This post was published 4 years 3 months 1 day ago. So some of the links may be broken and the content may not be applicable any more.I never get tired of finding ways to prevent the auto update from preventing me from using the computer the way I want it or to rant about the poor user experience!
Picture this:
As a good user, I keep Auto-updates on, and once it has finished downloading the updates, I would be nagged ever so often whether I want to restart or not! And, this dialog makes its presence felt at the most appropriate times like when presenting to a group of senior managers.
Or, when you use an application which makes use of the Shortcut key "Alt+N." You wouldn’t even notice and suddenly all the apps are closing, as if the machine is going for a shutdown. What has happened is the "modal" dialog popped up, waiting for you to press Alt N or Alt L and you pressed Alt+N at the right moment, and now you are being blessed with lost work, lost browser sessions. How about this happening when you are in them midst of a credit-card transaction, say purchasing a ticket, in which you are expected to take a print of the last screen to the airport!
The other nag with this feature is the delay it introduces when shutting down the system.
I have made this a habit to notice the Turn computer off dialog.
If I find the dialog size is larger than usual, then it’s time to prevent a time sink and Stop the automatic update service.
From a command prompt
type in either
net stop "Automatic Updates"
or
sc stop wuauserv
And, with that out of the way, I can get on with my life, until I boot the computer next time 
Related posts: