Partition Recovery™
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An expert tool for recovering lost partitions
Last updated: Jun 05, 2023

How to fix Windows Update looping

Here you will find out:

  • what the causes of the Windows Update loop are
  • how to fix this issue
  • how DiskInternals Partition Recovery can help you

Are you ready? Let's read!

The causes of the Windows Update loop

Windows Update can encounter an issue and stop abruptly or enter into a kind of loop. The possible causes of Windows Update getting stuck include filesystem errors, disk write errors, operating system issues, or malware attacks. There could be other reasons for Windows Update looping, but these are the commonest ones.

Windows Update looping can be annoying and time-wasting. There are ways to get around it, but you may need a Windows installation (setup) disk.

How to fix this issue

Try out any of these troubleshooting tips to fix this issue.

Method 1: Boot with the Last Known Good Configuration mode

What does this mean? It means that you should boot the computer into “Last Known Good Configuration.” This option is available in the “Advanced Boot Options” menu in Windows 7 and Vista.

  • Shut down the computer and attempt the reboot it
  • Immediately after pressing the power button, press the F8 key continuously – this will launch the Advanced Boot Options menu.
  • From the menu, use arrow keys and highlight “Last Known Good Configuration (advanced)”.
  • Hit the “Enter” key.

Method 2: Use SFC

The built-in SFC utility can be of great help here. It runs through Windows Command Prompt to fix PC issues.

Use SFC to fix Windows Update loop.

  • Insert your Windows Installation media/disc and boot from it
  • Click on the “Repair your computer” link at the bottom-left corner
  • Get into the System Recovery Options menu and select “Command Prompt.”
  • Enter this command into the CMD interface and hit enter: sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows

Note: if Windows is installed in a custom drive, replace “c” with the letter of that drive.

Wait for the SFC scan to run completely, then remove the installation media and restart the computer.

Method 3: Delete the update files

By deleting cleanup.xml and pending.xml files from the \Windows\WinSxS\ folder, you may fix Windows Update looping.

  • Insert Windows installation media and reboot the PC
  • When you see the message, “press any key to boot from disk…” hit any key on your keyboard and the PC will boot from the installation disk.
  • Select “Repair your computer” link.
  • Get into the System Recovery Options menu and select “Command Prompt”.
  • Enter these commands into the interface and hit Enter after each one: del C:\Windows\WinSxS\cleanup.xml and del C:\Windows\WinSxS\pending.xml
  • Type “Exit” to quit Command Prompt.

Restart the computer afterward.

If you need to recover deleted partitions

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