Comments on: Bizarre Windows Behavior

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:14:47 +0000

You do realize you can turn it so that it will download and NOT install the updates until you say so, right?

By: Windows Reboot — Matt Mullenweg

Windows Reboot — Matt Mullenweg — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:22:34 +0000

[...] unsaved documents and messages. It completely breaks my trust in a way that’s irreparable. It’s been six years since I first wrote about this. At the time Robert Scoble saw my entry and apologized on his blog in a really heartfelt way. This [...]

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 02:09:27 +0000

Yup, it’s a ‘feature’ of Windows Server 2003.

Yes, that’s right, the operating system designed to run non-stop, 24/7, with less than five minutes downtime a year.

By: Me Myself

Me Myself — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:01:05 +0000

Well, this just happened to me this morning (06/14/07) An open Word file was lost when MS performed an auto update/reboot without my permission while I was away from my desk, and lost many, MANY hours of work. As someone mentioned before, if a power outage occurs, the system can recover the file upon rebooting thanks to autobackup. Why the heck not with MS updates?

The thing is I HAD auto update settings configured not to install without my permission, but somewhere along the line (another update?) something seems to have changed them back to full auto without my knowledge.

I can’t decide if MS programmers are crazy, brain damaged or just your run of the mill sadistic sociopaths, but there’s no excuse for this.

By: John

John — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:49:19 +0000

Ok, so I know Windows need to do its auto update thing. Great. But if my computer simply crashes, Word, Excel, etc. have all auto saved, and I can recover my lost data. But an automatic update – which they tell me is recommended – reboots my computer, and no documents have auto saved. So an update is actually worse than a crash. WHY IS THIS??? If I tried to reboot my own computer, it would kindly say, “hey, you have a document open. why don’t you save before you reboot.”

I would like the auto update service to download the update and install it. Then kindly pop up a message that says, “hey, I need to reboot your computer. Please close all documents so I can proceed.” Why can’t that be an option. I don’t think anyone would have a problem with this. Particularly any of us who have lost data because of a “recommended update”. Come on Microsoft. Let’s solve this problem before all of us convert to Mac….

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 10 May 2007 22:45:05 +0000

I cannot believe it. Four years after the original posting above and the same thing happened to me!! Why haven’t MS fixed this problem yet? I lost around 6 hours work and spent another 6 hours on the phone and searching on the internet trying to recover my unsaved data. I tried a system restore to just before the auto updates were downloaded, opened word, almost weeed myself when I saw my docs in the doc recovery taskbar on the left handside, but then clicked to open the docs and got a (pardon my french) f******* error message saying the files were corrupted…. ABSOLUTELY EXASTERBATED!!!!!!! I never intend to visit the state of Washington again, that’s how strongly I hate Microsoft at the moment

By: Neill

Neill — Wed, 09 May 2007 22:34:04 +0000

This just happened to me 5 minutes ago. I just re-installed Windows on my notebook because it was beginning to act strangely, I left for 5 minutes, and when I got back my computer was in the middle of starting up Windows. The scary thing for me is that I had set automatic updates to “notify me but don’t download” just this morning, but now it’s mysteriously set back to full automatic.
I’m wondering if MS Office 2003, which I just installed before leaving the PC, switched it? I noticed that Office 2003 also changed my default browser back to IE without asking.
This frustration, and the frustration of being treated like a criminal whenever I visit Windowsupdate or try to reinstall my MS software, has brought me to the decision not to purchase any MS software ever again. I’ll use it if it’s bundled with a system, but otherwise, I’m out. Next time, Mac.

By: aspa320

aspa320 — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 01:35:07 +0000

I deal with windows every day, on multiple computers. I work in a small computer shop. I shouldn’t lose data since I know that Windows auto-updates at 3AM. I’ve managed to lose documents and php/html pages due to the automatic updates. I will say one thing, though – you tend to learn to save important files more quickly when you have this happen multiple times….

By: Kirk

Kirk — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:44:18 +0000

Those bastards. I felt safe not saving my document because I knew Word automatically saves backups. And now my work is gone. Those F***ing Bastards.

By: tony

tony — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:44:50 +0000

I feel your pain, the same exact thing just happened to me and i lost everything i had been working on. Whatever happened to autorecovery! If you pc crashes word will recover your file on reboot but if microsoft shut you down due to a patch you F’in screwed! THANKS!!

By: Metaeducation

Metaeducation — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 22:09:33 +0000

The idea of the OS electing to kill a process with unsaved data is just plain insane. And it happened MULTIPLE times in ONE DAY…eight separate updates, rebooting more than once (how many times I don’t even know at this point). Fortunately I didn’t lose any *important* work, but that I lost any work…important or not…is outrageous.

It would be nice if every application had built-in version control, which after each completed user command would “commit” a version of the document. This way we would not have to worry; the computer could be rebooted and then return right back to the state it was in before the disruption. Ideally this would be integrated with the undo queue (so that I could undo/redo) even after closing a document and reopening it later.

I hope that things like Wikipedia are raising the general awareness of the importance and practicality of version control. Windows Update could then be kind of like the vandals who blank a page, but it’s no big deal if you could just revert it back.

