Windows 8 system update stuck, what should I do? The message “Preparing Windows. Don't turn off your computer." hangs constantly. The system does not boot. What to do

Every user of computers and laptops encounters automatic updating of the operating system, because the system itself initially recommends running this process by default. So, we already know that if, when you turn off your computer, the message “Updates are being installed” appears on a blue background and the device does not turn off, you just have to wait and it will automatically turn off. But what if this doesn’t happen, and the laptop or computer is stuck on one update and won’t move on?

What should I do if my computer freezes while installing updates?

Since completely shutting down the computer while installing system updates is not completed can damage system files, your possible options for action may be as follows:

Don't jump to conclusions about restarting your computer. Better wait a little longer. Sometimes the system can continue the started process even after half an hour.
If more than half an hour has passed, listen to the operation of the hard drive. When the laptop or computer is in complete silence, and the hard drive does not show any signs of operation, then it is indeed possible to force it to shut down. To do this, as you know, just hold down the Power button for a few seconds. If you hear that the hard drive continues to work, it is better to wait until it quiets down.

After turning off the laptop, you can remove the battery and disconnect the power cable from the network.
If the laptop or computer does not turn on in normal mode, then it is better to perform a safe boot into Windows, during which the system should be rolled back to an automatically installed restore point.
Try a clean boot of Windows. That is, in the system configuration window (msconfig command), disable startup items and all services not used by Microsoft (click “Hide Microsoft services” and “Disable all”.
Check your hard drive for errors. If you do not know how to do this, it is better to contact a specialist to carry out such a check and diagnose the device. After all, freezing can be a signal of a lack of RAM or the presence of viruses in the system.
Reinstalling Windows is also an option if your computer freezes while installing updates. This method is more radical and, if you have not done this before, it is better to turn to specialists.

If the actions taken do not produce results, and you decide to contact specialists, as, for example, it was indicated in paragraphs 6 and 7, or if your computer still freezes, the ITKEY service center will be happy to help you and advise you on the further use of the system.
The main thing is not to forget about the above rules, especially the first two. Remember that haste and rash actions are obstacles to the normal operation of the device! Do not create such obstacles, and if they arise, we invite you to eliminate them together with the ITKEY service center!

Now Windows 10 is a new operating system for users. But despite its capabilities, it still needs improvement, like any other system, for convenient use. If errors occur and updates freeze, you should not solve the problems yourself. In order not to aggravate the situation, it is better to use proven methods. Let's look at how to deal with computer freezes during Windows 10 updates.

Why does Windows 10 freeze when downloading updates?

The occurrence of this problem can be due to various reasons:

working with various programs that reduce PC performance;
a large number of applications running in the background;
the update conflicts with the antivirus;
lack of free disk space;
faulty RAM.

How to fix updates stuck at 32%

Some computers have a very poor Internet connection or poor performance.

Updating on older devices takes a very long time, so users with weak PCs can only wait patiently for the process to complete. The hard drive light will blink to indicate that updates are not yet complete.

Typically, the PC freezes at 32% when you try to update the system using Windows Update.

If Windows update has stopped at 32%, do not rush to interrupt the process - the computer can load the necessary files

The device may slow down for a long time, not responding to anything and showing no signs of finishing the updates. This error can be easily fixed. You need to download or install old update packages so that the new system can work stably and without problems. You need to run Windows Update diagnostics:

Press Win + R buttons.
Enter the command msdt /id WindowsUpdateDiagnostic in the Run window. Click OK.
Click "Advanced".
Check the “Automatically apply patches” checkbox and select “Run as administrator.”
Click "Next". Once the steps are completed, you can safely upgrade the OS to Windows 10.

When a black screen appears and the mouse pointer has a blue circle, you might think that updates have stopped and the computer has simply frozen. In fact, it downloads dynamic updates for Windows 10.

The reason for the black screen is loading dynamic updates.

The process really seems very slow with little productivity. To speed up loading, check if you have connected any USB devices. Turn them off. Then the PC will work faster.

