Why it keeps asking to update
Understand what an update actually is, and be able to make it happen at three in the morning instead of halfway through a letter.
The message asking you to update looks like every other message that wants something from you. This one is different, and it is worth saying why.
Most of an update is repairs. Somebody found a way in, or a way to make it crash, and this closes it. The new features are decoration; the repairs are the point.
Key points
- Understand that most of an update is repairs to holes, not new features
- Install an update while carrying on with what you were doing
- Schedule the restart for the middle of the night
- Set active hours so it can never restart during your day
What to remember
- Downloading and installing happen quietly while you work. Only the last few minutes need a restart.
- Updates are maintenance you cannot see. The absence of a difference is what a successful one looks like.
- Active hours are the single best update setting there is, and hardly anybody knows it exists.
Try this
Open Settings on your own computer and go to Windows Update, or Software Update on a Mac. You do not have to install anything. Have a look at whether anything is waiting.
Practice: Why it keeps asking to update. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.