Windows 8 to Reduce Need for Restarting After Updates

Windows users frustrated by the operating system’s penchant for restarting their machines at the most inopportune times to install updates can look forward to Windows 8. Microsoft announced that its new OS will drastically reduce the number of restarts required for rits automatic updating program.

"When it comes to Windows Update, one of the most discussed topics is the disruptiveness of restarts in the course of automatic updating," Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s Windows and Windows Live president, wrote in a blog. "And for good reason -- restarts can interrupt you right in the middle of something important."

Some Windows users have been known to lose data in open applications when the operating system installs updates and restarts a computer without its operator's permission.

While not totally getting rid of restarts during updates -- that's tough to do because files open in memory may have to be updated -- the Windows 8 development team believes it has improved the process.

For one thing, no matter how many updates Microsoft pushes out in a month, there will only be one restart. That restart will be required at the same time the company sends its security updates to users on the second Tuesday of every month -- a day also known as Patch Tuesday. The one exception to that condition is when a critical security update is sent to users. Critical security updates are rare and are moved by Microsoft outside the Patch Tuesday cycle.

"This simplification helps in three ways: it keeps the system secure in a timely manner, reduces restarts, and makes restarts more predictable," Sinofsky wrote.

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