How to stop updates from auto-installing & rebooting system??!!

I've had this problem in the past on a system running W10 Home. But it's happened 3 times now in the past month on a W10 Pro system in the middle of running a weeks long task.

Checking the event log I see:
Date: 9/25/2020 8:53:43 AM
Windows successfully installed the following update: 9NMPJ99VJBWV-Microsoft.YourPhone

Before that:
Date: 9/25/2020 5:58:53 PMThe operating system started at system time ‎2020‎-‎09‎-‎26T00:58:52.500000000Z.
Date: 9/25/2020 6:05:14 PMThe previous system shutdown at 5:32:56 PM on ‎9/‎25/‎2020 was unexpected.

And that's about all that's in there referring to the system rebooting. Here's what I've tried tweaking so far in trying to prevent this:

1. Navigate to Task Scheduler Library >> Microsoft >> Windows >> UpdateOchestrator
Disable automatic reboots by right-clicking on Reboot and selecting disable.

2. Start gpedit.msc: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update
Enable: "No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled automatic updates installations"

3. Regedit: Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
Check that the DWORD value called AUOptions is set to either 2 or 3
Check that the DWORD value called NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers is set to 1

Checking right now I see there's a DWORD value called NoAutoUpdate that's currently is set to 0. I'll have to research that one. I haven't rebooted the system yet though after my newest tweak I describe below. Maybe someone can tell me if that should be set to 1

4. In Windows 10 main settings > Update and Security > Windows Update
Set: Pause updates for 7 days.

I did configure one new setting I discovered after virtually punching out Microsoft to let off some steam:

Start gpedit.msc: Expand Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Windows Update
Double click Configure Automatic Updates and enable the policy
Configure Automatic Updating: 2 Notify for download and auto install

I have the system crunching data again, so I've yet to see if that'll make any difference.

References:
How to disable scheduled reboot after Windows Update
https://social.technet.microsoft.com...e?forum=ws2016
how to stop windows 10 from rebooting automatically for updates
how to stop windows 10 from rebooting automatically for updates | thinkoholic.com
Prevent Windows Update from Automatically Restarting Your PC [MiniTool News]https://www.minitool.com/news/prevent-windows-update-from-automatically-restarting-your-pc.html

I'm eager to hear anyone's feedback & suggestions on all this. Thanks folks.

If your internet connection is marked as "metered", then Windows won't download any updates on a metered connection.
So I make my internet connection metered ... and I get no updates. (Yay!)

Metered means "this connection costs money based on the amount of data usage".

The connection settings are in in the registry at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\DefaultMediaCost

2 means metered
1 means not-metered

Code:

NAME      VALUE
--------  -----
3G          2     <-- 3G was already set to 2 because this is not a phone
4G          2     <-- 4G was already set to 2 because this is not a phone
Default     2     <-- Default  was set to 1. I changed it to 2.
Ethernet    2     <-- Ethernet was set to 1. I changed it to 2.
WiFi        2     <-- WiFi     was set to 1. I changed it to 2.

Microsoft gets tricky. That registry key might be locked:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\DefaultMediaCost
If so, you'll have take ownership of it before you can change the metered settings.

dalchina said:

If ohante has Pro and has recently set Notify, the problem should be solved. Let's see what ohante replies.

As I 1st wrote at the top of my 1st post, this is on a W10 Pro system. And as I wrote, I've only just set that 'Notify before download' option in the Configure Automatic Updates policy. But the system is working right now so I won't be able to monitor it until I reboot.

The "active hours" thing is useless as the system is working 24/7

I did check the info in the 3 URLs you suggested and found everything there is enabled properly.

As for the unexpected shutdown, it happened while i was away. I doubt it's overheating. The tasks it's running hardly tax the CPU, and the hardware has been working fine for over 4-5 years now.

Thanks ever so much for offering these suggestions dalchina.

Ghot said:

@ohante
I finally gave up fighting with Windows Update. Now I use a nifty little program called: WAU Manager.
I just follow the directions, but UNcheck the box about Auto Update and using the scheduling.

Enable or Disable Windows Update Automatic Updates in Windows 10

This looks the perfect ticket Ghot! I'll give this a go in the morning. Thanks so very much for the suggestion.

margrave55 said:

If your internet connection is marked as "metered", then Windows won't download any updates on a metered connection.
So I make my internet connection metered ... and I get no updates. (Yay!)

Haha!! I'll have a look at that margrave55. Thanks.

Oh! There was one thing in one of those URLs you linked that I did find potentially helpful to set dalchina:

Turn On or Off Windows Update Restart Notifications in Windows 10
gpedit: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update
Enable: Configure auto-restart required notification for updates
Set it to: User Action in the Method drop menu

But again I'll have to wait until I can reboot the system. Hopefully it'll complete what its working on before WU plays any more havoc.

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AddRAM said:

Ditto with reply #3 that`s what I use

Thanks for your confirmation on that AddRAM.