Latest Vista Update stuck in Stage 3/restart loop

Anonymous
2009-07-26T19:43:12+00:00

I have Vista Business system on a Toshiba notebook, latest Service Pack and with all updates.  It was fully functional when i last shut it down.  I just booted it up to find the Stage 3 page of a Windows update.  0% progress shown, then it restarts, and opens at the same page again.  Stuck in this loop.  Have tried using F8 to get last good installation, and to stop auto restart, without success, it just keeps returning to the Stage 3 page and reboots.  Tried Systems Repair which offered a System Restore, but that wouldn't start.  System Repair now just keeps showing progress (for 3/4 hour) without any HD activity.  I shut it down and it still restarts at same Stage 3 page.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2009-07-29T01:37:10+00:00

Configuring updates stage 3 of 3. 0% complete

Road Map:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949358

Use the System Recovery options to rename the Pending.xml file and edit

the registry:

On the System Recovery Options page, click Command Prompt.

Type cd C:\windows\winsxs, and then press ENTER.

Type ren pending.xml pending.old, and then press ENTER.

Type regedit, and then press ENTER.

Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

On the File menu, click Load Hive.

Locate the following folder:

C:\windows\system32\config\components

When you are prompted for a name, type Offline_Components.

In Registry Editor, locate and then delete the following registry

subkey:

HLKM\Offline Components\AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving

HKLM\Offline Components\PendingXmlIdentifier

Exit Registry Editor:

At the command prompt, type exit to exit Registry Editor.

Press ENTER.

Click Restart.

Kindly reply to me if the steps worked.

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  1. Anonymous
    2009-08-30T11:51:10+00:00

    I have wasted a day trying to resolve this issue before being able to use my sons laptop to seach for the answer, once in dos and using seach in regedit i did the fix, trying to find the files to delete was a pain, but the seach found them quickly.  Will the new windows be the same pain to update.

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  2. Anonymous
    2009-07-29T18:09:44+00:00

    Hi I can see the above advice you've given to fix the update problem, however, coupled with this problem the screen won't come on so I am unable to access anything. What do you suggest? Thank you.

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  3. Anonymous
    2009-07-27T21:01:13+00:00

    I have just had the same issue after installing the latest windows updates (Vista Home Premium SP1 64bit), the problem is that not even safe mode will load up as that also displays the 'Installing Updates Stage 3' message before promptly restarting (it won't even get to the logon screen). This is a major problem as there is nothing easy that you can do to break out of this continuous update restart loop, (Safe Mode Doesn't Work, neither does 'Last Known Good Configuration' or using the Windows Vista installation DVD to try to restore to an earlier restore point, as this is unable to detect any restore points on your computer)

    I have managed to solve the issue though, see the advanced Method 3 on this article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949358 as this solved my problem. The only issue I had was due to the high permission level on the 'pending.xml' file I was unable to rename it to 'pending.old'. The way round this was to boot into a Ubuntu Live CD (Linux) and then navigate to the file and rename it (as Linux ignores the NTFS security permission level of the file).

    Hope this helps, though please Microsoft get this silly update bug fixed!! as I'm sure lots of other people are being caught out by this issue and the solution is quite complex so most people will basically be faced with a 'bricked' computer where they will have to reinstall windows just to fix this silly bug (because it will not allow them to do anything else to try and fix their computer).

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  4. Anonymous
    2009-07-27T19:50:13+00:00

    Hi davidmac11,

     Thank you for choosing Microsoft Answers Forum.

     Boot your Computer in safe mode and try performing a SFC scan on your computer :

     How to boot your system into Safe Mode…

     1.     Restart your computer if it is powered on.

     2.     Tap the F8 key after your computer initially powers on.

     3.     Once you see the Advanced Boot Options menu you can stop tapping.

     4.     Use the up/down arrow keys to highlight your selection.

     5.     Select Safe Mode with Networking and press Enter.

     6.     You should see drivers loading, and then please wait for the welcome screen.

     7.     Logon to your computer using an account with Administrator privileges.

     Steps to perform a SFC scan..

     1.  Open an elevated command prompt. To do this, click Start , click All Programs , click Accessories , right-click Command Prompt , and then click Run as     administrator . If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow .

     2.  Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

             sfc /scannow

     The sfc /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions

     You can also follow the below article which says about renaming the Pending.xml file:

     http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949358

     Let us know how it works.

     Regards,

     Amritha - Microsoft support.

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