HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
Active hours 9 AM – 5 PM
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings
| Value Name | Type | Data | Effect | |------------|------|------|--------| | RebootWarningTimeout | DWORD | 5–30 (minutes) | Dismiss reboot warning after N min | | NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers | DWORD | 1 | Don’t reboot if a user is signed in | | Desired Behavior | Registry Path | Key | Value | |----------------|---------------|-----|-------| | Pause updates for 7 days | HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings | PauseUpdatesExpiryTime | (timestamp) | | Disable automatic reboot | HKLM\...\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update | NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers | 1 | | Set WSUS server | HKLM\...\WindowsUpdate | WUServer | URL string | | Block driver updates | HKLM\...\WindowsUpdate | ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate | 1 | | Set active hours | HKLM\...\UX\Settings | ActiveHoursStart , ActiveHoursEnd | 0–23 | | Target specific build | HKLM\...\WindowsUpdate | TargetReleaseVersion , TargetReleaseVersionInfo | 1 , 23H2 | Verifying Registry Changes After modifying registry keys, run the following in an elevated PowerShell to refresh Windows Update without rebooting:
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" -Name "DeferFeatureUpdatesPeriodInDays" -Value 90 -Type DWord ✅ On Windows 11 Pro/Enterprise, these are mirrored by Group Policy: Computer Config → Admin Templates → Windows Components → Windows Update → Manage end user experience. Active hours tell Windows not to reboot for updates during your typical usage window.
| Value Name | Type | Data Example | Description | |------------|------|--------------|-------------| | TargetReleaseVersion | DWORD | 1 | Enable targeting | | TargetReleaseVersionInfo | String | 23H2 | Lock to this feature update | ✅ Very useful for compatibility testing. Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update
| Value Name | Type | Data (decimal) | Effect | |------------|------|----------------|--------| | DeferFeatureUpdates | DWORD | 1 | Enable feature update deferral | | DeferQualityUpdates | DWORD | 1 | Enable quality update deferral | | DeferFeatureUpdatesPeriodInDays | DWORD | 0–365 | Delay feature updates by N days | | DeferQualityUpdatesPeriodInDays | DWORD | 0–30 | Delay quality updates by N days |