By: Plinkington

Plinkington — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 05:19:02 +0000

I to had automatic update set to Automatic download and install, and that usualy works out just fine for me. But on some rare occasions I decide to work late and this is when the feature gets realy anoying, what i dont understand is why couldn’t microsoft create one extra button in the reboot window saying something like wait for manual reboot. Sorry if the spellings bad english is not my native language and i’m getting mighty tired

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 20:27:07 +0000

The whole Mac / MS debate gets so old. It’s like politics…exactly. Both sides are blind or fail to admit to their own faults and do everything to amplify the others. I’ve worked with both systems and both have annoyances. Learn about your operating system and configure it accordingly…otherwise if it’s something that could have been turned off (and you didn’t) it’s your fault. It sure is easier to point the finger at someone else though. I guess as long as we are a democracy we will always have this debate. It would simplify things so if we all lived in Cuba where government issued computers are all you are allowed to own…

I have no idea what Cuba does…

By: Seth Kinast’s Blog » Blah you, SP2

Seth Kinast’s Blog » Blah you, SP2 — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 08:39:21 +0000

[...] he World of Tomorrow » Blah you, SP2 Photo Matt got hit by the same design flaw I did last night. Windows installed a security update and asked to res [...]

By: The Cottee's in Nagoya » Pardon me - was that your data?

The Cottee's in Nagoya » Pardon me - was that your data? — Wed, 22 Dec 2004 21:56:16 +0000

? Of course - a quick google shows that I’m not the only one to suffer in this way. Photo Matt Â» Bizarre Windows Behavior. [...]

By: daz

daz — Mon, 20 Dec 2004 06:54:41 +0000

Windows automatic update/reboot canned the generation of a VIZ animation by cleverly restarting the host manager PC at 3am without any user interaction. Thanks for ruining a weekend of rendertime Microsoft. How about next time you default the settings to “ask the user if it’s okay to trash hours of work” instead of assuming we like to lose productivity.

By: Fuddland

Fuddland — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:44:22 +0000

Automatic reboots

This is the ill thought-out and quietly-added “feature” of Windows XP SP2 which has caused Imogen and Matt, amongst I’m sure many others, to lose valuable work: No operating system should ever assume it’s safe to reboot without the express…

By: Jim Connell

Jim Connell — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 01:39:02 +0000

This whole thread makes me happy I’ve switched to a Mac and no longer deal with the misery Microsoft inflicts on its poor users.

By: luci

luci — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 21:25:09 +0000

x-ray beams from outerspace sent by alien forces can cause pcs to shut down

By: Keith Burgin

Keith Burgin — Fri, 22 Oct 2004 14:48:54 +0000

Matt –

If you hadn’t been cheating on your PC with a Mac, it might not have happened. You have to own part of this problem.

By: matthew

matthew — Wed, 20 Oct 2004 07:45:50 +0000

That’s just reminded me to backup my data…

By: Adrian

Adrian — Mon, 18 Oct 2004 22:42:41 +0000

I can’t stand it when it does that… If you want to install the patches automatically, fine, if you want to reboot my computer, you better ask me first, and don’t just pop up a dialog box either… Do something to get my attention because I might not be looking at my computer… make some noise or something so that if I’m in the same room, it’ll get my attention and allow me to gracefully shut it down.

By: Jim Baltimore

Jim Baltimore — Mon, 18 Oct 2004 19:16:07 +0000

I find it sad to see that people feel the need to misinterprete. My post was not meant to promote Windows. I do indeed feel bad for those who might lose their work for whatever reason. There are numerous ways to prevent and recover data loss, regardless of the operating system. IF I did inadvertantly offend any computer user, I apologize for that was not my intention. My intention was to point out that there were ways to recover data, and that when SP2 is installed there is the availability to change the Automatic Update settings. I did also state that Automatic Update was not designed correctly since it’s default behavior is set to update starting at 3AM, and then automatically reboot.

As to the comments made by Zama, while I can understand your reaction, I again am not promoting the virtues of Windows. In fact, I have openly opposed Microsoft in some of their security implementations and updates. The bunk which you refer to however, is not coming from Microsoft. It is a statement I made which has absolutely no relevance as to the operating system. Every user, regardless of machine or OS, should be knowledgeable in the basic maintenance of their system. Since Matt was discussing a Windows-based system, this included Automatic Updates. However it would seem that there are those who would prefer to focus only on the name of Microsoft. I guess that my time in research has made me forget that Microsoft is considered the enemy.

By: Baby Got Blog

Baby Got Blog — Mon, 18 Oct 2004 06:44:35 +0000

Ghosties and Ghoulies…

and long-leggedy beasties and things that go boot in the night. That’s what Matt had to contend with the other night as his desktop Windoze computer came magically to life and rebooted itself, to Matt’s surprise and dismay, taking some unsaved p…

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 18 Oct 2004 05:49:38 +0000

Stop your whingeing you bunch of losers. And turn automatic updates back on.
Microsoft just can’t win with this one. If they make the reboot optional, a whole lot of people won’t bother. Sooner or later that’ll cause another Blaster and you lot would be here moaning about how hard it is for normal users who didn’t know how important the reboot was and how MS should take responsibility for keeping those users up to date.
If they put on an annoying sound and light show until you reboot, you’d have the rest of the population (those of us who weren’t working on php at 3am) complaining that Microsoft have turned their PCs into alarm clocks that go off at inappropriate hours. If they chose a more reasonable you’d complain about it interrupting your work.
You’d left your work computer planning to use another computer in bed. I can’t think of many circumstances where a save would have been more appropriate.