Disable Update and restart and Update and shut down in Windows 10

You can disable Update and restart and Update and shut down commands in the Start Menu in Windows 10 if you find them annoying. Once you follow the instructions in this post, they will never appear in power options and in the right-click menu of the Start button.

Windows 10 is configured to install updates automatically by default. When Windows 10 installs cumulative and security updates, it often requires a restart to update the system files in-use and apply the changes.

When a reboot required, Windows 10 displays a notification where you can restart it immediately or pick a convenient time to perform the restart on schedule.

Also, Windows 10 modifies the power options and adds two extra options to the Start menu and the right-click menu of the Start menu. The new entries are Update and restart and Update and shut down. They remain visible until you finish installing updates in Windows 10.

If you are not happy to see them, there are two methods you can use to hide these menu items from power options. First method works in all editions of Windows 10, including Windows 10 Home. The other one involves the gpedit.msc tool, which is not available in certain editions of the OS (e.g. in Windows 10 Home).

This post will show you how to disable the Update and restart and Update and shut down commands in the Windows 10 Start menu.

How to Disable Update and restart and Update and shut down in Windows 10

1. Download the following Registry files.
2. Unblock the downloaded ZIP archive.
3. Extract its contents to any folder you like.
4. Double-click on the file Disable Update and shutdown.reg to stop Windows 10 from adding Update and restart and Update and shut down commands to the Start menu.
5. Sign out and sign in back to apply the change.

There's also an undo file, Restore Defaults.reg which restores the default behavior of the Start menu.

So, the above method works in all editions of Windows 10, including Windows 10 Home. Here's how it works.

How does it work

The above Registry files modify the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

If the AU subkey is missing, you need to create it manually. Under the AU key you need to create a 32-bit DWORD parameter NoAUShutdownOption and set it to 1.

Finally, if you are running Pro, Education, or Enterprise edition of Windows 10, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor app "gpedit.msc" to configure the update options behavior using the GUI.

Disable Update Power Options in Local Group Policy Editor

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
2. Go to the Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update category on the left.
3. On the right, find the Do not display 'Install Updates and Shut Down' option in the Shut Down Windows dialog policy.
4. Double-click it and select Enabled to turn on the policy, then click OK and Apply.
5. The change should take effect instantly.

That's it.