System Updates and Restarts

Regular patching is required to keep devices and information secure, and to stay compliant with university policy 5.10.  Information regarding patching on Windows and macOS based machines is below.

Windows

  • Operating system and third-party application updates are made available on the 4th Tuesday of each month.
  • The deadline for installing all updates will be the following Tuesday at 4pm.  
  • If a system restart is required after installation, it will automatically occur after a brief delay.
  • Forced restarts can be avoided by manually restarting after patches are installed.
  • User will be notified that updates are required and that a reboot is pending by pop-up messages from the Windows System Tray and the Software Center icon.

macOS

  • Updates for macOS will be configured to download and install automatically as Apple releases them. Any update requiring a restart will prompt you with an alert either to Restart, Schedule a Restart, or Snooze. You will be required to choose one of these options - the alert will not close until you do.
  • Until the computer is restarted after an update that requires a restart, you will see a banner alert reminder once each day prompting you to restart.
     
  • Third-party application updates will be made available via the Self Service application on the 4th Tuesday of each month.  These updates usually appear later-afternoon.
  • The deadline for installing all updates will be the following Tuesday by 4pm.
  • After the one-week deadline, the patches will install automatically and users will be notified of restarts for impacted applications.
  • Forced restarts can be avoided by manually restarting after patches are installed.