Windows appears to restart itself intermittently.
Windows appears to restart itself intermittently.
Around twice a week I’ll return to my Windows 10 PC, and all non-MSFT programs will shut down automatically. Edge and Office applications will stay open, while everything else closes. I believed Windows would restart because of updates, but I adjusted the settings to prevent that. Updates don’t happen often either. Excel and Word no longer maximize fully, and sometimes saved versions remain open as if they were forced to close without saving. Any ideas about what’s going on? The machine runs nonstop. Thanks.
Yes, there is an alternative method to manage Windows updates without automatic installation. You can configure settings to allow Windows to request permission before rebooting and applying updates.
Windows receives security updates frequently and seldom restarts for them. My system prompts me to reboot about twice a month, definitely not every week. There must be another reason behind this.
This unusual action might stem from malware activity. If you haven’t already installed Malwarebytes, add it and perform a complete scan.
How much RAM does your system have? When an operating system runs low on memory, it may close unnecessary applications and halt services to avoid crashes. Keep an eye on this, especially if your device has limited storage.
It’s also important not to skip rebooting a PC. If the computer is always running, perform a restart at least once a week—real restart, not just shutting down and turning it back on.
Malwarebytes came back clean. The rig has 32 Gb of RAM. Even though I haven’t restarted it, the system still freezes occasionally, like once a week, needing a 'power button shutdown'. By default, it seems to reboot weekly. Eventually, I plan to reinstall the OS but have been delaying it.
No, a power button shutdown isn't a proper restart. It should be a genuine restart from the Windows start menu. Simply shutting down and turning back on isn't ideal, particularly after a malfunction.
At work, our Windows machines now show bothersome messages when users haven't restarted them for a while. These messages become more insistent if ignored, and if the computer refuses to reboot after a few weeks, it does so automatically.
It's simply better to follow this routine regularly, which will noticeably improve performance.