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Why is windows update taking so long?

Anonymous
2025-01-23T02:04:32+00:00

After the restart stage of windows 11 update I have black screen with spinning circle and “Working on updates 0%. Please keep your computer on.” It’s been hours like this. How long should it take? It went 7 hours last night and it was 1%. I forced a shutdown and started again. It’s been 3 hours at 0%!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Windows update

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-01-23T03:38:46+00:00

    That works for getting my computer back on but I have to start the Windows 11 update all over and I’m afraid that same thing is going to happen again. Once it’s installed and it restarts, it will go right back to that state.

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  2. Nallasamy K 4,730 Reputation points
    2025-01-23T02:56:49+00:00

    Hello, and thanks for reaching out! I'm Nals, and I'll be happy to assist you today.

    Since you've already performed a forced shutdown, let's try restarting your computer once more. This can sometimes help get the update process moving again. To do this, press and hold the power button on your computer until it completely powers off. Wait a few seconds, then press the power button again to turn it back on.

    If that doesn’t resolve the issue, please try the following steps and see if that helps

    1. Hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn off your device.
    2. Press the power button again to turn it back on.
    3. When Windows starts, hold down the power button for another 10 seconds to turn it off again.
    4. Press the power button once more to turn it back on.

    This should allow your device to restart into Automatic Repair. From there, select Advanced options to enter the Windows Recovery Environment (winRE).

    In winRE, you can try the following options one by one:

    Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup repair.

    If that doesn’t work, try Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.

    Lastly, you can select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Reset this PC.

    Please let me know how it goes. Thank you!

    Best regards,

    Nals

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  3. Nallasamy K 4,730 Reputation points
    2025-01-23T15:35:52+00:00

    I completely understand how frustrating this situation must be. Could you kindly provide a screenshot of the current Windows update screen?

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-01-23T15:03:43+00:00

    The current window update I believe is still running. I tried the in place download and I was prompted to free up over 10gb. I do not have anything else that I can remove. I removed the on board download and checked my storage and I have over 14gb free. I’m at a loss. I’m going to try the update to the windows 11 that is already in my laptop and hope it proceeds to the end. If it doesn’t work is there a previous windows that can be used?

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  5. Nallasamy K 4,730 Reputation points
    2025-01-23T04:09:07+00:00

    I completely understand your concerns about encountering the same issue during the update process. In this case, I recommend performing an in-place upgrade. This process will upgrade your device to the latest version and repair many issues without deleting any files. It is typically used to fix corrupted system files, Windows update, apps, and address incompatible drivers on the system.

    Please follow the instructions in the following thread to perform the in-place upgrade:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

    I hope this helps. Thank you!

    Regards,

    Nals

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