when
the heating's on ... and all of it in summer.

I no longer run the NAS overnight, either, so I'm saving even more.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Daniel James

The advice is terrifying from a supposedly MSFT run Windows forum because
so much of it is wrong.

MS actually have very little to do with the running of 'their' forums --
it all costs money, you see -- and are seemingly happy to have Joe Public
and his dog spread half-understood half-truths instead.

That's interesting. I have been using the following to get to the forums:

https://learn.microsoft.com/

The Visual Studio forum always brings replies from MSFT staff who
faithfully reproduce the issues, put them to the right product group and
copy me in on the correspondence. Of the three recent queries 2 have
resulted in official bug reports being raised and the other in an excelled
suggestion about using a slightly different way of doing what I was trying
to do - which worked perfectly!

However, the Windows forum seems to be answered by a motley crew as you
suggest and the answers are generally nonsense - and always accompanied by
a request to "accept" or "upvote" it.

Post by Daniel James

It's people who just accept things, like you seem to, that causes us
to have crap operating systems. Why on earth should I accept somebody
re-booting mu computer remotely when they they want to for goodness sake?

What you NEED to accept is that Windows is flaky enough to need regular
updates for stability and security, and is badly-enough designed that it
can't update some parts of itself without a reboot. With those two things
in mind it's clear that you either have to let Windows reboot now and
again, or have to expect Windows to say "I need to be rebooted now to
install the updates".

I'm sure there's a lot of truth in that, although Windows has been pretty
stable since Win 7. Programs I wrote for Win 98 and that make extensive
use of the Windows API still work perfectly well on Windows 10 so very
little has changed under the bonnet. It's mainly cosmetic with as much as
possible now being obscured or hidden.

Post by Daniel James
I'm sure it used to do the latter, and I suppose people complained about
it if they've switched to doing the former.

Yes, I have BEEN switched with no choice so I'm annoyed.

Post by Daniel James
I used to leave my PC running overnight (and it got automagically backed
up to a NAS in the wee small hours) on the grounds that the cost of the
electricity was small and not power-cycling the hardware probably made it
last longer. Even so I closed every application when I stopped work
(partly so that all the data would be in a fit state to be backed up_.
Since then the cost of power has gone up, we're all being told to save the
planet, and I've come to realize that modern PCs last longer than even I
want to run them for. I power down in the evening and up again in the
morning. It really doesn't take that long.
I haven't put the current box on a power meter plug, but the previous one
used about 65W at idle. At current domestic electricity rates (say
30p/kWh) turning the box off for 8 hours overnight saves just under £60 a
year. I used to say that in winter that didn't signify as the energy was
heating the room anyway, but now I have more efficient heating from a heat
pump about £40 of that £60 really is waste even in winter when the
heating's on ... and all of it in summer.
I no longer run the NAS overnight, either, so I'm saving even more.

I have 2 x desktops and 2 x NAS running 24/7 with scheduled overnight
backups. I haven't re-connected the Mac Mini because I haven't been
practising my Re.Corder as I should!

[RJH]

Post by Daniel James
I used to leave my PC running overnight (and it got automagically backed
up to a NAS in the wee small hours) on the grounds that the cost of the
electricity was small and not power-cycling the hardware probably made
it last longer. Even so I closed every application when I stopped work
(partly so that all the data would be in a fit state to be backed up_.
Since then the cost of power has gone up, we're all being told to save
the planet, and I've come to realize that modern PCs last longer than
even I want to run them for. I power down in the evening and up again in
the morning. It really doesn't take that long.
I haven't put the current box on a power meter plug, but the previous
one used about 65W at idle. At current domestic electricity rates (say
30p/kWh) turning the box off for 8 hours overnight saves just under £60
a year. I used to say that in winter that didn't signify as the energy
was heating the room anyway, but now I have more efficient heating from
a heat pump about £40 of that £60 really is waste even in winter when
the heating's on ... and all of it in summer.

I would think/hope that in sleep mode your PC uses far less than that - 5W
maybe?

[Tom Furie]

Post by RJH

Post by Daniel James
I haven't put the current box on a power meter plug, but the previous
one used about 65W at idle.

I would think/hope that in sleep mode your PC uses far less than that
- 5W maybe?

