Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

When the updates are installed, the logged in user is prompted to "Restart Now" or "Restart Later." But, some times, you may notice, the "Restart Later" button is grayed out and the prompt won't go away unless the logged in users clicks the "Restart Now" button.

 

The Fact:

Users with Local Administrative rights i.e member of Local Administrators Group get the "Restart Later" option. For Normal users, "Restart Later" button is grayed out. They either have to restart then, or ignore the dialog until they can restart.

 

Previously, with Software Update Services, the logged in user was popped with a countdown timer of 5 minutes to restart the machine.

 

The solution:

If you want to give non-local admin the privilege to "Restart Later" option, you have to enable "Allow non-administrators to receive update notifications" setting from Group Policy or Registry for that matter.

 

This policy specifies whether logged-on non-administrative users will receive update notifications based on the configuration settings for Automatic Updates. If Automatic Updates is configured, by policy or locally, to notify the user either before downloading or only before installation, these notifications will be offered to any non-administrator who logs onto the computer.

 

The Procedure:

Allow Non-administrators to Receive Update Notifications from Group Policy:

1. In Group Policy Object Editor, expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components, and then click Windows Update.

2. In the details pane, click Allow non-administrators to receive update notifications, and set the option.

3. Click OK.

 

ElevateNonAdmins: Allow Non-administrators to Receive Update Notifications from registry:

 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

 

1 = Enabled.

0 = Disabled.

 

With ElevateNonAdmins set to 1;

You are allowed to select "Restart Later" even as an ordinary user

You are allowed to use the AU icon in the system tray to start installations before scheduled installation time

As well as unselect updates that is scheduled to be installed on the computer.

Published Tuesday, September 06, 2005 8:11 PM by Athif

Comments

Thursday, September 08, 2005 9:42 PM by Athif

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

Hi Athif,

the solution that you have provided " to enable restart later button for non admin users " does not work . i have 1 Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) installed on win2003 srv and 300 workstations consisting of win2k prof . i am using the 4th option for automatic deployment in gpo .aftr goin through your solution checked the reg of the user desktop for elevatenonadmin is 1 already....
if you could put some light on it
my email id is marwah.ankur@gmail.com

Ankur.
Saturday, September 10, 2005 7:55 PM by Athif

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

Hi, Can you test the same on any WIN XP machine?
Monday, October 03, 2005 11:01 PM by Athif

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

Are there certain updates where the "restart later" is grayed out? I am an admin and the "restart later" is grayed out for me and I set Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) up?

Have you seen this behavior before? All setting are proper in GP.
Saturday, October 15, 2005 12:32 AM by Athif

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

Is it possible to disable the dialog completly?

So it is displayed only one time?
Friday, October 28, 2005 2:28 PM by Athif

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

I have say that the decision to not allow users to "Restart Later" with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) was a big mistake. It made some sense in Software Update Services because once the button had been clicked then the dialog didn't come back. But with the re-prompt in WSUS it makes SO much sense to allow users to choose to restart later if they wish, knowing that they should get bored of getting prompted eventually. The workaround of elevating them is a lousy one, because it also gives them the option to decline updates. The most amazing thing is that I constantly hear that this behaviour was put in place because users shouldn't be given a choice about installing updates. Yet the workaround gives them to rights to decline updates, which is far worse. And we've found that since users can't click the "Later" button that they simply drag the dialog off screen. So that hasn't really helped at all, has it? Come on, give us the choice to enable this - seems that we should at least be free to choose for ourselves what our users should be able to do.
Monday, January 23, 2006 4:11 PM by mark

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

you can force the machine to restart after a wsus update download/install. in the gp object the "No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations" setting controls this. Does anyone know that if the user or admin declines the update before it is installed, does WSUS just continually try to push the update down?
Friday, February 24, 2006 3:31 AM by Oliver

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

The worst thing is that because of the "grayed out" "RESTART LATER" button the "REBOOT" button is the only one active (focus !!!). If somebody is typing on the keyboard in professional machine writing such as a secretary reading from here notes beside the computer it can happen that during the typing the WSUS dialog pops up. She doesn't see that and hits the ENTER key for a line break not recognising that here last 100 keystrokes have been absorbed by the WSUS dialog.

BANG ! SYSTEM REBOOT ! DOCUMENT and DATA FROM LAST 15 MINUTES OR EVEN WORSE LOST

This behavior is reall *Sh......*
Wednesday, June 14, 2006 6:10 AM by mak

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

I agree ! It would be useful for Microsoft to allow us to set the system up so Users can delay the Re-boot but cannot decline updates. We are delaying the upgrading of SUS to WSUS because of this.
Monday, August 28, 2006 9:46 AM by Oliver

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

Does anybody know if this behaviour has changed in WSUS SP1. I have seen that during installation/upgrade the installer says something about "Installing client files". Is there a new update client for Windows 2000/XP ?
Monday, October 09, 2006 1:16 AM by Craig Riley

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

Hi guys,

Well, we have a similar problem. Updates managed by group policy in our AD are:

1. Download and Install at 2am each day

2. Allow Non-Admins to receive notifications.

Other notable settings via script and Wake On Lan:

1. Turn on PC at 1:30am

2. Restart PC at 5:00am

All users in our environment are part of a PC Administrators group, which is added to the Local PC Administrators group on each computer.

With these settings, I would have expected the user to get a message. This is correct...for Windows XP, but not for Windows 2000. Non-Admin users on a Win2K pc do not get a notification to install updates.

Why are we doing it this way? To accommodate for laptop users whose laptops will be off the network.

So, when an update is available for an XP user who is using a laptop, they will be notified that updates are ready to be installed.

Why doesn't this work for Windows 2000???

Regards

Craig

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 2:04 PM by ants

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

Solution is

User Configuration /Administrative Templates

Windows Components/Windows Updates

Remove access to use all Windows Update features Disabled or Not Configured

http://www.wsus.info/forums/lofiversion/index.php?t7111.html

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 1:53 PM by ME

# re: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) "Restart Later" button grayed out

Have a look at User Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Update. If the option "Remove access to use all Windows Update is set to Enabled then the fix described here will not work. Setting the option to disabled seems to get rid of the nag screen altogether and replaces it with the shield icon in the taskbar with the popups that you normally see on vanilla desktops.