I find that at the end of a long day, I sometimes have a large number of programs running. All which I will need to use tomorrow. Normally, this isn't an issue, I can simply lock the machine and come back tomorrow. My problem arrises when windows update launches in the middle of the night and force restarts my computer. That in turns closes all my open software. I of course save everything regularly so I don't loose anything, but I waste time reopening all of those resources whenever there is a restart.

[EDIT]

I should clarify that I still want to be able to restart my computer when an update comes down. Preventing the restart only delays the problem until later. I should have been more specific in that I want to be able to recover my working environment after a restart for any reason. Things like scheduled maintence, power loss, updates, and software installs.

[EDIT]

I can't simply have them setup to launch at startup becasuse those files change from week to week. So I need something that monitors what I have open, and gives me the option to "recover" those software sessions when I log back in.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do? I'd even be willing to purchase software to do this for me if that is the only option.

Thanks