Solved Premature prompt to restart during an update

idgat · May 10, 2022

Not a problem, just a curiosity/observation.

The propensity for Windows 11 to prompt the user that a restart is required, where one update has been installed, but there are still other update(s) in the process.

I wonder if this is the cause of borked systems, where the inexperienced/unsuspecting user obeys Windows restart order immediately, instead of waiting for other update(s) in the process to be completed, irrespective of whether they would/not require a restart?

FJRMarty · May 10, 2022

Mine did that, but I still waited till there was no more love to give...

Berton · May 10, 2022

I've done it both ways, haven't seen any problem yet, both Win10 and Win11 different machines.

Haydon · May 11, 2022

Berton said:
I've done it both ways, haven't seen any problem yet, both Win10 and Win11 different machines.

I did that too, and WU#1 that was ready for a restart finished updating, but WU#2 that was not ready for a restart was set back to download, etc.

Eventually all WUs are done correctly, but I agree with the OP that MS ought not display the restart button until ALL WUs are ready for a restart.

x BlueRobot · May 11, 2022

Haydon said:
Eventually all WUs are done correctly, but I agree with the OP that MS ought not display the restart button until ALL WUs are ready for a restart.

Why? Those other updates may not require a reboot.

idgat said:
I wonder if this is the cause of borked systems, where the inexperienced/unsuspecting user obeys Windows restart order immediately, instead of waiting for other update(s) in the process to be completed, irrespective of whether they would/not require a restart?

It's not. I've always restarted immediately and have not had any problems.

Haydon · May 11, 2022

x BlueRobot said:
Why? Those other updates may not require a reboot.

Even those that do not require a restart will be set back to downloading. Why not let the WUs do what they need to do until they finish or require a restart.

x BlueRobot said:
It's not. I've always restarted immediately and have not had any problems.

Sure, you seem to enjoy interrupting, to each his own

spapakons · May 11, 2022

Restarting before all updates are installed takes more time as those interrupted updates will download from start and attempt to install. Even worse, you may have to wait until they are all installed before you can login again to your PC (the dreaded "Please do not shut down you PC" message).

x BlueRobot · May 11, 2022

Haydon said:
Sure, you seem to enjoy interrupting, to each his own

I've dealt with many Windows Update problems and they are not typically caused by the user allowing the computer to reboot when requested. I'm not sure what the snide remark was for but I'll let you keep asking asinine questions as you usually do.

Haydon · May 11, 2022

spapakons said:
Restarting before all updates are installed takes more time as those interrupted updates will download from start and attempt to install. Even worse, you may have to wait until they are all installed before you can login again to your PC (the dreaded "Please do not shut down you PC" message).

Patience is a virtue

CountMike · May 17, 2022

I had problems when .NET downloaded and installed asking to restart before other, specially CU updates are still pending. Several times some security updates would also caused failed CU update. That happens on insider builds where I didn't set system to only show when update is available but lets me choose when to actually update. Now I wait till all updates are finished downloading and finish initial installation. No more problems.

Haydon · May 17, 2022

CountMike said:
I had problems when .NET downloaded and installed asking to restart before other, specially CU updates are still pending. Several times some security updates would also caused failed CU update. That happens on insider builds where I didn't set system to only show when update is available but lets me choose when to actually update. Now I wait till all updates are finished downloading and finish initial installation. No more problems.

Good boy, that's the collision-free way to do it

cereberus · May 17, 2022

As always on this sort of thread, people polarise - do it this way, do it that way.

In reality, life is never that black or white.

Most of the time, simply waiting is the correct solution, although early rebooting never usually causes an issue - just a bit inefficient, as remaining updates have be started over to some degree.

However, once in a while, an update gets stuck whilst others are waiting for a reboot.

It is not obvious why this happens, but I suspect there is a dependency between that update, and ones waiting for a reboot.

By rebooting, the "stuck" update usually gets kick-started and then installs ok.

Of course, it is a judgment call between patience, and if an update has got stuck.

So there is no right or wrong answer, just shades of grey.

glasskuter · May 17, 2022

cereberus said:
I suspect there is a dependency between that update, and ones waiting for a reboot.

I agree. It makes sense that some updates depend on previous ones. Guess MS doesn't like the way they coded the first so they correct it in the second.

spapakons · May 17, 2022

cereberus said:
As always on this sort of thread, people polarise - do it this way, do it that way.

In reality, life is never that black or white.

Most of the time, simply waiting is the correct solution, although early rebooting never usually causes an issue - just a bit inefficient, as remaining updates have be started over to some degree.

However, once in a while, an update gets stuck whilst others are waiting for a reboot.

It is not obvious why this happens, but I suspect there is a dependency between that update, and ones waiting for a reboot.

By rebooting, the "stuck" update usually gets kick-started and then installs ok.

Of course, it is a judgment call between patience, and if an update has got stuck.

So there is no right or wrong answer, just shades of grey.

The average user won't have the patience and just reboot anyway. A more advanced user will wait just in case something goes wrong if restarting prematurely. Experience can tell you if something is stuck and you should restart. If unsure, wait a little longer and if nothing changes then restart.

Ghot · May 17, 2022

If the first update, say .NET Framework wants to reboot BUT the CU has already started installing... just wait till the CU is done, then reboot. Sloppy coding by MS. This really should be fixed.

Occasionally, you will get, say, two updates and one is dependent on the other. WU usually stops installing in those cases, until the reboot of the first update takes place.

Microsoft seriously needs to "get it together".
Pretty soon, MS will want us to code the updates ourselves. :/

I think I heard that the next OS will be called: FUBAR 12.

spapakons · May 17, 2022

If I remember correctly, in earlier Windows versions the updates are separated when depended on each other. You had to install certain updates first before you could install the rest, or you could not install the depended updates, you were given the choice to install the other non-dependent updates. Now you have no choice except for the optional updates and Windows Update just starts downloading and installing in the order they appear, not necessarily the best one.

cereberus · May 17, 2022

spapakons said:
If I remember correctly, in earlier Windows versions the updates are separated when depended on each other. You had to install certain updates first before you could install the rest, or you could not install the depended updates, you were given the choice to install the other non-dependent updates. Now you have no choice except for the optional updates and Windows Update just starts downloading and installing in the order they appear, not necessarily the best one.

On balance now is much better. It used to be a nightmare to get updates as a result of updates as a result of updates as a.......

spapakons · May 17, 2022

I have to admit that installing updates in latest Windows 10 versions and in Windows 11 is much faster. All the process is done in the background and you have to restart only at the end. In earlier Windows versions all the download and installing process was done during restart (just like Mac OS), so you had to wait, and wait, and wait... If you dared restart your PC you might damage Windows and could not start again unless you had a System Restore point to go back to.

Haydon · May 17, 2022

Just wait and give the machine time to do what it needs to do unless it is stuck, very simple really

It does not make much sense to kick the machine while it is still busy

hsehestedt · May 17, 2022

It doesn't seem to me like the option to reboot is premature. When I select it, my computer continues to install the update until it is completed before finally rebooting.

In fact, I really like this feature. Normally, it begins to deploy the update(s), and then when I select the option to reboot it does so fairly rapidly. However, if I choose the option to reboot before it is done installing, it simply takes longer. But, here is the part I like: If I choose to reboot early, I can walk away for a little while and when I come back the update(s) are already done. It's like I was able to queue up the reboot to tell it to reboot as soon as it is able to do so after applying the update(s).

Solved Premature prompt to restart during an update

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