Reasons why your computer won't update after 99% (also applies to 91%)

After booting to 99%, the computer completely freezes, and the installation can take a long time. This happens because you have downloaded an unwanted program on your PC. The problem will be solved if the user performs a clean boot, which starts the Windows system using minimal sets of drivers and various programs, and thus reduces the chances of conflicts with system software. A clean boot will help get rid of unnecessary applications running in the background, which only slow down the operating system:

Press Win + R keys.
Enter the msconfig command. Click OK.
Open the Services tab.
Check the "Do not display Microsoft services" checkbox.
Click on "Disable All".

How to deal with update installation freezes at 71%

The computer stops at 71% of downloading updates due to a large cluster of programs running in the background. Be sure to look at which programs you no longer need and turn them off in the Startup menu:

Go to the Start menu. Enter the msconfig command. Wait for System Configuration to open.
Click the "Open Task Manager" button.
Go to the Startup tab in Task Manager. Right-click on any program and click “Disable”. Click “Apply” and “OK”.
Turn off Task Manager and restart your PC.

Video: how to disable autorun programs in Windows 10

Computer slows down by 75% when updating Windows

If your computer has more than one hard drive, then disconnect everything (including the external hard drive, USB key) except the target hard drive on which Windows 10 will be installed. Very often, when it freezes at 75%, the problem that occurs changes the system locale to English language. And the update is successful only in the non-English version of the OS. You should change the system locale to Russian. To do this, do the following:

Go to the Start menu. Select "Control panel".
Click on the “Clock, Language, and Region” section.
Select "Add a language" under "Language".
Click on "Add a language".
Find the language you need in the list and click on it.
Click on "Options".
Wait for the language availability check to complete.
Click "Download and install language pack".
Wait until the download process completes.
Go to the language settings (the “Options” button).
In the window that opens, click on the “Make this the primary language” button.
Restart your computer after changing the system locale.

Video: how to change the locale in Windows 10

A universal way to fix errors when updates freeze

You should use the Windows Update troubleshooter to help resolve update errors:

Press Win + X and go to Control Panel.
Click on the "Troubleshooting" section.
Under System and Security, click Troubleshoot using Windows Update.
Click on fix problems using Update Center
Wait for the wizard to complete its check and determine if the error has been resolved.

If none of the above solutions help you fix your Windows 10 upgrade problem, try deleting the Software Distribution folder:

Go to the path “C” - “Windows” - “SoftwareDistribution” - “Download folder” and delete all files from the last folder.
Go to the Start menu and select Command Prompt (Admin).
Type the command exe /update now and press Enter.
Go to Windows Update and check if the error is resolved.

Preparing to install updates freezes

Most often, updates getting stuck is due to a software conflict or a pre-existing issue that simply wasn't discovered until Windows updates started installing. Do the following:

Video: How to enter Safe Mode in Windows 10

Downloading updates freezes

Freezes occur due to a damaged OS distribution that does not have enough space on the hard drive, or due to incorrect settings in the BIOS settings. To correct the settings, do the following:

"Getting Updates" searches endlessly

Sometimes it happens that loading a new version of the OS starts to slow down when updates arrive. This process can search endlessly without producing any results.

The reason for this freeze may be the incorrect operation of the Windows Update Service, because it is this that causes the loading to slow down. To disable it, do the following:

Almost any problem or error related to a computer can be solved nowadays. Developers are always trying to improve the performance of the new operating system for the user, but many problems have to be dealt with alone. The most important thing is to use trusted sources so that the system is updated without problems.

Obviously, any Windows user, when shutting down or restarting their computer, very often saw the message “Preparing Windows. Don't turn off your computer." This is normal and concerns either the initial system setup or the installation of important updates. But there are also situations when the message does not disappear from the screen for a long time, and the terminal does not turn off or the system does not start when rebooting. What is the reason for this, how to get rid of this problem, read on.

Preparing Windows

We will not consider installing the system now. Apparently, the message “Preparing Windows. Do not turn off the computer” is mostly associated with when operating system files are copied to it, and it is not possible to run them for initial setup. Here you will have to either check the disk initially, or change it altogether.

Another thing is installing updates. Indeed, after the download of critical packages is completed, the message “Preparing Windows. Do not turn off the computer" indicates that the system is integrating and configuring them. But freezing or looping of these processes can appear completely unexpectedly.

