Patent ID: 7895590

Claim:
On a computing system that includes an operating system a method for installing software updates during a shutdown procedure of the operating system and in a manner that does not require user intervention and that allows a user to walk away knowing that the computing system will shut down, the method comprising: receiving a user command requesting shut down of the operating system of the computing system; and after receiving the user command requesting shut down of the operating system of the computing system, and in response thereto: determining whether a software update is available for installation on the computing system; evaluating each software update that is determined to be available for installation, and distinguishing between software updates that require the user of the computing system to interact with the computing system during installation of such updates for successful installation thereof, and software updates that do not require the user of the computing system to interact with the computing system during installation for successful installation thereof; when a software update that is determined to be available for installation is also determined not to require user interaction during installation, automatically installing the software update during the requested shut down of the operating system; and when a software update that is determined to be available for installation and is determined to also require user interaction during installation, automatically abstaining from installing the software update so that it is not installed during the requested shut down of the operating system, notwithstanding the availability of the software update, and due to the software updating requiring user interaction during installation.