Nobody mentioned sleep mode, until you, only idle - which I take to mean
sitting at the desktop or login screen but not actively doing
anything. But if you're putting it to sleep, why not save that extra 5W
and shut it down completely anyway?

[RJH]

Save time booting, in the main. And possibly save some stress on certain
components?

If your time is *that* precious why not pay someone to turn the PC on
before you need it :-)

Oh I would if they'd take the couple of quid a year it costs to sleep it :-)

I don't think the thermal stress on components differs a lot between
sleep and standby.

Probably. ISTR some saying the largest stress is during power on/off. But I
really couldn't say.

[Theo]

I've never understood why anyone would put a computer to sleep when
it's perfectly possible to turn it off

[snip]

Because sleep preserves what you were doing on the desktop, whereas
turning it off comes back with a clean desktop.

That's a difference between our attitudes and our workflows. When I come
to the PC in the morning I *WANT* a clean desktop. There's no guarantee
that I'm going to be working on the same things as I was the day before,
nor that I could remember what all those windows were open for anyway.

Indeed, different strokes etc. For me the things that are open is the short
term working set, ie an aide memoire of some task not yet completed. For
example, when buying insurance you might want several tabs of insurance
sites open at once. If you haven't found what you're looking for then you
might have to pause the activity and pick up later at another time.

Once the insurance is bought you can close all the tabs. Meanwhile you can
do other things in another set of tabs and keep the insurance ones open
until you have time to go back to it.

Even the MacOS way of remembering what was open only half works - you
lose state in web pages which don't always come back (eg pages that
you were served by submitting a form don't reload properly) ...

I close my browser down completely several times during the working day.
I do this because the browser is configured to delete all cookies when
closed, and I don't want cookies to persist any longer than necessary.
The idea that something I was looking at in a browser yesterday might
have any relevance to what I'm doing today strikes me as odd. If I want
to revisit a page I'll bookmark it (I have a lot of bookmarks) and if I
think the page may chance I'll scrape it.

Often bookmarks don't cut it - eg for insurance, you want the quote up in
front of you. You don't want the front page of the insurer which is where a
bookmark will inevitably take you because the link doesn't resubmit the
form. And a screenshot of the page doesn't help if you want to go back and
tweak the cover.

(yes there is a 'saved quote' function in this specific example, but other
kinds of sites don't offer equivalent functionality)

And bookmarks are a pretty awful way of saving state IMHO - just a link,
nothing more. In my insurance example I might want a list of data, eg:

insuredirect.com: £234 third party, £250 excess
insure4u.com: £456 comprehensive, £0 excess

- while I may make separate notes like this, just keeping the tabs open and
flicking between them has a similar effect with zero effort.

Some people were less attentive to the need to update, which is why
automatic updates are now forced on the user, and reboots can happen at
inopportune times.

Really the problem is the way the Windows filesystem is broken and so many
updates can't happen without a reboot. On Linux most updates happen and you
wouldn't even notice them, with kernel updates requiring reboot being rare
(and even then you're only nagged). It's frustrating that Microsoft has put
so little effort into making updates without rebooting, fixing their
filesystem as needed.

Theo

[Andy Burns]

Post by Theo

That's a difference between our attitudes and our workflows. When I come
to the PC in the morning I *WANT* a clean desktop. There's no guarantee
that I'm going to be working on the same things as I was the day before,
nor that I could remember what all those windows were open for anyway.

Indeed, different strokes etc. For me the things that are open is the short
term working set, ie an aide memoire of some task not yet completed. For
example, when buying insurance you might want several tabs of insurance
sites open at once. If you haven't found what you're looking for then you
might have to pause the activity and pick up later at another time.
Once the insurance is bought you can close all the tabs. Meanwhile you can
do other things in another set of tabs and keep the insurance ones open
until you have time to go back to it.

I use several virtual desktops to "partition" my tasks, one desktop for
work, one for personal which at this time of year will have tax return
stuff on it, usuallyy one for whoever is my primary customer at the
moment, etc ...

[Abandoned Trolley]

Post by Andy Burns
I use several virtual desktops to "partition" my tasks, one desktop for
work, one for personal which at this time of year will have tax return
stuff on it, usuallyy one for whoever is my primary customer at the
moment, etc ...

