I hate Windows Update right now. Or Windows Live writer. Take your pick.

8 CommentsMicrosoft, Software, Software development

I spent 45 minutes or so writing up a post in Windows Live Writer this evening. All the while I repeatedly dismissed a Windows Update countdown dialog that was asking for a restart. “Not now, dammit. I’m writing something.”

Then the phone rang. Someone wanted to talk to my wife. She was in the process of reading a good-night story to my older daughter. The caller couldn’t wait. So I volunteered to read another chapter of the story.

When I got back, Windows was at the logon screen. Dammit, the Windows Update had gone through with the restart, with me not there to dismiss the countdown dialog.

And Windows Live Writer hadn’t saved a draft.

Both programs violated two cardinal rules for software: Don’t ever do something the user didn’t ask for, and don’t ever, ever, ever lose the user’s data. It’s worse than what Jeff Atwood talked about recently, since there were no crashes involved.

I’m so mad I’m not even sure I’ll want to re-write that other post. It has the potential to help out a fellow developer. Maybe I’ll do it. But right now I hate Windows Update. Or Windows Live Writer. Take your pick.

8 Comments

  1. Swa

    With some compassion, I agree and realize that this happens to me once a year with different software as well. Vista has in addition some really annoying ‘features’ which seems to tell us that we are so unaware of security issues that the computer should decide. Maybe developers and IT-people are smarter than the average user, I donno. I takes in any case quite a while to have faith in one’s OS again, isn’t it?

  2. Jonathan Pallini

    I hate the updater, because of what it does where I attend school. We are comissioned laptops, without the administrator accounts, so when the update restart box comes up, we cannot postpone it.

  3. Jakob

    I’m just sitting in an internet café downloading an important 300 MB file. Nearly finished, Windows restarts. Another waiting of 1 hour…

  4. atempt

    Seriously, How stupid do you have to be to put a countdown on the update restarter

  5. Sahota

    Beat this .. everytime the annoying update takes place .. some piece of hardware stops working in my laptop. Last time there was an update my mouse pad and keyboard stopped working. I did a system restore .. the laptop does not restart and all that when i have a assignment due next day .

  6. Anders Ø

    With excitement, I saw that the Darkfall client would be downloaded within approx 8 hours. Great! Waking up in the morning, and ready to just hit the install button, so that I could start the eventual patching. Not happening. I met the login screen like so many others, and a sickening friendly message, that Windows has installed some updates, and had to restart the computer. And uTorrent could report that only 35% of the 7gb client installer was downloaded. Not even on Windows 7 have Microsoft learned to respect the diversity of computer software and user data! It’s on the edge of crime.

    Note to self: NEVER EVER turn on automatic windows update again. Don’t ever think that positive thought: “Yeah, of course, I’ll let Windows take control of that”. The risk of data loss or security breaches as a consequence of a week or two delay of a manual windows update is FAR less than having that crap turned on.

  7. Richard

    I hate Microsucks all around. They are not concerned with what the user wants they want us to adhere to what they say we should. That is why I dual boot into Ubuntu most of time unless I have something that HAS to be done in WinBlows.

    I am waiting for the day that Ubuntu is a valid and genuine contender for the mainstream. It is getting better and better all the time.

  8. Richard

    Oh yeah and I have been installing updates on this Gateway crap computer for TWO days now. It is so slow. I wish you people out there that don’t have anything better to do then screw with the OS would build stuff that helped the community instead of screwing it up. I hate hackers too.

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