“Preparing Windows” hangs on the screen for a long time. Don't turn off your computer." Reasons for freezing

What could cause this behavior of the operating system? Apparently, no one can pinpoint the exact reason. But in most cases, it can be assumed that such a failure is associated with the services that oversee the search and installation of downloaded packages.

In other words, failures are observed in the Update Center. Either its components are damaged, or the service is not working correctly, or something really happened to the hard drive. Get rid of the situation where the “Preparing Windows. “Don’t turn off the computer” hangs for too long, and the system shows no signs of life; a normal reboot is impossible (the message may appear again during a restart). Therefore, radical methods will have to be used.

How to solve the problem in the simplest way?

The first proposed solution is to use a safe start. For systems below the tenth version, at the very beginning of the boot, you must use the standard entry into the extended menu by pressing the F8 key, after which the boot of the last known good configuration is selected.

If this does not help, and upon restart the message “Preparing Windows. Do not turn off the computer” does not disappear from the screen for a long time, working with updates again, you can force the system to reboot several times in order for automatic recovery to start.

If this does not happen, the best option would be to boot in safe mode, after which you will need to roll back yourself, using either the standard recovery partition in the Control Panel, or by launching the command console with the line rstrui.exe and then selecting a rollback point.

Note: in different builds of Windows 10, entering safe mode can be done through the diagnostic menu or when starting from removable media.

Disabling Update Center

So, we assume that the system did boot into safe mode. The first step is to deactivate the Update Center service.

In an OS below the tenth modification, you can disable it directly in the corresponding section of the Control Panel. In Windows 10, this procedure is performed exclusively through the services section. We will start from this section, since this solution is universal for all Windows systems.

First you need to enter the editor using the “Run” console and the services.msc command, find “Update Center” there, right-click or double-click to open the parameter editing window, stop the service, set its startup type to disabled, and then restart systems.

Removing updates

However, it happens that, for example, the corresponding message in Windows 10 (“Preparing Windows. Do not turn off the computer”) appears again only because the updates have already been downloaded, but the system is stubbornly trying to configure them. To correct the situation, they must be completely removed.

To do this, boot the system in the same safe mode, go to the programs and components section, select the section for viewing installed updates and delete the latest downloaded packages. Since the service responsible for the functioning of the Update Center is in a deactivated state, it makes no sense to run a manual search to exclude failed updates. Once the removal is complete, we reboot. In theory, the system should boot in normal mode.

Clear the cache and restart the update service

If Windows Update Troubleshooter was unable to fix update problems, you can try clearing the cache of downloaded updates manually. It often happens that update files become corrupted when you turn off your computer while Windows has not yet finished updating. In this case, you can clear the update cache, and Windows will download them again.

Go to the Start menu, type “Command Prompt”, right-click on the icon that appears and run Command Prompt as an administrator. Then enter the following commands sequentially, waiting for the previous one to complete:

Stopping update services:

net stop wuauserv

net stop cryptSvc

net stop msiserver

Rename the folders with updates (after a successful update they can be deleted):

ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old

ren "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\application data\Microsoft\Network\downloader" downloader.old

We start the update services again:

net start wuauserv

net start cryptSvc

net start msserver

The system update should now go smoothly.

Checking the integrity of the system

Sometimes updates cannot be installed because some system files are damaged. You can check if everything is okay with the system and correct errors if necessary. To do this, run Command Prompt as administrator and enter the following command:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Press Enter. When the system has finished executing the command, enter:

Press Enter and wait for the command to complete, and then reboot.

Performing a clean boot

This is worth doing if the previous methods did not produce results. A clean boot of Windows is booting the system without any third-party applications that could interfere with the update process. To learn how to perform a clean boot, read the instructions.

After rebooting, repeat the previous steps to clear the update cache again. Then launch Update Center. Before doing this, it is recommended to disconnect unnecessary peripheral devices from the computer.

Be sure to re-enable startup apps by resetting your computer to normal startup when the system update is complete.

Installing updates manually

Windows allows you to download and install updates manually. Sometimes it helps. If you see that some updates cannot be downloaded or installed incorrectly, you can find them on the Microsoft website using their number, which looks like KB1234567.

