How to Change Windows Auto Update setting?????

---

@Mgrg01 wrote:
I enter the Control Panel and open the System icon. From here I hit the Automatic Update tab. The problem is that everything is faded and I cannot select or de-select any options. I am logged on as the computer admin and am running Windows XP home Edition. Why am I locked out of changing these options???????

See if the top BOX is unchecked that says "Keep My Computer...".

If the 'keep my computer up to date...' box is also greyed out, it is probably because the Automatic Updates service is set to disabled, or has not started. If you want automatic updates it should be set to start automatically. To check, right click my computer, click manage, in the window that opens, in the left pane click the + next to services and applications. click services. In the right pane highlight Automatic updates, check that it is started (status column) and set to automatic (start up type column). If not double click on it, in the startup type dropdown box select automaticset to automatic, click start, click apply, OK.

Auto Update Service is now off, as I aimed to do. Thank you for all the help. I still don't understand why I cannot just check/uncheck the boxes in the Auto Update tab under System Tools to begin with. This grey'ed out feature is getting old.

Well I did those necessary changes to shut off Auto Updates and it seems to have worked. The Automatic Update tab under System now has all boxes unchecked, yet they are still grey'ed out. I don't see why they would have this interface here, and make you think you can use it when in reality I have to go through my Admin Tools to change the Auto Update features.

I have a strong feeling that this is a problem unique to my computer only

---

@JRosenfeld wrote:
If the 'keep my computer up to date...' box is also greyed out, it is probably because the Automatic Updates service is set to disabled, or has not started.

---

There's apparently a spontaneous glitch in that service.  I checked my Automatic Updates tab in System Properties in the course of reviewing this thread and found that mine had somehow morphed into an unusable state, too.  While I normally have Auto Updates disabled, the option to turn it on has traditionally been available.  Tonight it wasn't.  It required two instances of selecting "Automatic" for Automatic Updates in Services (and two "Apply" sequences) to get it back, but it's available now.

http://www.mvps.org/marksxp/WindowsXP/wuauto.php

See my previous post.  Those options had always been available to me until tonight.  I suspect it's just a bug that causes the service to become disabled periodically.  There's another item about it here:
http://www.computergripes.com/windows.update.html (See Automatic Updates).