I know that Vista tips and tricks are all the rage these days, but there are still a lot of things in XP left to explore (at least for me). So when Josh showed me that you can configure the behavior of Windows Update in the Group Policy Editor, I knew I just had to tell the world. Personally, I just have them set on manual, but it’s nice to know that some of the annoyances can be removed.

Run: gpedit.msc
Navigate: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
Remove: the annoyances of your choice:



Personally, I hate it when it:

• Adjusts the default shut down option
• Tries to auto-restart
• Reminds me when I tell it not to auto-restart

Perhaps I'll have to investigate this "Vista" sometime and start posting tips about that too. Anytime someone wants to give me a copy, I'll try it out and stick up a fair review (ahem ... Mircosoft).