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ContactI Guess I Needed to Reboot Anyway . . .
I wrote a while back about something I called "presumptuous computing."
This morning, again, I found that two of my computers had rebooted themselves after Windows (XP) updates. I like automatic updates (and, frankly, updates are an essential part of basic computer security), but the automatic reboots, especially on mornings when you've left a lot of programs open the night before to get off to a fast start, are a definite downside.
The good news was that Outlook did not treat this exit as an improper exit. I've also grown to like the "restore" feature of Firefox.
The ongoing performance issues I've today on one of my computers, however, have not been what I would have hoped to see. I'll be doing some research to see if there's a way to block the automatic reboots and limit reboots after updates to manual ones. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd enjoy hearing them.
[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]
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Technorati tags: legal technology updates presumptuous computing
Comments
Lifehacker.com posted an item on how to stop the automatice reboot:
http://lifehacker.com/software/windows/disable-windows-update-restart-nag-289998.php
Posted by: Doug Cornelius | August 16, 2007 08:19 AM
About three items below yours in my RSS cue this morning was the following:
http://lifehacker.com/software/windows/disable-windows-update-restart-nag-289998.php
Hope it helps.
Posted by: Craig A. Wilson | August 16, 2007 09:30 AM
Hi Mr. Kennedy,
I think you can go to the Control Panel, then choose the Security Center option and click on the Automatic Updates icon under the text "Manage security settings for..."
(see
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wscintro.mspx)
Then choose the "Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them" option. I think that XP will then automatically download updates for you, but you will get to choose when to install them, and thus when to restart your computer...
(also see the "Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them" section at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306525)
Posted by: S.S., LTRC | August 16, 2007 11:30 AM
Dennis,
Microsoft has published instructions on how to disable to automatic reboot in the Windows registry.
It can be found at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555444
It is a matter of changing on character in the proper line of the registry. As with any alterations to the registry, you'll want to back up your current registry before you begin.
The "auto-restart" is one of my pet peeves as well. Good luck!
Posted by: Kurt Harzke | August 17, 2007 10:51 AM
Here you go, Mr. Kennedy:
http://www.desi-tek.org/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t849.html
Posted by: Greg Kern | August 17, 2007 11:58 AM