Did you have problems with the update? If yes, how did you solve them?

There are currently three different issues that Windows 10 users are facing when installing updates. Firstly, there is an error downloading the update or the download process is frozen. Secondly, there are problems during the installation of the update, and finally, the system crashes with BSOD after a reboot. Below are several possible troubleshooting solutions.

Fixing Windows 10 update download problem

If the cumulative update does not download, try the following steps:

If a cumulative update freezes during download or the installation fails, something has gone wrong with the update files. After the folder containing the update files is cleared, Windows Update will try to download the update components again. Go to the following location:

C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download

Delete all files/folders, but do not delete the Download folder itself. Select all files and folders using CTRL + A and press Delete key to delete. Restart your computer and run the update process again.

If the cumulative update freezes during download, try the following solution:

Enter Services
Scroll to Service Delivery optimization.
Right-click on the service and select Properties.
Change the “Startup Type” to “Manual”.
Restart your computer.
If Windows 10 update still gets stuck, change the startup type to Automatic (Delayed Start).

Stop the Windows Update service

If stopping the Delivery Optimization service does not solve the problem, also try stopping the Windows Update service. If your Windows 10 update is stuck at the “Initializing...” step, try the following solution:

Click on the Start menu icon.
Enter Services and launch the classic application of the same name.
Scroll to Service Windows Update.
Right-click on the service and select Stop.
Restart your computer.
Check for new updates.
The update should proceed as normal.

Windows Update reset script

Completely reset the Windows Update client settings. It has been tested on Windows 7, 8, 10 and Server 2012 R2. The script will configure services and registry keys related to Windows Update, restoring the default settings. It will also clean up files related to Windows Update.

Fixing Windows 10 update installation problem

In some cases, you may encounter a problem while installing the update. If the update installation is stuck at some point, try the next solution.

If your computer is frozen at the stage, then follow the instructions below.

While holding the power button, turn off the machine.
Restart your computer and boot into Safe Mode.
Sign in to your account (if required).
Make sure all virus scanners are disabled before continuing.
From the Start menu, type Recovery and select the appropriate desktop app.
Click Running System Restore.
Select an earlier restore point, and then click Next.
Follow the instructions to begin system recovery.
Wait while your computer completes the system restore process.
Regardless of whether the restore is successful or fails, you will most likely get rid of the error stuck at the moment “Preparing to set up Windows. Don't turn off your computer."
Sign in to your account if required.
Disable virus scanners before continuing.
Start the Windows update process.
The update should now install without problems.

Some users may encounter a stop error that causes a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) to be displayed during a system reboot.

If you encounter a BSOD crash when upgrading Windows 10, check out this article:

Disabling Windows 10 updates and drivers

Sometimes you may need to disable the installation of Windows 10 updates on your computer. Windows 10 Pro users can defer updates for a certain period of time, but Windows 10 Home users do not have this option.

Microsoft has provided a separate "Show or Hide Updates" tool to disable cumulative updates or even drivers.

DISM commands to check for problems with Windows 10

You can use the official DISM commands to restore a Windows image to fix any problem with your updates. Before you start, it's a good idea to take a full system backup or create a system restore point in case something goes wrong.

Using the CheckHealth option in DISM

Team /CheckHealth DISM allows you to detect potential corruption. This command is used only to find damage, but does not perform any repair operations.

Command line, right-click on the link that appears and select "Run as Administrator" because running DISM requires device administrator rights.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

UsageoptionsScanHealth inDISM

Team / ScanHealth DISM allows you to scan your Windows image for any damage. Unlike /CheckHealth, the /ScanHealth check can take up to 10 minutes.

To run this command follow these steps:

1. Search for Start menu Command line

2. In the "Command Prompt" type the following command and press Enter:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

UsageoptionsRestoreHealth inDISM

Team /RestoreHealth DISM allows you to automatically repair damaged Windows images. Unlike /ScanHealth, the /RestoreHealth scan can take up to 10 minutes.

To run this command follow these steps:

1. Search for Start menu Command line, right-click on the link that appears and select "Run as administrator."

2. In the "Command Prompt" type the following command and press Enter:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth