Windows updates are a good thing, right? Yes, Windows updates provide the latest security patches and updates to your Windows operating system, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and other associated Windows support programs.
But, what if your Windows updates keeps crashing your system? Or caused the blue screen of death (BSOD)? Sometimes, a failing hard drive could prevent Windows updates from running, in turn, crashing or freezing your computer. I don’t recommend turning off Windows updates, but if you have an old computer that’s misbehaving and you just want to get a few more miles out of it until you buy a new one, well, that’s a rational reason to turn off Windows updates. Another reason is if you run video, rendering, backups, or other programs that cannot have Windows updates running in the background or restarting your computer.
Okay, let’s get to how you can turn off your Windows updates:
- In Windows 7 / Vista, go to: Start->All Programs->Windows Update. For Windows XP, right-click My Computer and select Automatic Updates tab.
- Then, you can select turn off Automatic updates.
There are 3 other choices you can make. You can leave it at Automatic; Download updates for me; or Notify me but don’t do anything automatic. If you want to install Windows updates, but want to determine when to install it, the Download updates for me is right choice for you. That’s a good selection for server support since you never want the server to restart on its own after an update without notifying the whole computer network of users.
Notify me but don’t do anything automatic is a bit silly. It lets you know when an update is available and you download and install it when it’s good for you. You might as well just turn off Automatic updates if you go down that route.