How to Enable or Disable Windows Media Center Updates to Wake Up the Computer
Information
This will show you how to enable or disable the Windows Media Center (mcupdate) task from waking up the computer from sleep when it checks for Media Center updates in Windows 7 and Vista.
If disabled, the mcupdate task will still check for Media Center updates if the computer is running, but will not wake the computer to do so.
You will need to be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial.
Here's How:
1. Open the Start Menu, then type taskschd.msc in the search box and press Enter.
2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes (Windows 7) or Continue (Vista).
3. In the left pane of Task Scheduler, double click on (to expand) Task Scheduler Library, Microsoft, Windows, then select Media Center. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: If the Task Scheduler Library tree (left pane) is not available in the Task Scheduler, then click on View (menu bar), Customize, check the Console Tree box, and click on OK.
4. In the middle pane, double click on mcupdate. (see screenshot above)
5. Click on the Conditions tab, and do step 6 or 7 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot below)
6. To Enable Waking the Computer to Run Windows Media Center Updates
A) Check the Wake the computer to run this task box, and click on OK. (see screenshot above)
B) Go to step 8.
7. To Disable Waking the Computer to Run Windows Media Center Updates
A) Uncheck the Wake the computer to run this task box, and click on OK. (see screenshot below step 5)
8. Repeat step 4 above, but double click on mcupdate_scheduled instead.
9. When finished, you can close Task Scheduler if you like.
System Manufacturer/Model Number packard bell g5800 OS windows 7 64 bit CPU i7 870 Motherboard packard bell Memory 12gig ddr3 Graphics Card firepro v4800 Monitor(s) Displays hazro 27inch Screen Resolution 2550x1550
Hard Drives corsair ssd 250gig
seagate 500gig
packard bell 1tb
Thank you Brink (Shawn) for the excellent write up. Between your post and someone's trick on "powercfg -lastwake" I figured what was waking up my computer on its own. I register for an account just to say Thank you.
Hi, I checked my system to find out why it is waking up and this appears to be the problem EXCEPT... the "wake computer to run this task" box is unchecked already. As far as I am aware I am the administrator as it is the only account on the PC and I assume it wouldn't show me the options or at least they'd be greyed out but with the box checked.
So slightly confused as to why this task runs and wakes the computer even though the box is unchecked... any other ways around this?