Windows Update

[Pat O]

Windows update ran last night while I was running an experiment, and restarted the computer while LabVIEW was running. If you run overnight experiments with LabVIEW, you may want to consider this. I found some instructions for how to disable automatic restart on XP

http://www.aviransplace.com/2004/12/18/tip-disable-auto-restart-in-windows-update/

Here's the skinny:

Windows XP Pro users can tell Windows never to restart the computer automatically. In order to do that follow these steps.

• In the
  Start Menu
  go to
  Run
  type “
  gpedit.msc
  ” and press
  Enter
• Now a Group Policy editor will open. In this window navigate to:
  Computer Configuration -> Administrative Template -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
• Double click on
  No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations
• In the settings window Choose
  Enabled
  and click
  OK
• Close Group Policy Editor

Hope this helps someone else! Or if there are other/better suggestions for keeping Windows Update at bay, I'd love to hear them.

Pat

[PaulG.]

A good reason to get your updates manually.

[Gary Rubin]

Windows update ran last night while I was running an experiment, and restarted the computer while LabVIEW was running.

I hate when that happens!

[smenjoulet]

Windows XP Pro users can tell Windows never to restart the computer automatically. In order to do that follow these steps.

• In the
  Start Menu
  go to
  Run
  type “
  gpedit.msc
  ” and press
  Enter
• Now a Group Policy editor will open. In this window navigate to:
  Computer Configuration -> Administrative Template -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
• Double click on
  No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations
• In the settings window Choose
  Enabled
  and click
  OK
• Close Group Policy Editor

Good Advice! However, if you work in a large organization with a separate IT department, they will probably govern when updates happen through other means (Microsoft SMS or internal mechanisms), and not Windows Update. In fact, they probably disable Windows Update.

You'll need to work with IT to find out what mechanisms they use and to get your Lab systems exempted from automatic updates and get them done manually. Or if they still push they updates, at least find out how to delay or disable the automatic restart.

-Scott

[Daklu]

Windows update ran last night while I was running an experiment, and restarted the computer while LabVIEW was running.

FYI, that happens to people inside Microsoft too. (And it ticks them off just as much.)

[ShaunR]

Windows update ran last night while I was running an experiment, and restarted the computer while LabVIEW was running. If you run overnight experiments with LabVIEW, you may want to consider this. I found some instructions for how to disable automatic restart on XP

http://www.aviranspl...windows-update/

Here's the skinny:

Windows XP Pro users can tell Windows never to restart the computer automatically. In order to do that follow these steps.

• In the
  Start Menu
  go to
  Run
  type “
  gpedit.msc
  ” and press
  Enter
• Now a Group Policy editor will open. In this window navigate to:
  Computer Configuration -> Administrative Template -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
• Double click on
  No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations
• In the settings window Choose
  Enabled
  and click
  OK
• Close Group Policy Editor

Hope this helps someone else! Or if there are other/better suggestions for keeping Windows Update at bay, I'd love to hear them.

Pat

You can also pull the network plug out while your running tests

[jzoller]

I once worked at a place where IT insisted that the testers couldn't be on a separate sub-network: they had to be on the main network.

This worked ok until they found a set of computers on the network that didn't have antivirus, and didn't have the latest updates. Of course, they immediately pushed it out to all of them, and went home happy in the knowledge that their network was secure.

It took a couple hours to figure out why the Windows-based, $80k+ scopes all stopped working on the same day...

Joe Z.

[hooovahh]

My method of preventing unwanted restarts? Don't install windows updates unless I don't mind the random restart. Basically I won't install updates until I'm not work, and by that I mean I'm at home, or on lunch.

I have the same practices at home, I see that little yellow thing in my system tray but I'm not going to install any updates until I'm good and ready. I realize this could leave me at a security risk for the few days possibly weeks that I don't update but it's either that or roll the dice on when my computer may restart.

I love it when you're doing a presentation and the little dialog comes up saying "Restart Now or Restart Later?" and the progress bar starts moving towards restart now so you hit later, just to wait a few minutes and have it pop up again, and again, and again, and again. Only happened to me once while in a college class so it wasn't like in front of a customer or any thing.

[zobert]

Microsoft releases new Windows Updates (unless serious security risk) Second Tuesday of the month.

Also a reason to save work before leaving at the end of the day.

Worked out with our IT staff to have a seperate GP for our development and production machines to notify that updates are available so we can ensure systems are in a safe condition when updates are applied.

Just remember other programs can do the same, seen with many AV products as well as with most other apps that default to check for updates.

[bmoyer]

Here's what I do to turn off those annoying restart warnings that keep popping up. I have a .bat file to turn off the Windows Update service (temporarily). I have to remember to either enable the service or restart manually but it prevents the computer from restarting when I don't want it to. The settings are automatically controlled by IT at login so I don't have the ability to turn off the setting using gpedit.msc.

I have a .bat file called "Disable Windows Update.bat" and another called "Enable Windows Update.bat".

Each is just a 1 line text file with the .bat extension. The "Disable Windows Update.bat" file has this line:

net stop wuauserv

and the "Enable Windows Update.bat" file has this line:

net start wuauserv

Bruce