This week, Microsoft released yet another update to Windows XP. While I recommend to my parents and others that they configure Windows updates to happen automatically and in the middle of the night, I don’t practice what I preach and I apply each manually with the “Custom Installation” button when the update systray icon says that there is an update available (I’m just not comfortable with stuff getting installed automatically no matter which company it is from). Usually, after an update is finished, the system has to reboot, so I close all my stuff and bounce it. But sometimes, like this week, I’ve got a massive pile of windows open and a whole bunch of ongoing projects that I’m just not ready to close up and put on hold while I reboot. This week I’ve got 30 windows open, I’ve had them open all week, and I probably won’t be ready to close most of them until sometime over the weekend. But that stupid little automatic update icon keeps popping up saying that I’ve got to reboot, and it keeps nagging me what seems like every five minutes (but it might actually be 15 or 30, I don’t know). Anyway, I’ve seen articles before on how to permanently disable that notification, but honestly, I want to keep it around cause I’m somewhat forgetful and being reminded that I need to reboot is a good thing. What I need is a way to disable it temporarily, while I’m working on my projects, but not permanently. In steps The Howto Geek, with this handy little article on exactly how to do just that. Nice work Howto Geek!
Temporarily Disable “Restart Now” Dialog from XP’s Automatic Updates
Note, I probably could have figured this out myself, if I wasn’t so busy with my 30 windows and other projects.
