"Updates are underway" stuck

Sandy Madan 25 Reputation points
2026-04-16T15:09:37.19+00:00

When I went to shutdown my Windows 11 PC last night, it stated there were updates to install. I selected the install updates and Shutdown option, and then exited the room. This morning (more than 10 hours later), the screen was still displaying "Updates are underway. Please keep your computer on."

I have already tried to hard-boot the PC by holding down the Power Button (several times), it always comes back to the black screen with "Updates are underway. Please keep your computer on."

I have also hard-booted 3 times in a row to access Automatic Repair mode and tried to Uninstall the Update, but that did not work. It states, Windows ran into a problem and was unable to uninstall the update. I have access to the "Advanced Options" menu but I don't know what to do next.

How can I fix this?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Windows update
Answer accepted by question author
DaveM121 929K Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-04-16T15:44:22.7233333+00:00

If you are able to access the Recovery Environment and the update cannot be uninstalled, try performing a system restore from inside the Recovery Environment as the next step, if that succeeds, Windows should boot up correctly..

Go to Advanced Option - Troubleshoot - System Restore

Check to see if you have a restore point you can go back to dated before that update failed.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-04-16T15:09:56.7+00:00

    Use the Advanced options environment to repair the failed update and system files, then retry Windows Update.

    1. From the “Advanced options” screen, open Command Prompt.
    2. Restore and repair system files:
      1. Run: 
              DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
        Wait for it to complete and confirm it reports “The restore operation completed successfully” or “The operation completed successfully”. If no confirmation appears, run the command again.
      2. Then run: 
              sfc /scannow
        Wait until verification reaches 100%, then close Command Prompt.
    3. Back in Advanced options, choose Continue to boot into Windows normally. If it still loops back to “Updates are underway”, return to Advanced options.
    4. In Advanced options, open Command Prompt again and reset Windows Update’s distribution folders (advanced step):
      1. Run these commands one by one, pressing Enter after each and waiting for completion: 
              net stop bits
      net stop wuauserv
      ren %systemroot%\softwaredistribution softwaredistribution.bak
      ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.bak
      net start bits
      net start wuauserv
      2. Close Command Prompt and choose Continue to start Windows.
    5. Once Windows starts successfully, back up important files (to external drive or OneDrive). Then go to Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates and let updates re-download and install.
    6. If the system still cannot boot past the update screen, use Advanced options to perform a repair installation:
      • From a working session (if you can reach the desktop), use Settings > System > Recovery and choose Reinstall/Reset this PC with Keep my files. This reinstalls Windows while preserving personal files but removes apps and settings.
      • If Windows never reaches the desktop, use installation media to perform a repair install or, as a last resort, a clean installation of Windows 11 from the software download page after ensuring files are backed up where possible.

    These steps repair corrupted system files, reset Windows Update components, and, if needed, reinstall Windows while minimizing data loss.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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    1 person found this answer helpful.
  2. Sandy Madan 25 Reputation points
    2026-04-16T20:03:32.5566667+00:00

    The system generated AI answer of DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth resulted in a DISM Error 87 ("option is unknown"). I could not figure out how to make that work.

    But the other commented suggestion of performing a system restore from inside the Recovery Environment did the trick.
    I went to Advanced Option - Troubleshoot - System Restore
    There were two older images I selected one of them and hit the Restore button.
    It took about 5 minutes and the restore was successful. My system booted up without issue after that.

    Thank you for the quick response DaveM121

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