Purpose

This documents describes how to disable Automatic Updates in Windows Server 2016.

Solution

Open SCONFIG and verify your current Windows Update Settings:

1. Open a command prompt with Admin permissions.
2. Type sconfig and press Enter.
   • NOTE: There may be a short pause as the tool inspects your system.
3. Option #5 shows the current configuration of your Windows Update settings.

To change your Automatic Update Settings, follow these steps:

1. From the SCONFIG screen press 5 and then Enter. This will bring up the following options for you to choose from:

• (A)utomatic– This will configure your machine to automatically scan, download, install and reboot after applying any updates.
• (D)ownloadOnly– This will automatically scan, download and notify the admin if updates need to be installed. This is the default setting on Windows Server 2016.
• (M)anual -- This turns Automatic Updates off. Your system will never check for updates.

    2. Press the letter specified in the "( )" and press Enter to apply.

    3. When the tool applies the configuration you have selected, you will see a message pop-up similar to the one below. Click the OK button to dismiss the message. The tool will refresh the menu and option 5 will now show the new configuration.

Affected Products

Windows Server 2016