If you are one of the many Windows 10 users, there must have been times when the operating system might get stuck at the restart screen. Do you remember any such incidents? Well, this is something quite common with the operating system. Sometimes it might be a case of some [program or process running in the background that hinders the restart mechanism.
What can be done to fix the issue and what is the reason behind this hindrance? On close research, it was found that while downloading updates the Windows updater starts updating itself. This is the reason why you find Windows 10 stuck at the restart screen. To fix the issue, you need to regenerate the Software Distribution packages of Windows (Windows update). To do this you need to follow a series of steps we have listed below. Continue reading.
Table of Contents
Repair Windows 10 Stuck at Restart Screen
- Press
Windows + X keysand go to Command Prompt (Admin) by pressing ‘C’. - Type “net stop wuauserv” and press ENTER. It will stop any background running programs by restricting the update service.
- After this, type
“cd%systemroot%”and press ENTER. The command navigates the command prompt to install Windows OD directory. - Following this, type
“ren SoftwareDistribution SD.old”and press ENTER. By typing this command, the Software Distribution folder will be renamed SD.old by the OS to create a backup. In the worst case of something unexpected, you can rename the folder to its original name by going to C: \Windows\SoftwareDitribution. Alternatively, you can also clear the data of downloaded installation folders and SoftwareDistribution. - In the last step, type
“net start wuauserv”And press ENTER. These commands restart the update to enable smoother updates of the system.
This was the easy and effective way to fix Windows 10 stuck at restart screen. Now, we would like to throw some light on yet another important situation – endless reboot loop problem of Windows 10.
This usually happens after a Windows Update or a Blue Screen or Reset or an Upgrade. If this has ever happened to your system, don’t leave the page yet. Stay glued and keep reading.
Fix Windows 10 stuck in an endless reboot loop
No matter what the cause of this problem is but make sure getting into the Safe Mode is the first thing you do. If this doesn’t seem possible, you need to use Windows Installation Mode.
Give it some time to reboot multiple times and wait for it to get fixed by itself. Yes, Windows sometimes show up the Repair Windows option automatically or it initiates Automatic Repair all by itself. However, follow these steps if this doesn’t happen with your system:
1. Rebooting regularly after installing Driver, Update or Program
If you have a dual boot system, it will be easier for you as with the dual-boot operating system selection screen, you will find ‘Change defaults’ or ‘choose other options’ tabs.
- Select ‘Change Defaults’ and then ‘Troubleshoot’.
- Then choose ‘Advanced options’ to get to ‘Windows Startup Settings’
- As the ‘Startup Settings’ page is open, press 4 to choose ‘Enable Safe Mode’ option.
- This will start rebooting your system.
For those who have a single operating system in your computer or laptop, you need to go for another way to boot Windows 10 in Safe Mode, which includes:
- Press Shift and click on the Restart button to go directly to the ‘Advanced startup’ options window (screen).
- Go to
‘Settings’to‘Update & Security’to‘Recovery’to ‘Advanced Startup’ to ‘Restart now’ - Type
‘shutdown/r/o”in a CMD prompt to reboot your system into‘Recovery Console’or‘Advanced Boot’options.
If you are not able to get into Safe Mode, you may need to boot Window 10 using the Recovery Drive or Windows Installation Media. Select ‘Repair your computer’ to get into ‘Troubleshoot’ to ‘Advanced Startup Options’ to Command Prompt. Here you can use CMD to run commands. You can even use a bootable USB drive or Windows 10 DVD or just burn Windows 10 ISO to your USB drive using a different system.
Once you enter Safe Mode, follow these steps:
- Open ‘Control Panel’, go to ‘Programs and Features’ and then ‘View installed updates’. At this point, you can uninstall the feature upgrade that you last installed (before the reboot problem started).
- If you have updated your device recently and since then the problem of rebooting has started, you might want to roll back to the older version or troubleshoot the Driver problems.
- Run Command Prompt as your administrator. Enter the command
“net stop wuauserv”and press ENTER; then type “net stop bits” and press ENTER. - Browse to C:\Windows\SoftwareDitribution folder and delete all the folders and files inside.
- Now, restart your system; it should boot to Desktop.
2. Regular restart because of Hardware failure
System instability or hardware failure is one of the reasons behind the endless reboot of your system. It could be with the Hard drive, RAM, Graphics Card, Power Supply or External devices. In some cases, the reason could be BIOS or overheating issue. Ensure you are in Safe Mode to make any necessary changes in your system.
3. Reboot after Stop Error or Blue Screen
To avoid driver issue or software issue from rebooting your system continuously after Stop Error, follow these steps to read the error code and troubleshoot the problem.
- Get into Safe Mode
- By using WinX menu of your Windows 10 OS, open the system.
- Click on ‘Advanced system settings’ and then go to ‘Advanced Tab’, followed by ‘Startup and Recovery’ and finally ‘Settings’
- Uncheck ‘Automatically restart’ box and click ‘OK’ or ‘Apply’ and exit.
- As an alternative solution, go to ‘Registry Editor’ and start navigating as follows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ControlCrashControl- At this point edit or create a DWORD called AutoReboot and set 0 as its value.
Doing this will not let your Windows restart after a Stop Error crash rather it will show the error message that will further help you troubleshooting the Blue Screen.
4. Reboot loop following an Upgrade
Virus infection or malware infection can also be a vital reason behind the reboot loop problem of Windows 10. You should deep scan your system to look for any possible malware.
Hopefully, you can now manage the reboot loop issue of Windows 10 and the OS stuck at restart issue all by yourself. Thank us later.