How Can You Effectively Stop the Frustrating Windows Update Pending Restart Loop?

What’s the Best Solution to Fix the Annoying Windows Update Pending Restart Problem?

A persistent “Restart required, Pending restart” message in Windows Update can be disruptive and frustrating. This issue typically arises from a failed or incomplete update that leaves the system in a pending state. Follow these clear, actionable steps to resolve the loop and restore normal update functionality.

Identify Pending Updates

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator
2. Run either command to list pending updates:
   • dism /online /get-packages /format:table | Select-String “Pending”
   • Get-WindowsPackage -Online | Where-Object { $_.PackageState -like ‘*Pending*’ }
3. Review the output for updates marked as “PendingReboot” or “InstallPending.”

Boot into Windows Recovery Environment

Restart into recovery mode using:

shutdown /f /r /o /t 0

Alternatively, boot from a Windows installation media or recovery disk.

Cancel Pending Update Actions

Run DISM Command to Revert Pending Actions

DISM /image:C:\ /ScratchDir:C: /cleanup-image /RevertPendingActions

This command cancels scheduled update actions and clears incomplete installations.

Manually Remove Pending Update Files (if DISM Fails)

Delete pending update files:

del C:\Windows\WinSxS\pending.xml
del C:\Windows\WinSxS\cleanup.xml (if present)
del C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\*.* (clears update cache)

Edit the Registry to Remove Pending Operations

1. Open Registry Editor (regedit)
2. Load the offline registry hive: C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\Software
3. Navigate to: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
4. Delete the PendingFileRenameOperations parameter
5. Unload the hive to save changes

Finalize and Verify

Restart the Computer Check Windows Update to confirm the pending restart message is gone.

Repair and Restore System Integrity

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

These commands check and repair system files to prevent future update issues.