Howto: Disable reboot my PC nagging from Windows Update

One of the good things about Microsoft's Windows operating system is that it automatically updates itself, but there's also a nasty side to the Windows Update feature. You probably all know the feeling, you still have about an hour of work to do and want to finish it asap but Windows XP keeps bugging you with a screen that asks you to reboot your PC.

Unfortunately, the screen has no button to disable it so it will keep nagging you every fifteen minutes or so. It's not only annoying but when you are hard at work it's not unthinkable that you will be typing on your keyboard while this message appears. If you don't catch it in time there's a small risk that you will click on the "reboot my PC" button and suffer some data loss if you haven't saved all your applications.

Fortunately, there's an easy way to disable the Windows Update nagging screen. Here's what you need to do:

Click the Start button

Click on "Run", this will open the command box

Then enter the following code: net stop wuauserv

This procedure will disable the automatic update service until you reboot your system. It should work in Windows XP and Vista, but in the latter one, you won't need it because the nagging screen does not pop up so frequently in Vista.   

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