Can not select a restart time

Question

After Windows 10 (Home) installed updates this morning, it prompted me it was going to restart in 15 minutes. There was no option to postpone it at all.

Several searches here on Stack Exchange and on Google have led me to the Update & Security panel, where it should be possible to select a restart time.

However, this option is greyed out for me, I am unable to select it. Screenshot:

I have managed to temporarily postpone the restart now by disabling the window update service. However, I'd like to be able to control when my computer is actually going to be restarted in the future.

I have not been able to find any posts from other people for whom this option is also greyed out.

Answer 1

The actual reason for it to be grayed out is that a restart must be scheduled by Windows for the option to become available. Quite annoying if you ask me, but that's how it is. You must wait for the next update to trigger this and then go look at the option again before Windows reboots the system.

Answer 2

WHY, did this question show up on the front page of unanswered?

There is one or more of 4 possibilities I can think of.

1. You were already stuck in a required reboot and the process had already started so it was to late to stop it.

2. You or someone else configured your group policies to prevent changing it. (hold windows key, press R type gpedit.msc, go to administrative templates->windows components->Windows Updates and make sure there is nothing in there configured that will conflict with what you want to do.

3. Windows home is preventing it. (to many differences on how updates are handled between every version of windows)

4. You upgraded via a insider preview license which will does its best to prevent you from changing, deferring or preventing you from stopping updates. (Only fix for that I know of might be expired, you might need to register your product key again.)

Answer 3

I had the exact symptoms, and was in the middle of a process where an interruption of indefinite length would have been bad. I noticed that the update screen said to be sure my laptop was plugged in, so I unplugged it. Windows rescheduled for later once the scheduled time had passed (only a half-hour later, but it's something).

Answer 4

In your screenshot go to Advanced Options and select Notify to Schedule Restart. You must have that selected instead of Automatic to be able to schedule a restart time/day.