I was 1 hour into an 8 hour data warehouse build on my VM, when Windows popped up with a dialogue informing me that it would initiate Shut Down in 10 minutes. No button to Cancel or Delay, just “Okay”.

To Microsoft, I offer a hardy Dickensian “GOOD AFTERNOON, SIR!”

shutdown /a can abort timed shutdowns in windows.

Maybe because you chose "remind me later" too many times before?

I second @CoreFusionX. You can (of course if you have admin privileges) abort an automated shutdown.

This by no means is defense of Micro$oft. We use Azure and you wouldn't believe the kind of crap I have to put up with daily, like different parts of Azure being incompatible with each other.

Open notepad.