You mean Virtual Desktops ? - or Virtual Machines ?

I imagine you can run Win 8.1 in a VM

[Andy Burns]

Post by Abandoned Trolley

Post by Andy Burns
I use several virtual desktops to "partition" my tasks

You mean Virtual Desktops ? - or Virtual Machines ?

Desktops, create via Win+Tab then switch with Ctrl+Win+Arrows

[Jeff Gaines]

On 14/01/2024 in message

I think this is about expectations. You're expecting to leave a machine
holding data in volatile memory indefinitely, and are suprised (and
indignant)
when the standard updating process kicks in. It is indeed standard - it's
been
doing this for years on end, and little has changed about it.

Changing from asking if it's OK to install then asking if it's OK to
re-boot is rather an extreme change from just installing and re-booting
with no warning surely?

[Philip Herlihy]

Post by Jeff Gaines
On 14/01/2024 in message

I think this is about expectations. You're expecting to leave a machine
holding data in volatile memory indefinitely, and are suprised (and
indignant)
when the standard updating process kicks in. It is indeed standard - it's
been
doing this for years on end, and little has changed about it.

Changing from asking if it's OK to install then asking if it's OK to
re-boot is rather an extreme change from just installing and re-booting
with no warning surely?

I've been using the same W10 (Pro) machine for years on end, and I don't
remember things being any different.

I'm notified at least daily that there's something to update (often a Windows
Defender signature update). It doesn't download until I tell it to. (I
configured this so long ago I simply don't remember how I did that - may have
been using the Group Policy editor or a registry setting)**. I have my machine
set ("Advanced Options") to "Restart this device as soon as possible..." and
"Show a notification when your PC requires a restart.." because that way I get
the option quite quickly to delay the installation/reboot I invited by
triggering the download. If I delay it, then the Start button provides options
to shut down or restart with or without updating. If I wish, I can pause
updates for up to 35 days ("Advanced Options"). Most updates don't require a
restart - maybe two a month (often in the same batch).

If you (were) on W10 home you have less options than you do on Pro.

**I tracked down how I configured updates on my machine. Using Group Policy
Editor, navigate to:
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows
Update

There are a whole raft of options there. I've used the "Configure Automatic
Updates" setting 2 "Notify for download and Automatic Install" - that means
nothing starts until I trigger the download offered. You may like to consider
option 4, where it's fully automatic, but you can specify the time and day of
the month for this to happen. Some care is needed; it isn't always clear in
the documentation whether options apply to Windows 10, but both of these do.
There is also a setting "No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled
automatic updates installations" - this does apply to W10.

So, if you're on Pro, you have loads of options. Even on Home (I checked) you
can delay all updates for up to 35 days. What you can't change is that Windows
will need an occasional update. To paraphrase a very successful campaign:
"Windows needs occasional reboots for security purposes - get over it."

Ultimately, though, if you persist in leaving important data in volatile memory
without saving it, something's going to spoil your day eventually.

[Jeff Gaines]

On 16/01/2024 in message

Post by Philip Herlihy
I've been using the same W10 (Pro) machine for years on end, and I don't
remember things being any different.

I am on Win Pro as I use RDP all the time. How it used to work is as you
described but I don't know how you've managed to keep it running like that!

I have tried all the registry hacks and managed to stop updates - it
doesn't seem to obey those instructions any more so I suspect I just broke
it.

Post by Philip Herlihy
**I tracked down how I configured updates on my machine. Using Group Policy
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows
Update
There are a whole raft of options there. I've used the "Configure Automatic
Updates" setting 2 "Notify for download and Automatic Install" - that means
nothing starts until I trigger the download offered.

Presumably using gpedit.msc?

Option 2 didn't work for me but I no longer have a working Win10 Pro PC to
check, Win 8.1 Pro is working on what is temporarily my main PC and the
first install on my new build is doing its post install update, it look as
it it will run 8.1 OK which would be good.

Post by Philip Herlihy
Ultimately, though, if you persist in leaving important data in volatile memory
without saving it, something's going to spoil your day eventually.

Since my (then) new girl friend spent 3 hours typing a program into my Vic
20 while I was at work and on returning home I just ran it meaning she did
the same the following day (whereupon I saved it on the squeaky cassette
recorder before running it) I have never made that mistake again.

