01
Open the Windows Update page
Press Windows key + I to open Settings, then select Windows Update at the bottom of the left column. The top of the page tells you whether you are up to date and when it last checked.
Windows Update
Update Windows without the drama
Updates close security holes and fix hardware bugs, and they are the one maintenance job genuinely worth doing on schedule. This guide covers checking for updates, optional and driver updates, controlling restarts, and what to do when one will not install. Around ten minutes plus install time.
🛡 10 Minutes⏱ Built Into Windows💰 Restart on Your Terms★ Windows 11 and 10
Why It Matters
Updates are not optional maintenance
Most of the compromised machines we see were not beaten by anything clever. They were running a version of Windows that had been patched months earlier.
A Windows update does three jobs at once. It closes security holes that are already public knowledge, it fixes bugs in the parts of Windows you touch every day, and it delivers drivers that keep printers, Wi-Fi adapters and graphics hardware behaving. Skipping updates does not keep a computer stable. It leaves known problems in place and waits.
The real complaint is almost never about updates. It is about restarts arriving at the worst possible moment. Windows has settings for exactly that, and they are worth ten minutes of your attention: active hours, a scheduled restart time, and a pause switch for the week you cannot be interrupted. Use those rather than turning updates off, which is not something we would ever advise.
One date matters more than the rest. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025, which means no more security updates for it. A Windows 10 machine still starts and your programs still run, but it has stopped being repaired. If that is where you are, the question is whether the hardware can take Windows 11 or whether it is replacement time, and our Windows 11 support page covers both paths. Offices with a fleet usually handle this through managed services so no machine gets forgotten.
Do not cut power mid-install
When the screen reads Restarting to finish installing, let it finish. Pulling the plug or holding the power button during that stage is one of the few reliable ways to genuinely break a Windows installation. On an older machine with a mechanical hard drive it can take a long while.
Step by Step
Run Windows Update properly
Seven steps. Do the first three today, then set the rest once and leave them alone.
02
Select Check for updates
Click Check for updates at the top right. Anything found downloads and installs on its own. Leave the page open until the buttons stop changing, because a second round of updates often appears once the first finishes.
03
Decide on the early updates switch
On the same page, there is a switch labeled Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available. Turning it on delivers non-security fixes ahead of the normal schedule. On a machine that has to be dependable for work, leaving it off is a perfectly sensible choice.
04
Look under Advanced options
Select Advanced options, then Optional updates. Driver updates and preview releases live here and none of them install automatically. If a printer, webcam or touchpad is misbehaving, check this list before you go hunting around a manufacturer's website.
05
Set active hours and restart times
Still in Advanced options, set Active hours so Windows will not restart while you are working. You can let Windows work them out from when you use the machine, or set the window yourself. When an update is waiting, the main Windows Update page also lets you pick your own restart time.
06
Restart to finish the job
When the page says a restart is required, select Restart now or schedule it. Many updates only finish applying during that restart, so a machine that keeps asking has usually never been given the chance to complete.
07
Read Update history if something went wrong
Back on the main page, select Update history. Successful installs, failed installs and their error codes are all listed, along with Uninstall updates if a recent quality update introduced a new problem.
When It Goes Wrong
Pausing, failing and stuck updates
The update situations that generate the most calls, and what to try for each one.
Pause updates for a set number of weeks
On the Windows Update page, use Pause updates and choose a length. It is the right tool before travel or a deadline week. Updates resume by themselves when the pause expires, and you cannot pause again until the waiting updates are installed.
The same update fails every time
Note the error code from Update history. Then check free space on the C drive, since updates need room to stage files, and run the Windows Update troubleshooter under Settings, then System, then Troubleshoot, then Other troubleshooters. Those two together clear most repeat failures.
The install sits at the same percentage
Give it longer than feels reasonable, especially on a mechanical hard drive, because progress figures are estimates. If it has genuinely not moved in a couple of hours, restart and try once more. If the same thing happens twice, stop and have it looked at rather than forcing shutdowns repeatedly.
An update broke something
Go to Update history, then Uninstall updates, and remove the most recent quality update. Then pause updates for a week so it does not reinstall itself while you work out what happened.
Manufacturer drivers beat generic ones
Windows Update carries solid generic drivers. For graphics cards, docking stations and business laptops, the manufacturer's own support site is usually more current. Go there when one specific device is playing up rather than as a routine habit.
Give yourself a way back
A feature update is the moment you want an escape route. Our guide on creating a restore point takes two minutes and is worth making a habit. A real backup is better still, and a proper backup and recovery setup is what we build for businesses that cannot afford to lose a day.
Windows Update questions
Is it safe to turn off Windows Update?
No, and we will not tell you how. Nearly every serious infection we clean up on an unmanaged machine involved software that was months out of date. If restarts are the real problem, use active hours and Pause updates. Those settings exist for precisely this reason.
What happens now that Windows 10 support has ended?
Windows 10 stopped receiving security updates on October 14, 2025. The computer still works and your programs still run, but newly discovered flaws will not be fixed. Check whether the hardware meets the Windows 11 requirements. If it does not, plan a replacement rather than staying put indefinitely.
Should I install optional driver updates?
Only when you have a reason. If a device works, leave it alone. If your webcam, printer or touchpad is behaving oddly, an optional driver update is a sensible early thing to try, because it is straightforward to roll back from Device Manager if it makes things worse.
How long should an update take?
A monthly quality update is usually a few minutes plus a restart. A feature update can run well over an hour on older hardware, with most of that time after the restart. A machine with an SSD is dramatically faster at this than one with a mechanical drive.
Why does my PC keep asking me to restart?
Because an update is downloaded and staged but not yet applied, and Windows will keep asking until it gets its restart. If you have already restarted and the prompt returns, check Update history for a failed install, which can leave the notification stuck in place.
Updates that fail on the same machine every month.
We repair broken update stacks and plan Windows 11 migrations for homes and businesses across Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa and the wider Phoenix metro.
Talk to Your Pod
An update that refuses to install?
The same failure code every month usually means a damaged component store, a full recovery partition or a driver conflict. Call (602) 677-0779 or use the contact form and we can work through it with you remotely.
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