<p>Lately, we have received several reports where some laptops got stuck in a Windows 10 endless boot screen. <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/hr-hr/windows/get-windows-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Windows 10</a> starts loading but it never gets to the login screen. The problem appeared after unsuccessful windows update installation.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone wp-image-3431 size-full" src="https://www.wincert.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/windows_loading.png" alt="Windows 10 endless boot" width="477" height="118" /></p>
<p>I have tried to recover the system in many ways but none of those were successful.<br />
&#8211; <strong>Last known good configuration</strong> &#8211; didn&#8217;t work (strangely)<br />
&#8211; <strong>Startup repair</strong> &#8211; didn&#8217;t work<br />
&#8211; <strong>System Image Recovery</strong> &#8211; didn&#8217;t have any images<br />
&#8211; <strong>System Restore</strong> &#8211; even though I had 2 restore points before problematic updates were installed, selecting each of those resulted in an error.<br />
&#8211; <strong>Uninstall Updates</strong> &#8211; I have tried to uninstall cumulative and quality packs and both of these actions didn&#8217;t help. I&#8217;m guessing that these updates couldn&#8217;t be properly uninstalled by the setup. I have also received the following message:<br />
<strong>Uninstall latest quality update &#8211; You have pending update actions and we won&#8217;t be able to uninstall the latest quality update of Windows. Try running Startup Repair instead</strong>.<br />
&#8211; <strong>Safe Mode</strong> &#8211; didn&#8217;t work (at least at this point)</p>
<p>Finally, I have managed to run a command prompt from the recovery screen. To achieve this please do the following.</p>
<p>Hold the power button until the system shuts down<br />
From the recovery menu select <strong>Troubleshoot</strong> <strong>|</strong> <strong>Advanced Options</strong> and then <strong>Command Prompt</strong>.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone wp-image-3432 size-full" title="Windows 10 endless boot" src="https://www.wincert.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/command-prompt.png" alt="Windows 10 endless boot" width="409" height="383" /></p>
<p>In the command prompt screen type the following:</p>
<h5><strong>del C:\Windows\WinSxS\pending.xml</strong><br />
<strong>del C:\Windows\WinSxS\cleanup.xml (this file might not exist in the system)<br />
del C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ *.*</strong></h5>
<p>Now reboot the system into the Safe Mode**. You should get to the login screen and you will probably see this message:<br />
We couldn&#8217;t complete the updates. Undoing changes. Don&#8217;t turn off your computer.<br />
<img class="alignnone wp-image-3433 size-full" src="https://www.wincert.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/windows-update.jpg" alt="Windows 10 endless boot" width="475" height="199" /></p>
<p>Once you get to the login screen, log-in with your <strong>local account</strong>. After you have successfully logged on to Windows, reboot. After the next reboot, you should be able to get into Windows normally.<br />
<em>**Note: you might need to run the Safe Mode twice because sometimes it won&#8217;t work at the first try.</em></p>
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> If you&#8217;re stuck in endless reboot after you have successfully logged on to Safe Mode you should enter the Safe Mode again and delete the contents of <strong>C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download</strong> folder and then reboot again.<br />
Hopefully, with this guide, you&#8217;ll be able to solve <a href="https://www.wincert.net/microsoft-windows/windows-10/">Windows 10</a> endless boot issues if you run into the same problem.</p>

Windows 10 endless boot issue solved
