Quick Tip

144-2012

Shut Down Windows Without Installing Updates

Have you ever been working away on your laptop and glanced at the clock only to remember you have something else to do in a few minutes? You go to shut down and all of a sudden you are informed that you have updates to be installed and you have to wait another 10 minutes or more before you can leave. You would think that Microsoft would have given you a dialog box with options to Install Updates Later or to do it now. There is something you can do if you see the little update icon that appears alongside the Shutdown Button.  

TIP: First, shutdown all of your programs so that only the desktop remains. Now press and hold the <Alt> key and then strike the <F4> key. Click on the pull-down menu and change it from Install updates and shut down to simply Shut down. Click OK. Windows will now shut down immediately without installing the updates.

NOTE: If you try this method a few times to shut down you may get in the habit of using this shortcut as a quicker and more convenient way to shut down your PC.

This will also work with Windows Vista as shown above.