Windows updates not installing when shut down

Having problems with Windows updates installing on my 8.1 computer. Sometimes they install as they should; other times they don’t. For instance, last week I checked under System and Security in the Control Panel to see if there were any available updates, and there were 19 important ones. I have it set to install automatically, but they weren’t doing so. I had been on the computer for a couple of hours one evening, and when I shut down (expecting them to install then), nothing happened. The next night, I turned the computer on and just left it idle for about a half hour, turned it off, and again, nothing. I finally installed them manually.

The next day I called Microsoft for help. The tech ran the troubleshooter with the following results which were fixed: 1) Potential Windows Update Database error detected 0x80070490 and 2) Windows Update Components must be repaired. He also went to the Local Services window to Windows Update, properties, and changed the Startup Type from manual to automatic.

Just a moment ago, I went back to the Local Services window because I wanted to change the Startup Type setting from automatic to automatic-delayed start. When I scrolled down to Windows Update, I noticed that it didn’t say it was running. I right clicked on it, went to properties, and saw that I needed to click on Start. I’m really confused about this. I went back to the Control Panel and saw that updates had been searched for a few hours earlier, even though it wasn’t running according to Local Services. So, my question is whether Windows Update only shows as running on the Local Services page when actually doing so, or should it always say running even when not actually checking for updates? Also, what is the correct setting for the Startup Type—manual, automatic, or automatic-delayed start? Thanks for any help anyone can give to this «techconfused» person.

Windows 10: install updates and shutdown.

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Welcome to Microsoft Community and thank you for your interest in Windows 10.

I will definitely assist you with the issue.

Based on the description, please be informed that you can scheduled restart. Kindly follow the below steps to reschedule the restart after downloading the updates.

Open the Start menu and type Windows update in the search bar.

Click on Windows update.

Click on Advanced options under Windows updates.

Select the Notifies to scheduled restart form drop down menu under the Choose how update are installed.

You will be prompted to scheduled restart when to install the updates after the updates are downloaded.

Hope this helps. If you need further assistance with Windows, let us know and will be glad to help.

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Exactly.
As it stands right now, you can schedule a restart, but if your computer is already turned off, then nothing happens. So there is effectively no way to install updates at a time that doesn’t impact usage.
If I try to install the updates before I leave work at night, I have to wait for them to install and then either interrupt the power on (as described above), or wait who knows how long and then shut it back down after the updates have finished installing.
I don’t want to have to leave my computer running all night whenever there’s a Windows update, or be forced to sit by it and wait patiently so that I can turn it off after the updates have applied. Especially considering there’s no way of knowing in advance how long a particular round of updates will take to apply.

What’s the point of scheduling installs for times when you’re not likely to use your computer if you have to set alarm with yourself to make sure the PC is on (and not sleeping) at the appropriate time for the update? That makes no sense at all.

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Computer Shuts Down During Windows 10 Upgrade

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Power down computer.

Wait 10 minutes.

Setup will automatically restore your previous Windows 10 build or previous version of Windows.

Launch command prompt with administrator privileges.

Press Windows key + X

Click Command Prompt (Admin)

Type the following command:

rundll32.exe pnpclean.dll,RunDLL_PnpClean /DRIVERS /MAXCLEAN

Hit Enter on your keyboard

Exit command prompt

• Disable (preferrably uninstall) your Antivirus utility before attempting the upgrade.
• Restart a few times and try again.
• Disable General USB Devices (example — Smart Card Reader).
• If you are using a SCSI hard disk, make sure you have drivers available for your storage device on a thumdrive and it is connected. During Windows 10 setup, click the Custom Advanced Option and use the Load Driver command to load the appropriate driver for the SCSI drive. If this does not work and setup still fails, consider switching to a IDE based hard disk.
• Do a clean boot and try again.
• If you are upgrading using the .ISO file, disconnect from the Internet during setup, if you are connected by LAN (Ethernet) or Wi-Fi, disable both and attempt setup again.
• If you are updating through Windows Update, when the download reaches 100% disconnect from the Internet LAN (Ethernet) or Wi-Fi and proceed with the installation.
• If that does not work, try using the .ISO file to upgrade if possible.
• If you are connected to a domain, switch to a local account
• If you have any external devices attached to the machine, disconnect them (example, gaming controllers, USB keys, external hard disk, printers, non-essential devices).

Click HERE to download official ISO media for Windows 10 from Microsoft.

Windows installing updates on shut down

I want to give the users the option to:

Shutdown or Shutdown and install updates.

Ive messed around with the two GPOs Do Not display shut down and install updates option, and the other display as default option.

None of that makes a difference

Perhaps you could expand on what you mean by it doesn’t make a difference?