I do leave loads of programs all the time and the machines back up
overnight, perhaps I should write an app to keep a log of what's running :-)

[Philip Herlihy]

Post by Jeff Gaines
On 16/01/2024 in message

...

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Philip Herlihy
**I tracked down how I configured updates on my machine. Using Group Policy
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows
Update
There are a whole raft of options there. I've used the "Configure Automatic
Updates" setting 2 "Notify for download and Automatic Install" - that means
nothing starts until I trigger the download offered.

Presumably using gpedit.msc?

Yes.

...

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Philip Herlihy
Ultimately, though, if you persist in leaving important data in volatile memory
without saving it, something's going to spoil your day eventually.

Since my (then) new girl friend spent 3 hours typing a program into my Vic
20 while I was at work and on returning home I just ran it meaning she did
the same the following day (whereupon I saved it on the squeaky cassette
recorder before running it) I have never made that mistake again.
I do leave loads of programs all the time and the machines back up
overnight, perhaps I should write an app to keep a log of what's running :-)

As a student in the 80's I once spent all day from 9am to 6pm coding on the
departmental Commodore PET, until the lab technician flicked a switch and the
whole day's work was gone. I won't make that mistake again!

[Jeff Gaines]

I do think that PCs have been around so long now that many people have
forgotten what the "P" stands for. It's my PERSONAL computer and it needs
to work in a way that suits me not anybody else.

Your "PC" is just a node on the internet that we all use. If it becomes
infected with malware because you haven't updated it it can affect all of
us. It is no longer a strictly "Personal" device.
You have some responsibility to keep it safe for the rest of us, which you
can help to do by ensuring that it is updated in a timely fashion; whether
you do this by setting a delay on automatic updates and updating manually
at a time of your own choosing, or by letting the automated system work as
it pleases.

It may help if you actually read my OP before posting patronising bollocks.

I have always kept Windows up to date, my complaint is about the process
which has changed substantially, but you will discover that if you read
the thread.

[Daniel James]

It may help if you actually read my OP before posting patronising >
bollocks.

I *did* read your OP. You were talking about turning updates off
altogether ...

I'm sorry if you felt patronized. That wasn't my intention.

[GB]

There's an option:  "Set active hours to let us know when you
typically use this device. We won't automatically restart your
device  during this time."
What hours do you have this set to, and why are you surprised that
it does what it says on the tin, and automatically reboots during
the  hours you have said it should?

I haven't set it because the active hours of all my computers are
24/7/365 and that is not available.

You can set active hours for an 18 hour window, and it won't reboot
during those hours.
I apologise, because I originally thought you were looking for
practical help to avoid your PC becoming unstable before an important
court trial.

I didn't say that at all if you look at the OP.

"I had goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3
weeks and just cannot risk losing data. "

[Jeff Gaines]

There's an option:  "Set active hours to let us know when you typically
use this device. We won't automatically restart your device  during this
time."
What hours do you have this set to, and why are you surprised that it
does what it says on the tin, and automatically reboots during the 
hours you have said it should?

I haven't set it because the active hours of all my computers are
24/7/365 and that is not available.

You can set active hours for an 18 hour window, and it won't reboot
during those hours.
I apologise, because I originally thought you were looking for practical
help to avoid your PC becoming unstable before an important court trial.

I didn't say that at all if you look at the OP.

"I had goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3 weeks
and just cannot risk losing data. "

Sorry, I didn't realise you only read the first line of posts! Try reading
it all?

[GB]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by GB

There's an option:  "Set active hours to let us know when you
typically use this device. We won't automatically restart your
device  during this time."
What hours do you have this set to, and why are you surprised
that  it does what it says on the tin, and automatically reboots
during  the hours you have said it should?

I haven't set it because the active hours of all my computers are
24/7/365 and that is not available.

You can set active hours for an 18 hour window, and it won't reboot
during those hours.
I apologise, because I originally thought you were looking for
practical help to avoid your PC becoming unstable before an
important  court trial.

I didn't say that at all if you look at the OP.

"I had goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3
weeks and just cannot risk losing data. "

Sorry, I didn't realise you only read the first line of posts! Try
reading it all?

"Does anybody here have any suggestions, even a third party app (where
is Mike Linn when you need him?).

