"Preparing To Configure Windows. Please Do Not Turn Off Your Computer"

Instead of starting in safe mode, I had to start in normal mode. This has happened to me more than once. You could try a system restore but I had trouble with this, as well. When I used normal mode, after a time, system configuration automatically started a "reverse update". Although it too, took awhile, it seemed to work. Sure is annoying though when you can't even use your computer to get online to try and search for solutions, which sure aren't always easy to find.

I have removed all automatic updates and now download them myself, on an individual basis. However, I have still had difficulty installing some of them and one in particular, is ironically supposed to stop windows explorer from crashing so much.

Hi.  I am working on a Windows 7 Home Premium laptop and had just installed updates as well and this occurred to me too.  I rebooted into safe mode and it came to the same blue screen stating "Failed to update" and after about 10 minutes it went back to booting up and back to "Preparing to configure Windows. Do not turn off your computer."  I have recycled the power now 3 times to no avail.  Please HELP!

I just experienced the same problem.  When I left work, last evening, the logoff screen displayed a message indicating that updates were being installed and that I should not turn off my computer. I turned off the monitor, but left the processor running.

When I turned my computer monitor back on this evening, some 19 hours later, the same message was still being displayed and the computer was showing no disk activity.  After waiting another hour, I crossed my fingers and restarted the computer. Then, another message was displayed:

"Preparing To Configure Windows. Please Do Not Turn Off Your Computer"

After four and a half hours more hours, with nothing appearing to be happening, I manually restarted my computer several times.  Each time, I was given the option to start up in Safe Mode, but when I tried to choose an option other than Normal Startup, nothing happened.  Each time, the startup list timed out and every time but the last, the above message was again displayed. The last time, an additional line appeared in the message, "32% complete."  Then, after another 20 minutes, Windows started up.

Since we are all dependent on these updates, and grateful that most of them install without a problem, it might help if there was a little more information provided, and an option made available for the user to download a few of the updates at a time.  As it was, I was not able to use my computer for almost 24 hours.  Surely there is a better way.

I appreciate the assurances that my Window 7 operating system has not been damaged by my manual restarts. Thanks.

I got in to work this morning and saw that I had updates to install. I went ahead and rebooted my computer.

The computer restarted, but went to the same screen..."Stage 2 of 2. Preparing to configure Windows. Do not turn off your computer."

After waiting 20 minutes I called our IT support desk.

I was told to just let it run, and that it may take another 20 minutes or more, but that if I restarted the computer I could irrevocably screw up the OS and I would have to have the machine wiped and rebuilt.

Now it's been over an hour of me just sitting in my office twiddling my thumbs.

Also, the same thing happened last week on the Win7 machine I just bought. After waiting over an hour I just powered it down and restarted it. Everything seems to be OK, but who knows.

My real question is...Why doesn't Microsoft add some sort of progress bar for these super-important updates that seem to take hours? It's my computer...I don't usually have the luxury of waiting for two hours before I start work.