I suspect the issue here may be that you’re setting the policies to ENABLED, but failing to note that the policy is written in the negative. When you enable a policy that says «Do not. «, then you are, in effect, removing the capability from the system.

From the GPO setting description:

This policy setting allows you to manage whether the ‘Install Updates and Shut Down’ option is displayed in the Shut Down Windows dialog box. If you enable this policy setting, ‘Install Updates and Shut Down’ will not appear as a choice in the Shut Down Windows dialog box, even if updates are available for installation when the user selects the Shut Down option in the Start menu. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, the ‘Install Updates and Shut Down’ option will be available in the Shut Down Windows dialog box if updates are available when the user selects the Shut Down option in the Start menu.

These policy settings are also documented in the WSUS Deployment Guide in the section Configure Automatic Updates Using Group Policy

Do not display “Install Updates and Shut Down” option in Shut Down Windows dialog box

Allows you to manage whether the “Install Updates and Shut Down” option is displayed in the Shut Down Windows dialog box. You can set this option in the Computer Configuration and User Configuration areas of GPMC. The available setting options offer the following results:

Enabled

“Install Updates and Shut Down” does not appear in the Shut Down Windows dialog box, even if updates are available for installation when the user selects the Shut Down option in the Start menu.

Disabled

The “Install Updates and Shut Down” option is available in the Shut Down Windows dialog box if updates are available when the user selects the Shut Down option in the Start menu.

Not Configured

The “Install Updates and Shut Down” option is available in the Shut Down Windows dialog box if updates are available when the user selects the Shut Down option in the Start menu. A local administrator can change this setting by using local policy.

With Windows 10 how can I shut down without installing updates?

With Windows 7 it was possible to use the task manager screen to shut down without applying updates (see How to shut down the computer without the update on Windows 7? ). But that did not work for me on Windows 10.

How can I shut down Windows 10 without installing updates. I might want this because:

• I need to shut down or reboot quickly
• The computer is acting funny and that’s why I need to reboot (yeah, it’s still Windows), and I don’t trust running updates at that time. No point in making a bad problem worse.

My Window 10 shutdown menu reads:

• Sleep
• Update and shut down
• Update and restart

The old Windows 7/8 trick does not work. New versions of Windows 10 have altered previous workarounds. Microsoft has lots of feedback on the topic, but has not taken action. See for example:

Or search «Allow users to defer updates: on shutdown and on startup.» in the Microsoft Feedback Hub (search for «Feedback Hub» in Windows 10).

7 Answers 7

Edit: This solution is deprecated for current versions of Win 10. See other answers for possible solutions.

I had the same problem — @TNALLY almost had it.

• Power Options -> Choose what the power buttons do
• set option to shutdown
• press power button once — hurray: shutdown without updates

Okay, so right after I posted the below Original Answer content, I actually ran the same script on my Windows 10 machine, and guess what. Windows Updates started to install anyway.

It seems that Microsoft has made some changes with Windows 10 to ensure security updates get installed on the OS to patch security vulnerabilities, and rightfully so in the name of security.

It seems what you are asking for Windows 10 may not have a 100% for sure method to completeas you requested exactly without disabling Windows Updates altogether.

If a Windows update already installed (or is installing) while you are logged in behind the scenes prior to the forceful reboot, and even after stopping Windows Update services, etc. Windows 10 seems smart enough to still wait for any pending updates or perhaps rollback whatever changed that wasn’t 100% committed to the system before power cycling the OS.

Dangerous Workaround

I suppose you could simply hard boot your machine by disconnecting the power source, holding down the power button, etc. but this would essentially emulate an unexpected power outage and you will have potential for corruption of the file system and so on.

Halfway Workarounds

I found a couple other sources I wanted to post for potential halfway or workaround methods to maybe help with some non-security updates or for better controlling when to allow updates to even be downloaded—it won’t have anything to install if there is nothing downloaded.

Option 2: Setup A Metered Connection

Windows 10 offers users on metered connections a compromise: to save bandwidth Microsoft confirms the operating system will only automatically download and install updates it classifies as ‘Priority’.

While Microsoft doesn’t reveal its method of classification, this does cut down more frivolous updates which typically include new drivers and software features – both of which have already caused stability problems.

1. Open the Settings app (Win + I)
2. Open the ‘Network & Internet’ section
3. Open ‘Wi-Fi’ and click ‘Advanced Options’
4. Toggle ‘Set as metered connection’ to ‘On’

Note: If your PC uses an Ethernet cable to connect to the Internet the Metered Connection option will be disabled as it works with Wi-Fi connections only (silly I know).

Option 3: Group Policy Editor

This is a halfway house: the group policy editor will notify you about new updates without automatically installing them (how previous generations of Windows always worked) – though again security updates will still install automatically.

