Today we will see how to prevent Windows 10 and other versions from restarting automatically after installing an update. While other Windows versions require the user to decide when updates are installed, Windows 10 works with an “auto-pilot”, taking control of the decisions regarding updates.
Sometimes we will have a Windows 10 server and the never need to restart it since it will be offering a 24/7 service. What we’ll do is modify a scheduled task so that Windows 10 never reboots.
ATTENTION!
Remember that if you decide to do this, you will take control of the reboots and therefore you will be responsible for the correct installation of the updates. Having an updated server with the latest security versions is important for the proper functioning of the server.
Disable restarts on Windows 10
The first thing we do is press “Windows + R” keys and a window will open where we will write the following on the box:
control schedtasks
Press Enter and the Task Scheduler will open:
Once the Task Scheduler is open, from the left column, open the following task: Task Scheduler (local)>Task Scheduler Library>Microsoft> Windows>UpdateOrchestrator:
From the central panel, you can see the different scheduled tasks. On the right, click on the "Reboot" task and choose "Disable":
Now close the Task Scheduler, open the File Explorer and open the following folder:
C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows\UpdateOrchestrator
To access the Tasks folder, you'll probably get a prompt to grant permission, click on "Continue". Once inside the UpdateOrchestrator folder, rename the Reboot file to Reboot.back but first it's necessary to add the administrator user full control to be able to edit it.
Go to the following path
C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows
and look for the folder UpdateOrchestrator. Right click on it and click Properties > Security > Advanced
Edit the owner by clicking "Change":
Once you've clicked on "Change", another window will pop up, click advanced > find now
Find the administrator user, select it (not the group), apply the changes and close the advanced security settings:
Then, in the security TAB, edit permissions for administrators, and allow full control by applying it.
Some warning errors will pop up, press "Continue", close the window and verify that the changes have been applied. It should look like this:
Then, you can rename the Reboot file to Reboot.back by right clicking on it in the rename option:
Now, create a directory named Reboot and leave it empty:
Finally, restart the system for the changes to take effect. From now on, Windows will not restart your computer after installing updates. However, you'll need to keep an eye out for updates that are pending a reboot to complete.
Disable updates in Windows 2012 R2
If you want to do the same in Windows 2012, the process is a very different one. It has to be done by gpedit.msc, once opened, you have to go to Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components> Windows Update and you have to modify the Configure Automatic Updates directive and set it to Disabled. Then you have to open a CMD as an administrator and run gpupdate / force. And when you return to the updates section, it already appears as deactivated: