A brief Windows 10 PSA.
Aug. 10th, 2016 11:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theweaselkingIf you've gotten the "anniversary update" of Windows 10, you have probably already noticed that it wasn't just an "update", it was a clean install of a new copy of the OS and then an import of your settings and profile. Which means annoying things like the default MS apps (Edge, Explorer, Store) are re-pinned to start menu, the crappy MS programs for music and things have reset their defaults, your privacy settings have been eBayed unless you were careful during the update, etc.
All that's fine. It's annoying, but not actively harmful.
Actively harmful: The option to "notify me when a restart is required to install updates" has been REMOVED. Now there's no setting in the Windows Update options to avoid automatic reboots when it "thinks" you aren't using your computer, and you can only specify a 12 hour window of "never reboot during this time"
The good news is, there's a solution to that, hiding in Local Group Policy (Win10 Pro) or the Registry (Win10 Home).
If you've got Win10 Pro:
1) click start, type "gpedit.msc", press enter. Make the window fullscreen, you will need the room.
2) On the left, navigate to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update.
3) On the right, locate "No auto-restart with logged-on users for scheduled automatic updates installations" and double-click it.
4) Change the radio button from "not configured" to "enabled". Click OK.
5) Close the Local Group Policy Editor window.
Now, the machine will no longer reboot as long as a user is logged in. If all the users are logged out, it'll still reboot automatically but that's generally much less of a problem.
(OPTIONAL: in that same location from Step 2, choose "Configure Automatic Updates", click Enabled, choose option 3. This reverts to the Win7 default behaviour of "notify me before installing updates", which is good for updates that require a reboot to install and BAD for updates that don't require a reboot. If you set this option, you need to watch for update notifications and deal with them in a timely manner. You can't afford to ignore them.)
If you've got Win10 Home: Fucked if I know, it's in the registry somewhere. I'm 100% sure it's there, and I'm also 100% sure I don't know where it is. I'll go digging to see if I can find the setting, later, and I'll update this post if I do.
EDIT: It *looks like* the right solution for Win10 home is: Start -> "regedit" -> Enter. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate
If there's an "AU" subkey, click on it. If there isn't, right-click on "WindowsUpdate", choose "new->key" and name it AU. Inside AU, right-click and choose "New->DWORD Value", name it "AUOptions" and set its value to "3". Close regedit and reboot. This is the same as that step marked OPTIONAL up above for Pro users - if there's a registry equivalent to "No auto-restart with logged-on users" I haven't found it, but this should also get around the problem.
All that's fine. It's annoying, but not actively harmful.
Actively harmful: The option to "notify me when a restart is required to install updates" has been REMOVED. Now there's no setting in the Windows Update options to avoid automatic reboots when it "thinks" you aren't using your computer, and you can only specify a 12 hour window of "never reboot during this time"
The good news is, there's a solution to that, hiding in Local Group Policy (Win10 Pro) or the Registry (Win10 Home).
If you've got Win10 Pro:
1) click start, type "gpedit.msc", press enter. Make the window fullscreen, you will need the room.
2) On the left, navigate to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update.
3) On the right, locate "No auto-restart with logged-on users for scheduled automatic updates installations" and double-click it.
4) Change the radio button from "not configured" to "enabled". Click OK.
5) Close the Local Group Policy Editor window.
Now, the machine will no longer reboot as long as a user is logged in. If all the users are logged out, it'll still reboot automatically but that's generally much less of a problem.
(OPTIONAL: in that same location from Step 2, choose "Configure Automatic Updates", click Enabled, choose option 3. This reverts to the Win7 default behaviour of "notify me before installing updates", which is good for updates that require a reboot to install and BAD for updates that don't require a reboot. If you set this option, you need to watch for update notifications and deal with them in a timely manner. You can't afford to ignore them.)
If you've got Win10 Home: Fucked if I know, it's in the registry somewhere. I'm 100% sure it's there, and I'm also 100% sure I don't know where it is. I'll go digging to see if I can find the setting, later, and I'll update this post if I do.
EDIT: It *looks like* the right solution for Win10 home is: Start -> "regedit" -> Enter. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate
If there's an "AU" subkey, click on it. If there isn't, right-click on "WindowsUpdate", choose "new->key" and name it AU. Inside AU, right-click and choose "New->DWORD Value", name it "AUOptions" and set its value to "3". Close regedit and reboot. This is the same as that step marked OPTIONAL up above for Pro users - if there's a registry equivalent to "No auto-restart with logged-on users" I haven't found it, but this should also get around the problem.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-13 07:38 pm (UTC)I wouldn't need this if the active hour window was 18 hours instead of 12.