Note: Windows 10 Home users have to sit this one out, it is only for Windows 10 Education, Pro and Enterprise editions.

1. Open the Run command (Win + R), in it type: gpedit.msc and press enter
2. Navigate to: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
3. Open this and change the Configure Automatic Updates setting to ‘2 – Notify for download and notify for install’
4. Open the Settings app (Win + I) and navigate to -> Update and Security -> Windows Updates. Click ‘Check for updates’ which applies the new configuration setting
5. Restart

Important

As stated here in the Stop Windows 10 from automatically updating your PC post, I think it is important to know that, «As a general rule, an up-to-date operating system is a secure operating system. Windows 10 automatically checks for, downloads and installs new updates to your PC — whether you like it or not. This new feature is actually pretty convenient for most users, but not everyone wants their operating system updated on Microsoft’s schedule.» _source

_{Surge Protection and Power Outages}

_{To protect yourself from an unexpected power outage or electrical surge, you should consider UPS battery backups and surge protection. If your PC is powered on or plugged into an electrical receptacle and you are not present when one of these situations occur, or are more likely to occur (e.g. thunderstorm) you can proactively protect your system at this level regardless. Additionally, for critical data in your system, consider performing routine backups accordingly elsewhere off this machine such as external media, secure remote cloud backup, etc.}

Original Answer

For a quick and not so clean way to do this, you could kill any running or applicable Windows services related to Windows Updates, and then perform the forceful restart.

Save the Batch Script logic in the example below to a text document and rename it to .cmd to your desktop. Be sure to right-click it and select run as administrator when you need to perform this as you explain in instances where you are available to do so.

Batch Script

Further Resources

Update: this way no longer works.

Best way I’ve found is hit «Windows-R» to bring up a command prompt, then type «shutdown -r -t 5» to give 5 seconds warning then shut down.

Options for that command include:

In Windows 8 one could add the following registry key:

An (untested) idea is to clean out the downloaded updates, so forcing Windows to re-download, for which it won’t have time if we do an immediate shut down.

Here is a .bat file that in theory should clean out Windows Updates. It was adapted from the article by Shawn Brink : How to Reset Windows Update in Windows 10.

The methods listed below seem to have been removed in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

Press Alt + F4 to access the Shut Down Windows dialog box and select “Shut down” from the drop-down list.

Press Windows + L to lock the screen, or log out. In the lower-right corner of the login screen, click the power button and select “Shut down” from the popup menu.

Run the following command : shutdown -s -t 0

There is a way out, but you are basically going to have to crash the system to force an instant shutdown.

Laptops with non-removable batteries and ultra-fast Solid State Drives can be quite annoying because the system will go to sleep very rapidly if you press the power button, rather than turning off.

• Choose Restart or Shutdown (doesn’t matter) and wait for it to say, «Preparing to install updates»
• Press power button. Laptop goes to sleep in a matter of seconds, but isn’t fully turned off.
• Press power button twice very quickly, and on the second press, keep holding it down.
• The first press brings the system out of sleep. Windows 10 will quickly resume, but before it can re-initiate sleep, holding the power button for about 5 seconds will force power off regardless of what Windows is doing.
• System is now turned off completely.
• The next time you turn on the system, Windows 10 will silently clean up the mess on startup, and not tell you anything.

I occasionally need to do this override when doing mobile device drive imaging. There is no point whatsoever waiting out a long forced update process, if I am just going to be wiping the drive anyway and applying a new preconfigured system image.

I don’t trust running updates at that time. No point in making a bad problem worse.

This is the core of the problem here. In order to use Windows in a home environment, you need to either get past this, or purchase a server license and install a WSUS server on your network so that you can control which updates are pushed (I didn’t say it was a cheap option, but it is a workable solution), or switch to a new OS. This is the direction MS is going.

Personally, I hated the loss of control, but then I really thought about it. Forced updates are the only way to ensure that most workstations are secure. As a whole, people don’t do it right by themselves. In the past I opted for ‘download updates and alert me’. When was the last time I elected not to install a security update? Never. When was the last time a security update broke my computer? Again, never. When was the last time I waited days or even weeks to install an update. Almost every time. And I’m a sysadmin who works in a security conscious environment. (The experiences I mention are on my home machines). In my defense, I often go days without using a computer at home. But now all of them, mine and those for my family, are autoupdated. No problem in over a year.

I believe you can still control how optional updates install. I have started autoinstalling security and bugfix updates. If it breaks, I will join the hue and cry, but my Win 10 systems are my home systems, and they’re not critical. Systems at work are managed through Enterprise methods like SCCM or WSUS in some cases.

As for preventing an update that is downloaded and queued for install on reboot, the methods which speak to clearing out the downloaded updates are the only way I know.