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I have running a desktop computer as a server ATM for personal reasons. I don't have physical access to the computer, I can only access it through Teamviewer. The computer is multiboot, with the default not set to Vista. This means that if/when the computer restarts I don't have access to it anymore. This has happened twice now, and is a pain in the ass (for both me and the people that have to restart it manually). I have no idea what the cause of the restart is, it might be automatic updates or a 3rd party program.

How can I prevent a Windows Vista computer from restarting/shutting down by software means? (obviously pulling the plug will shut the computer down)

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You might also think about setting the computer to boot to Vista by default. You can only gain from doing it. –  sashoalm Jan 17 '12 at 14:09
@satuon: Taken out of context that sounds hilarious. But seriously, I don't want to bother the people at which the computer resides with this. When I get physical access to the computer again (this will be at least 2 weeks) I will set it to Windows Vista by default. –  orlp Jan 17 '12 at 14:19
Have you disabled Automatic Updates? Most common reason for spontanious reboots :) –  sashoalm Jan 17 '12 at 14:25
You won't be able to entirely prevent restarts - in particular there is no way to prevent a restart (or halt) in the event of a blue screen kernel exception. For windows updates, rather than disabling them entirely, set the options to 'download and notify' rather than 'download and install' - that way you can control when you install critical security fixes. –  Mike Insch Jan 17 '12 at 15:03
You can modify boot menu to make Vista the first ( default ) choice through a remote connection. –  Ramhound Jan 17 '12 at 16:43

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