Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is working to reduce the hassle stemming from the need to reboot after the installation of various security patches and software updates. As outlined by Farzana Rahman, the group program manager of the Windows Update group, in a lengthy blog post, the result should be fewer reboots for users to endure.

What caught my interest was Microsoft's awareness of some of the largest bugbears and inefficiencies under the current process, which the company outlined in detail.

I'll summarize some of the issues that were mentioned:

• Automatic restarts, while going a long way in ensuring that 90 percent of PCs are up-to-date on their security patches, have resulted in data being lost. Users have complained of coming back to their PCs in the morning to find important data from unsaved documents lost after a reboot.
• In other situations, lengthy activities (such as a long copy job) may need to be restarted after being interrupted by a system reboot.
• Up to 31 percent of users are interactively installing updates despite two-thirds of these users having opted for an automatic install. This was attributed to the typical reaction to the pop-up notification generated by Windows Update (WU), which perhaps succeeds too well in capturing the attention of users.
• The pop-up notifications by WU were ultimately described as distracting by users.

I've written about the new measures Microsoft says it will implement and I think it does an adequate job of addressing the current weaknesses.

Personally, I've also encountered at least two hair-pulling situations with WU, both of which entail having updates take place as I was trying to reboot or shut down my laptop.

• Conference call was set to start in five minutes and I needed a quick reboot to get WebEx working (due to some issues relating to a new Java update).
• Rushing out for a meeting and trying to shut down laptop.

Have you encountered any situations in which WU resulted in unexpected distress? Do feel free to share your experiences by adding a comment below or by dropping me an email/tweet! - Paul Mah (Twitter @paulmah)