If you’ve got a Windows machine, you’ll know what we’re talking about. You’re in a hurry to go somewhere but you’re just doing some last-minute task on your machine. Done, great. You go to shutdown but your PC sits back, gives you the finger and starts installing an update. It is at this point that you start to question your sanity. Did you deserve this? You look for answers but there are none to be found. So you tell yourself that you’re fine but you’re not really fine but you just can’t get into it because not even you really understand.

Someone at Microsoft has heard your (our) pleas and have started working on a possible solution. In the release notes for the new insider preview of Windows 11, Microsoft announced it was working on a feature that will give you an estimate on how long the update will take to install on your machine. The blog post reads,

“We are providing estimates for how long a restart for updates would take. When your PC is pending reboot for a quality update, you will be able to see estimates on your power menu under Start, in restart notifications, on the Windows Update Settings page and inside the Windows Update icon that shows up at the lower right of Taskbar.”

Unfortunately, some insiders that have access to the dev channel, say that at the moment the new feature is just cosmetic as it seems to always displays 5 minutes for everyone. That could be because the insiders all have the same update, as Windows 11 is still in its relative infancy. Not just that but the estimate is wildly inaccurate with some users reporting it taking much longer.

Thanks, Microsoft, but not just yet

This probably won’t save you from every headache that comes with Windows updates, but it will hopefully give you some warning so that if you need to head out ASAP, you’ll at least know how late you’ll be.

Source: Bleeping Computer