The short answer
Windows updates often cannot finish until the computer restarts. Until then, your computer keeps running the old version of whatever was updated, including security fixes. Umbrella installs approved Windows updates on your computer, and the restart prompt is how we ask you to finish the job at a time that suits you.
How we keep your computer up to date
Umbrella keeps the computers we manage up to date automatically. Updates install quietly in the background, during the day, while you work. You do not need to start them, and most of the time you will not notice them.
Different kinds of updates are handled in different ways:
- Security fixes come first. Updates that keep your antivirus and other protection current install as soon as they are available.
- Larger updates wait a short check period. Windows security and quality updates install after about a week, so we can hold one back if a problem is reported. Servers, which many people rely on at once, wait a little longer.
- Major Windows versions are scheduled separately. Umbrella plans these ourselves, and we never install preview or test versions.
- Your apps stay current too. Many apps update themselves, and Umbrella updates the rest.
The one part of this you do notice is the restart. Some updates only finish after your computer restarts. When you are at your computer, you get a heads-up first, and you choose a moment that suits you. The rest of this article explains how that works.
Why an update needs a restart
Installing an update is a two-step job. The first step happens quietly in the background while you work. The second step needs a restart, because parts of Windows are in use the whole time the computer is on and cannot be swapped out underneath you.
Until that second step happens, the update is not doing its job. Many kinds of updates work this way, including security fixes, cumulative updates, drivers, and updates to .NET (software that many business applications run on). A security fix that is installed but not yet active does not protect you yet.
Waiting also has a cost. When restarts keep getting put off, updates pile up behind each other, and a pile of waiting updates can stall. That makes the eventual restart slower and less predictable.
What you will see
First comes a heads-up. When an update has installed and only needs a restart, a short message from Umbrella asks you to restart when it suits you. It has three buttons: Restart now, OK and More details, which opens this article. Nothing is forced, and the heads-up comes back at most every two days.
If the computer still has not restarted after three days, the restart prompt begins. You see at most one round of prompts a week, and one restart finishes every update that is waiting. The prompt asks you to save your work, and you have two choices:
- Restart now restarts the computer right away.
- Postpone 4 hours hides the prompt for four hours. You can postpone twice.
If you keep postponing, the computer restarts by itself at a set time after business hours. The prompt tells you that time in advance, so it never comes as a surprise.
As that time gets close, the warnings get harder to miss:
- A warning appears 90 minutes before the restart, and another at 30 minutes.
- The last 10 minutes are a countdown that stays on screen. You cannot dismiss it, but Restart now is still there if you would rather get it over with.
The prompts are polite about timing. They wait while you are presenting or using a full-screen app. The final 10-minute countdown is the one exception: it does not wait.
When the computer is off, asleep or locked
A few situations work a little differently:
- If the computer was off or asleep at the set time, you get the 90-minute warning the next time you use it. The computer restarts when that time runs out, even if it is the middle of the day.
- If nobody is signed in to the computer, it restarts without a prompt, usually overnight.
- A computer with a locked screen during the day is not restarted.
What you can do
The easiest way to avoid the automatic restart is to restart on your own at a moment that suits you. Save your work, then:
- Click the Start button, then the Power button.
- Choose Restart, not Shut down.
End of the day is a good moment, and so is any time a prompt appears while you are between tasks. People who restart on their own rarely see the prompts at all. Wondering why Shut down does not count? Read Why Regular Restarts Matter (and Why Shut Down Isn’t Enough).
Frequently asked questions
Can I just keep postponing?
Not forever. You can postpone twice, four hours each time. After that, the computer restarts automatically at the set time after business hours, and the prompt tells you that time ahead of time. Choosing your own moment is easier than having one chosen for you.
Why did my computer restart while I was away?
Most likely the set time after business hours arrived while an update was waiting. Or nobody was signed in, so the computer restarted without a prompt, usually overnight. Saving your work and restarting before you leave for the day avoids both.
Will I lose my unsaved work?
A restart closes your open programs, so anything unsaved can be lost. That is why every prompt asks you to save first, and why the warnings start well ahead of an automatic restart.
I am giving a presentation. Will the prompt pop up on top of it?
Not until the very end. Prompts and warnings wait while you are presenting or using a full-screen app. Only the final 10-minute countdown does not wait, so if a restart time falls during a presentation, choose Restart now at a break or postpone earlier in the day.
The prompt came back right after I restarted. What now?
A restart normally clears it. If the prompt returns right away, contact Umbrella support. Support Requests and Tickets explains how to reach us and what to include.