If not I will have ti turn off updates altogether, if that's even
possible. "


You've had lots of excellent suggestions that didn't involve turning off
updates. You have chosen a truly awful option, ie installing win 8.1,
which is no longer supported. So, there are no updates, and you didn't
need to turn them off.


"Windows 8.1 support ended on January 10, 2023
As a reminder, Windows 8.1 has reached end of support on January 10,
2023. At this point technical assistance and software updates will no
longer be provided. If you have devices running Windows 8.1, we
recommend upgrading them to a more current, in-service, and supported
Windows release. If devices do not meet the technical requirements to
run a more current release of Windows, we recommend that you replace the
device with one that supports Windows 11.

Microsoft will not be offering an Extended Security Update (ESU) program
for Windows 8.1. Continuing to use Windows 8.1 after January 10, 2023
may increase an organization’s exposure to security risks or impact its
ability to meet compliance obligations."

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines

I apologise, because I originally thought you were looking for practical
help to avoid your PC becoming unstable before an important  court
trial.

I didn't say that at all if you look at the OP.

"I had goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3 weeks
and just cannot risk losing data. "

Sorry, I didn't realise you only read the first line of posts! Try
reading it all?

"Does anybody here have any suggestions, even a third party app (where is
Mike Linn when you need him?).
If not I will have ti turn off updates altogether, if that's even
possible. "
You've had lots of excellent suggestions that didn't involve turning off
updates. You have chosen a truly awful option, ie installing win 8.1,
which is no longer supported. So, there are no updates, and you didn't
need to turn them off.

I haven't had a single suggestion that fits in with the way I work, not
through lack of effort but because that's how Win 10 works now.

"Windows 8.1 support ended on January 10, 2023

Then hopefully intrusive update won't be a problem.

[GB]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by GB

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by GB

I apologise, because I originally thought you were looking for
practical help to avoid your PC becoming unstable before an
important  court trial.

I didn't say that at all if you look at the OP.

"I had goodness knows how many files open, I have a court case in 3
weeks and just cannot risk losing data. "

Sorry, I didn't realise you only read the first line of posts! Try
reading it all?

"Does anybody here have any suggestions, even a third party app (where
is Mike Linn when you need him?).
If not I will have ti turn off updates altogether, if that's even
possible. "
You've had lots of excellent suggestions that didn't involve turning
off updates. You have chosen a truly awful option, ie installing win
8.1, which is no longer supported. So, there are no updates, and you
didn't need to turn them off.

I haven't had a single suggestion that fits in with the way I work, not
through lack of effort but because that's how Win 10 works now.

Post by GB
"Windows 8.1 support ended on January 10, 2023

Then hopefully intrusive update won't be a problem.

But, you are wide open to malware, so it clearly wasn't your intention
to make your system as stable as possible before the court case. You'd
have been far better off instal;ling linux, and that was one of the
suggested options.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by GB
"Windows 8.1 support ended on January 10, 2023

Then hopefully intrusive update won't be a problem.

But, you are wide open to malware, so it clearly wasn't your intention to
make your system as stable as possible before the court case. You'd have
been far better off instal;ling linux, and that was one of the suggested
options.

The objective, which I thought I had made clear, was to prevent Windows
from re-booting my PC without my permission, seems a reasonable objective.
However it is unobtainable on Win 10 at the level it is installed on my PCs.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines
If not I will have ti turn off updates altogether, if that's even possible.

Just to close this off I have re-installed Win 8.1 and transferred and
activated all the apps that needed it so I have what I need, even found an
old copy of Brave which I think I will stick with as somehow it manages to
hide its ad-blocker which extensions don't seem able to.

Happy and safe computing to all, I will do my best to meet my social
responsibilities to those who think I should :-)

[GB]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Jeff Gaines
If not I will have ti turn off updates altogether, if that's even possible.

Just to close this off I have re-installed Win 8.1 and transferred and
activated all the apps that needed it so I have what I need, even found
an old copy of Brave which I think I will stick with as somehow it
manages to hide its ad-blocker which extensions don't seem able to.
Happy and safe computing to all, I will do my best to meet my social
responsibilities to those who think I should  :-)

Is Win 8.1 still getting security updates? I thought those ended a year ago?