Windows 11 just destroyed many hours of work with its auto-restart

I understand your frustration with unexpected restarts during critical tasks. To help mitigate this issue in Windows 11, you can configure your system to limit automatic updates and restarts during your active hours. Here are some steps you can take:

1. Set Active Hours: You can define active hours during which your computer will not restart for updates. This can be done through the Group Policy Editor or Windows Settings.
2. Disable Automatic Updates: If you prefer to manage updates manually, you can disable automatic updates through Group Policy or the Windows registry. This way, you can choose when to install updates and avoid interruptions during important work.
3. Control Restart Notifications: You can configure settings to control when and how restart notifications are presented, allowing you to schedule restarts at more convenient times.

By adjusting these settings, you can reduce the likelihood of unexpected restarts disrupting your work.

References:

• Manage device restarts after updates
• Limit reboots from updates

Hello H G, I am Ivy.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. I understand how disruptive unexpected restarts can be, especially when running long calculations or critical workloads.

To help prevent this in the future, here are some recommended steps:

1. Adjust Active Hours Configure Windows Update to avoid restarting during your work hours: Go to Settings → Windows Update → Change active hours and set your preferred time range.
2. Pause Updates Temporarily If you’re working on a time-sensitive task, you can pause updates for up to 5 weeks: Settings → Windows Update → Pause updates.
3. Disable Automatic Restart for Updates For Windows Pro/Enterprise editions, use Group Policy: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Update → Enable “No auto-restart with logged-on users.”
4. Use Metered Connection Mark your network as metered to delay updates: Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi → Properties → Set as metered connection.
5. Before Starting Long Calculations

• Disconnect from the internet or enable Airplane Mode.
  • Optionally, stop the Windows Update service temporarily using PowerShell:

         net stop wuauserv
    

These steps will help ensure your system remains stable during critical operations.

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Thank you again for your patience and support!

Ivy Bui