Microsoft Looks To Resolve Window 8 Ban In China

If you’re in the mainland China and looking to install Windows 8 operating system on your computer, then there is some good news for you. Recently the Chinese government had released a new law banning the latest operating system from Microsoft, and the company has been looking to work out something with the government. The Chinese government issued a ban on using Windows 8 computers on state-owned machines. This move was made from the Chinese government as a counterstrike on Microsoft for taking out the support provided for Windows XP computers that most of the Chinese people use.

As of now, the officials from Microsoft are working hard to make the government revoke the ban on Windows 8 operating system. Joanna Li of Microsoft commented on the issue as follows, “Microsoft has been working proactively with the Central Government Procurement Center and other government agencies through the evaluation process to ensure that our products and services meet all government procurement requirements. At the same time we are working on the Windows 8 evaluation with relevant government agencies.”

Central State Organs of Government Procurement Center first issued the ban through an official notice that read, “All computer products are not allowed to install Windows 8 operating system.” Luckily for Microsoft the ban does not say anything about the Windows 8.1 operating system. This means that there is no ban on the Windows 8.1 operating system even though it is a revamped version of the Windows 8 operating system. The main reason that the government officials state for banning the operating system is the security issues found in the new operating system.

One good thing is that even though you are banned from installing the Windows 8 operating system, you still have the Windows 7 operating system, which still has a seven more years of support that is until 2020. However, it is advised that you take into account the use of Google’s Chrome operating system as an effective replacement to the Windows XP operating system. Some of the government agencies in the UK have already made the switch to Chrome books, and they state a significant amount of cost savings from the switch.

With their client base set to deplete due to the current ban, Microsoft will be looking to bring a workaround into play, or to placate the Chinese government and have them rescind the ban.

Dealing With The Auto Restart Issues After Installing A Windows 8 Update

Microsoft releases regular patches and hotfixes to update Windows operating systems and maintain its performance at the optimum level. If you are using Windows 8, you can install the recommended and important updates via the pre-included Windows Update utility in your computer.

When you install Windows 8 update from the Windows Update center, a notification message pops up on the login screen prompting you to restart the device. The notification says that you will have to restart the Windows 8 system manually for three days, and after that, Windows will automatically perform the task. After the designated period of three days, Windows 8 system shows a countdown timer for 15 minutes and reboots automatically.

However, some users cite that if the computer is locked with a password, Windows 8 does not start the countdown and neither restarts until they log in. Yet as soon as they unlock the computer, the timer starts and the system reboots after 15 minutes. Though this might not seem to be much of a problem to an individual user, most system administrators, who need to work on several computers within their organization, sense this issue troublesome.

Addressing the user grievances, Microsoft recently issued a patch to fix the problem in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. The new update features a Registry key, which forces Windows system to restart automatically even when the device is locked. Microsoft help center highlights that after installing the update, users are required to edit the Windows Registry and enable the added feature. Follow the below given set of instructions to alter the Registry settings.

Steps to follow

• Use the Windows + R shortcut key combination to open the Run command. Type in regedit in the command box and press Enter on your keyboard to launch the Windows Registry Editor window. 
• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > Windows > WindowsUpdate > AU. If you do not see the AU or WindowsUpdate subfolders under Windows, create them manually.
• When in the AU directory, locate DWORD AlwaysAutoRebootAtScheduledTime key on the right pane. Note that if you have created the AU directory manually, you will have to create the DWORD AlwaysAutoRebootAtScheduledTime key as well.
• Double click over the DWORD key and change its value to 1.
• When done, close the Windows Registry Editor dialogue box and restart your computer.

When your system reboots, it will be set to restart automatically whenever you install Windows 8 update, and there will be no three days notification period as well.