wudfsvc won't start

Question

wudfsvc won't start

Kenji 0

I've been experiencing random restarts without blue screens for a while now so I decided to get to the bottom of it.
They were always kernal 42 power errors.

Eventually I figured out that wudfsvc was just missing from my computer so I had to redownload the windows iso to get it back because nothing else worked, I'm now at the point where the service is there but its stuck 'starting' and I can't figure out how to get it to start at all. None of the information online is of help because none of it describes a situation where its stuck 'starting'.

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3 answers

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Answer 1

Kenji 0

C:\Windows\System32>sc queryex wudfsvc

SERVICE_NAME: wudfsvc

    TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS

    STATE              : 2  START_PENDING

                            (NOT_STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)

    WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)

    SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)

    CHECKPOINT         : 0x0

    WAIT_HINT          : 0x7d0

    PID                : 4804

    FLAGS              :
```C:\Windows\System32>  
  
I've ran DISM and SFC a few times, they never say there are any problems.  
  
I've never been able to completely restore the service as stated, as it never starts and the restarts continue to happen, usually when many things may be loading, IE gaming and then opening chrome while in a voice chat on a different app, etc.   
  
Also, I'm really not sure what you mean by around the time the system starts. There are so many events happening and I'm not sure which would be indicative of the service starting. I'm not sure the service is starting at all either to be honest.

Sin-D 12,240 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-05T04:51:23.6733333+00:00

Hi Kenji,

Thank you for providing the sc queryex output. The important detail is that WUDFSvc is remaining in the "START_PENDING" state indefinitely instead of fully starting, which is not expected behavior.

Since you've already run both DISM and SFC multiple times without finding corruption, let's try one targeted check to determine whether a specific driver or service dependency is preventing WUDFSvc from finishing startup.

Please open Command Prompt as Administrator and run: sc qc wudfsvc

In addition, could you check whether any "Windows Driver Foundation-UserMode", "WUDF", or "Kernel-Power" events appear in Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System immediately before or after one of the unexpected restarts?

Answer 2

Kenji 0

C:\Windows\System32>sc queryex wudfsvc

SERVICE_NAME: wudfsvc

    TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS

    STATE              : 2  START_PENDING

                            (NOT_STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)

    WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)

    SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)

    CHECKPOINT         : 0x0

    WAIT_HINT          : 0x7d0

    PID                : 4804

    FLAGS              :

C:\Windows\System32>

I've ran DISM and SFC a few times, they never say there are any problems.

I've never been able to completely restore the service as stated, as it never starts and the restarts continue to happen, usually when many things may be loading, IE gaming and then opening chrome while in a voice chat on a different app, etc.

Also, I'm really not sure what you mean by around the time the system starts. There are so many events happening and I'm not sure which would be indicative of the service starting. I'm not sure the service is starting at all either to be honest.

Kenji 0 Reputation points

2026-08-09T09:01:19.18+00:00

I will say, a lot of the times i get restarts could also be when i play a very intensive game. Or aggressive web browsing and then opening multiple apps at the same time. It all stems from wud not working though.
Sin-D 12,240 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-10T03:52:44.4766667+00:00
Hi Kenji,

Thank you for the update.

At this point, I recommend contacting Microsoft Support for further investigation, as additional diagnostics may be required beyond what can be performed through the forum.

You can contact Windows Support here:

Visit  Contact Us - Microsoft Support

Select the product or service you're having issue with.

Click  Get Home Support

Type a brief description of your issue in the search box.

Click Get Help  and select  Contact Support  below.

Go to the Products and services tab, and choose the appropriate product.

On the Category tab, choose the appropriate category or an alternative option.

Go to  Confirm.

Look for and select "Chat with a support agent in your web browser" (during business hours) if available. Explain your situation clearly.

Thanks for your understanding.

Answer 3

Hi Kenji,

I understand why this is frustrating, especially since you have already gone through the effort of restoring the missing Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework (wudfsvc) service.

To help narrow this down further, could you provide:

The result of: sc queryex wudfsvc
The most recent events from Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System around the time the service attempts to start.
Whether the random restarts are still occurring after restoring the service, or if you are only troubleshooting the service state now.

In the meantime, please try the following steps in an elevated Command Prompt:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

After both commands complete, restart the PC and check whether "Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework" still remains stuck on "Starting".

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Sin-D 12,240 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-04T01:36:39.0833333+00:00

Hi Kenji,

Have you had the chance to check my answer yet?

Please do keep me updated.