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

Anonymous
2009-12-03T01:02:16+00:00

Hi. I just got my new laptop yesterday with Windows 7 Home Premium. When I left for school this morning, I shut down my computer and saw that it had 22 Windows Updates to download. When I turned it back on this afternoon, it was stuck at a screen that said "Preparing To Configure Windows. Please Do Not Turn Off Your Computer." I decided to wait but it stayed the same for as long as I waited. Finally, I powered it off by holding on the power button, and just normally booted the system. Will there be any damage done to my new laptop? Is there any way I can prevent this update glitch from happening again? Thanks.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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Anonymous
2010-04-23T05:50:01+00:00

Hi. I just got my new laptop yesterday with Windows 7 Home Premium. When I left for school this morning, I shut down my computer and saw that it had 22 Windows Updates to download. When I turned it back on this afternoon, it was stuck at a screen that said "Preparing To Configure Windows. Please Do Not Turn Off Your Computer." I decided to wait but it stayed the same for as long as I waited. Finally, I powered it off by holding on the power button, and just normally booted the system. Will there be any damage done to my new laptop? Is there any way I can prevent this update glitch from happening again? Thanks.

I just bought a Toshiba Laptop for a Client with windows 7 home,

As a favour for my clients I usually run windows update for them so they get it all working and are 100% confident that when they get it as up to date as possible,

I ran into the exact same problem as above, i read this thread and read all different reply's but none of them realy worked for me and i didnt have time to wait...

this is what worked for me:

  1. Hold down the power button and switch of your machine
  2. Restart your computer and just before windows boots hit the F8 button
  3. Boot into safe mode
  4. login (if nessecary)
  5. Make sure that any virus scanners at this point are disabled before continuing
  6. Click "Start" > "Accessories" > "System Restore"
  7. Click "Next"
  8. Pick an earlier restore point and then click next, (its best to pick the 1 just before you had problems)
  9. Click next and follow the prompts and it will start a system restore
  10. wait till your computer does this System Restore process
  11. Regardless of whether the system restore process fails or passes it should now get you out being stuck at "Preparing To Configure Windows. Please Do Not Turn Off Your Computer."

Now...

  1. login if required

13 Disable Virus Scanner before moving on

  1. Run windows update
  2. now it should run without any problems
  3. if you do have problems and run into a loop Call your Computer Manufacturer or the company that you purchased it off and see if they can help you,

Thanks

Michael

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-04-24T00:59:13+00:00

    New Gateway NV53.....Still in my first hour of "preparing..." Sheesh. Guess I will just go to bed and check in the morning. Writing from my DEll with a mostly cremated graphics card. At least it let me get online long enough to find this forum. So glad to see I am not alone...phew...

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-05-14T01:32:11+00:00

    Hi Michael,

    I have just had a customer with the same issue.  She had actually installed McAfee Security Scanner yesterday.  Once I uninstalled it in Safe Mode, the windows update ran just fine.  The laptop was also running Eset NOD32 antivirus - but i didn't need to uninstall or disable it at all.  I wonder if all these other folk have McAfee?  We ditched McAfee years ago due to these sorts of problems with it.

    regards,

    Liz

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-05-21T15:24:49+00:00

    I had the same problem with my Gateway NV53.  I followed the suggestion by SEESHARPIST, and MICHAEL_MSCOMPUTING.

    I started in safe mode, chose a system restored to the point prior to the windows updates and disabled my security.

    Then I manually selected 10-20 updates at a time.  I had to reboot after each one which was a little annoying but no where as annoying as being stuck on the preparing to configure screen.

    After I got all of the updates done, I enabled all of my security stuff and it's been working fine every since.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-05-23T16:00:50+00:00

    Hi -- Same problem on a brand-new MSI (I'm in Canada).  Came here and saw the similar problems, so I:

    1.     Did the OS restore from F3 during a hard boot after I gave up waiting and forced the shut down

    2.     Disabled the Norton 60-day trial for 5 hours

    3.     When given the choice, told the OS to install only the important updates, not the recommended ones as well.  This resulted in 20 updates rather than 23, but might have taken out the troublesome ones mentioned below

    4.     Waited 3 hours for it to complete (finally), then

    5.     Rebooted once more as no programmes would load when it said it was ready (hard boot)

    6.     Rebooted a third time as the machine told me it needed to (soft boot)

    7.     Here I am - that wasn't such a chore now, was it??

    Thank you, Australia and New Zealand forum community members, for the reassurance and solutions.

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