You're the idiot, if you didn't realize this would cause your computer to automatically restart.
I've been sick and had to abandon a huge amount of incomplete tasks, which manifested as several open tasks on my computer. There were multiple unsaved blocks of text pasted into instances of Notepad, multiple open browsers, etc.
Years ago, something flipped at Microsoft and they suddenly think it's OK to restart a computer for updates even if there are running tasks. This happened last night.
Rage.
[edit]
To the idiots:
-Having updates installed automatically WILL restart your computer without your permission if you leave it on long enough. THIS IS A FACT
-I said repeatedly that I *want* updates to be installed automatically (I have a good reason)
-I said "Install my updates automatically, plz."
-I did not say "Install my updates automatically and restart my computer when you feel like it."
See this, boys and girls?
Not true. AV use heuristics to determine if virus like activity is occurring. This helps to eliminate zero-day threats.
HOW. MANY. TIMES.
LEARN TO FUCKING READ!
There is a way to do what you want.
1 - DISABLE auto rebooting after updates install.
2 - CHANGE THE SETTINGS so that YOU choose when to install/reboot. If you are worried about your multi-tasking stuff then WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY BEFORE CLICKING INSTALL and then LOCKING YOUR SYSTEM.
GEE WAS THAT SO HARD??
Oh and his method doesn't force you to wait while they are installed. Are you insane? And THEN you say that your way of rebooting if you're done with working somehow DOESN'T interfere??? Wow...such a moron.
You're the idiot, if you didn't realize this would cause your computer to automatically restart.
The OP does have a point, though I think at this point ATOT is trolling the OP so hard, and he's gone batshit insane already, that nobody will agree with him even if they know 100% he is correct. A few people here get it. A computer should not restart without your approval when there is no way for an average user to know that the computer MAY restart.
Nobody here can deny that fact that NOWHERE in the Windows Update settings page does it say "The computer may automatically restart after updates are installed".
Numenorean, who appears to have gone just as batshit insane as the OP, hasn't acknowledged this fact, or the fact that gpedit does not exist in home editions of Windows.
Also, having any kind of unsaved work only stored in the computer's RAM is a terrible idea. I always assume that if I leave my computer it might reboot before I come back (even though I turned off automatic updates), so I save my work. The first thing you do when you create your todo_list.txt or whatever, is save that shit, even if it's blank, and then save it each time you update it, sucka.
Had the power gone out you'd be bitching at the power company. It's ultimately YOUR fault, sucka!
Many updates are not installed until the machine is rebooted.
If you want them automatically installed, it will reboot.
If you don't want them installed automatically, don't select that option.
It may be "duh" to you but apparently it was lost upon the OP. And it doesn't matter if it says it or not unless it's the OPs first time using a Windows PC, which it is not. This is nothing new whatsoever.Duh?
Way to ignore my entire point that NOWHERE IN THE WINDOWS UPDATE SETTINGS PAGE DOES IT STATE THE COMPUTER MAY REBOOT.
Should I bold that too? Will it help the point sink in?
Whoosh.
I'm saying you can delay all you want, it WILL eventually stop reminding you and just do it. I don't recall if it's at midnight, or 3AM...but I've actually witnessed it.
You have to do the tweak Numenorean mentioned to prevent this.
I can understand if this was part of a corporate domain where the security of the entire network could hinge on one computer, but it's not OK for a personal computer to do this.
There is no lesson to learn here. I was operating at the limits of my ability. I was severely stricken, you see. I ended up being stuck away from home for days. I'd occasionally gain enough consciousnesss to try and remote-in...then pass out or forget what I was doing.
Nobody here can deny that fact that NOWHERE in the Windows Update settings page does it say "The computer may automatically restart after updates are installed".
I WANT AUTOMATIC UPDATES.
When an update requires a restart, I want it to ASK me...not WARN me. It used to work this way for a reason. Why Microsoft changed this is inexplicable.
You still have no option of keeping it from automatically restarting at some point once that pops up. You better set your alarm clock if that pops up at bedtime and you have a task that needs to run overnight. A simple of drop down option of "do not restart automatically" while still giving the reminder periodically would solve the problem.
And I can't believe how much hate there is in this thread. It's fucking worse than P&N.
You're the idiot, if you didn't realize this would cause your computer to automatically restart.
Should I bold that too? Will it help the point sink in?
that's more threat protection than av, but is typically bundled into the same product now days.
I kept passing out from exhaustion.
It may be "duh" to you but apparently it was lost upon the OP. And it doesn't matter if it says it or not unless it's the OPs first time using a Windows PC, which it is not. This is nothing new whatsoever.
OP wants them downloaded automatically, not installed. Installed = rebooted if needed.