Windows 7 Tutorial

Prevent Windows 7 from automatically installing Windows Updates

As you learned in previous tutorials, Windows 7 comes with fully automatic system protection by having Windows Updates configured by default to not only check for new updates and patches, but to also download them and automatically install them on your computer. This is the safest option, but has a major drawback: if one of the updates being installed requires a system reboot (requires that you restart your PC, in other words), your computer will restart by itself after a certain period of warning - all your open windows will be closed, and any unsaved work will be lost for the most part. And this is typically the case at least once a month, when Microsoft releases a batch of security updates.

 

Configure Windows Updates not to automatically install updates

This is what you need to do to stay safe but avoid having Windows Updates do "too much":

Note: this Windows Updates setting is only safe if someone is regularly using this particular computer, and makes sure that no updates are left uninstalled for long periods of time.

Don't worry if you are not in front of the computer at the exact moment Windows 7 finds and downloads new updates for your PC: you will miss the visual notification, but you will still see the "Windows Updates" icon displayed in the taskbar, next to the system clock. Just double-click on it, and you will see what updates are available to install.

up ↑
Copyright © 2016 Windows 7 Tutorial. All rights reserved — Sitemap | Disclaimer | Feedback