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How NOT to do "automatic updates" on WinXP...

Easily the most infuriating part of any Windows user's week, is the bit where you go out for lunch, with some work half done - and come back to find that Someone In Seattle has decided to close the PC down and restart it. And there are ways of fixing this. Trouble is, each "fix" can cause new problems.

For some time now, I've been able to maintain my reputation amongst my relatives and neighbours as "someone who knows about computers" by advising them on how to configure automatic updates so that this doesn't happen. It's simple enough (see below) but the problem is that you end up with nagware on your screen.

Easy fix: go to My Computer, and right-click to bring up "properties". Pick the tab at the top which says "automatic updates". Click on "Download updates for me, but let me choose!"

Problem fixed!

So, when you set it this way, you will eventually get an update. You will say "install now" at a time you choose. And when it's finished... ah, yes. That's where it all goes pear-shaped.

You say "close" to the box below...

and after you say "Close" the window goes away. But ten minutes later, it's back. And ten minutes later it's back again.

The cure for that (it turns out) is beautifully simple. On XP Pro, anyway, you run a program called gpedit.msc and up pops a really comprehensive restart management system.

I got this from a good friend, who talked me through it. 

"Navigate through these steps," he said:

Then set "Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations" to "enabled" and
put in a long time in minutes 1440 = 24 hours...

So I did. And it worked, I'll give him that.

What I didn't realise is that this sequence does EXACTLY what I wanted, but also, resets Automatic Updates to the default. Which is "Automatic."

Thus it was that this morning, I returned to my office to find the dreaded Windows message: an update required an automatic restart. Everything I had open, therefore, was closed. And when I went to "configure automatic updates" in My Computer Properties, sure enough: it was no longer set for

"Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them"

No; it was back to "Automatic (recommended) - download updates, and install them."