How to Stop a Computer With Windows XP From Rebooting Automatically

If you have Windows XP, you know all about having your computer reboot on you once you have downloaded your security updates. But how can you stop this automatic reboot? I'll tell you how in this article.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer

1. Running any version of XP prior to Service Pack 2? Back up your registry, then add or change this key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\ Policies\ Microsoft\ Windows\ WindowsUpdate\AU
2. If it doesn’t already exist, create the DWord value “NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers”. Set it to 0 if you want Windows to automatically restart, or 1 to prevent automatic restart. Then exit and reboot your computer. The result: As long as users are logged on the system, it won’t take matters into its own hands.
3. Post-XP SP2, one user reports success at disabling automatic restarting after updates on XP Home by:
   
   1. Disabling Windows Automatic Updates;
   2. Opening Task Manager (by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del);
   3. Ending all instances of wuauclt.exe, then;
   4. Making the registry changes noted above.
4. Once Service Pack 2 is installed, XP Pro, 2000 and 2003 users can stop automatic reboots by editing Group Policy. Start the Group Policy editor, select Windows Update in the Windows Components portion of the Administrative Template, and choose No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations.
5. And there you have it. This worked great on my computer!

Tips & Warnings

• Any time that you hack into your registry, you run the risk of crashing your system. While this worked well, and by following the steps you shouldn't cause a problem, but be warned that if you add or delete too much in your registry, you can cause a problem.