Autoupdate Unilaterally Reboots my PC's? What Nerve!!!

[V Green]

See below:

MS got it right. You set auto-update to automatically install the
updates. An update that requires a reboot is not installed until AFTER
the reboot. At best the update is not installed at all. At worst, it's
only half installed, leaving the computer unstable. YOU want the updates
to go on automatically, the computer is just doing what it's told.

Wrong.

I did NOT tell Auto Updates that is could
pull this. It is the DEFAULT piss-poor behavior
for this package that comes with SP2.

You are NOT given ANY options during the
SP install to override this.

 

[Joseph Geretz]

I don't want to be argumentative because I realize you have been hurt by

this updating business, but consider anyway: what part of "automatic"
isn't automatic? If the install needs a reboot and the machine is set to
"automatic" .. well .. one might think that it might all be just that:
"automatic".

Again, I'll just reiterate what I've said elsewhere on this thread. If
you've had experience with auto-update under Wijndows 2003 Server you'll see
that the 'auto' in auto-update refers to the automatic application of the
update. It does *not* apply to the post update reboot, which is deferred
pending explicit user permission. I'm merely suggesting that this
methodology be applied to Windows XP auto-updates as well.

- Joe Geretz -

 

[Asher_N]

Again, I'll just reiterate what I've said elsewhere on this thread. If
you've had experience with auto-update under Wijndows 2003 Server
you'll see that the 'auto' in auto-update refers to the automatic
application of the update. It does *not* apply to the post update
reboot, which is deferred pending explicit user permission. I'm merely
suggesting that this methodology be applied to Windows XP auto-updates
as well.

W2K3 Server's defaut settings is to download and notify.

Looks like it's a no win situation for MS. The way it behaves, it pisses
people like you off. If it didn't reboot, it would piss off everybody who
wants /auto/upfdates to be, well, automatic. It's a most likely behavior
caal from MS. The odds are overwhelmingly in favor that a computer set to
auto-update at 0300 will not be doing anything. OTOH, you can't make such
an assumption for a server.

 

[Mike Williams]

W2K3 Server's defaut settings is to download and notify.

Looks like it's a no win situation for MS. The way it behaves, it pisses
people like you off. If it didn't reboot, it would piss off everybody who
wants /auto/upfdates to be, well, automatic. It's a most likely behavior
caal from MS. The odds are overwhelmingly in favor that a computer set to
auto-update at 0300 will not be doing anything. OTOH, you can't make such
an assumption for a server.

At 0300 my computer might be doing a virus-scan, or running a backup
process, or providing server services for me in another timezone.

I don't believe I've ever had XP reboot immediately after one of my
late-night auto-updates. It always does it at some time after asking me
for permission to reboot, and then I tell it to wait. OR the permission
dialog flies up while I'm doing something else, grabs the focus, and
then I accidentally click the reboot option which was right in the way
of whatever I was doing. That has happened twice.

 

[Joseph Geretz]

Looks like it's a no win situation for MS.

No it's *not* a no-win situation at all. All MS needs to do is provide a
secondary option for the user to specify the behavior of a non-interactive
post install reboot if required. The choices should be:

Reboot
Do Not Reboot

Power to the Users!

Part of the reason that MS doesn't provide this is because most users are of
the mindset, and accept the fact that the OS can spontaneously reboot at any
moment, so why not just reboot? (At least that's the impression I get from
the feedback on this thread.) From my perspective, I think that it's up to
us to let Microsoft know loud and clear that rebooting a user's system is
something which should be approached with the utmost gravity and that the
*users*, not MS, should be in control of deciding when and how this happens.

The odds are overwhelmingly in favor that a computer set to
auto-update at 0300 will not be doing anything.

The odds? Is that what we've come to?

- Joe Geretz -

 

[Doug]

Tempest in a teapot. SOME updates will not TAKE or get
overwritten in memory or get corrupted or lost without a reboot.
MS wouldn't require a reboot if it was not necessary. Obey your
omnipotent master or else!!!

Doug
====

 

[Joseph Geretz]

Tempest in a teapot. SOME updates will not TAKE or get overwritten in

memory or get corrupted or lost without a reboot.

Not suggesting that the reboot be cancelled entirely, just deferred until
the user allows it to proceed. (This is already the way it works when I'm
sitting at the box. I'm suggesting that this be extended to work this way
even when I'm not.)

MS wouldn't require a reboot if it was not necessary. Obey your omnipotent
master or else!!!

- Joe Geretz -