“There is a system repair pending which requires reboot to complete”: how to fix it

What the message means

When you run System File Checker you see: There is a system repair pending which requires reboot to complete. Restart Windows and run sfc again. SFC refuses to scan because Windows’ servicing stack has work queued that must finish at the next boot, such as files to replace or an update to complete. Scanning in the middle of that could undo or conflict with it.

Normally a restart clears it. It becomes a loop when the queued work can never finish, for example because an update keeps failing, or because the PC is only ever shut down with Fast Startup on, which doesn’t do a full restart.

Fix 1: Restart properly, not Shut down

Microsoft explains that with Fast Startup turned on, shutting down puts Windows into a hibernation state rather than a full shutdown, so pending updates may not install. Its advice is to choose Restart from the Power menu to make sure pending updates are completed.

1. Save your work and select Start > Power > Restart.
2. If you see a “Working on updates” screen, let it finish. Don’t switch off the PC.
3. After you sign in, open Command Prompt as administrator and run sfc /scannow again.

Some updates need two restarts, so if the message is still there, restart once more before moving on.

Fix 2: Finish Windows Update

On Microsoft Q&A, the person who reported this loop found the cause was a pending update. Go to Settings > Windows Update, select Check for updates, install everything listed, and use Restart now when asked. If an update keeps failing to install, fix that first, because SFC will stay blocked while it’s queued. Our guide to error 0x800f081f covers one of the most common update repair failures.

Fix 3: Repair Windows with DISM, then SFC

If Windows Update works but the message remains, repair the component store, then try SFC again. Open Command Prompt as administrator:

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

DISM can take a while and may pause at a percentage; let it finish. Restart after it completes, then run SFC. For what the SFC results mean, see how to run sfc /scannow and read the results.

Recent versions of Windows 11 also have, under Settings > System > Recovery, an option called Fix problems using Windows Update with a Reinstall now button, which reinstalls the current version of Windows while keeping your apps and files. It’s a heavier fix, but it can clear servicing that is stuck.

Fix 4: Revert pending actions from recovery

Read this first: this step undoes the queued servicing work, which can include part of an update. Microsoft documents /RevertPendingActions as a recovery option and says it is not supported on a running operating system; it should be used only in a system-recovery scenario. So run it from the Windows Recovery Environment against your Windows drive, not from a normal Command Prompt. Back up important files before you start.

1. Hold Shift and select Power > Restart on the Start menu or sign-in screen.
2. Choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt. Enter your BitLocker recovery key if asked.
3. Find the Windows drive: drive letters often change in recovery. Run dir C:\Windows and, if that fails, dir D:\Windows, until you see the Windows folder.
4. Run the command with that letter, for example:

DISM /Image:C:\ /Cleanup-Image /RevertPendingActions

When it finishes, close Command Prompt, select Continue to start Windows, and let it boot. It may show that it is undoing changes. Then install updates again and run SFC normally.

Fix 5: Run SFC offline

If you can’t get a clean boot to run SFC, run it from the same recovery Command Prompt. Microsoft’s SFC reference documents the /offbootdir and /offwindir options for offline repair:

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows

Use the drive letter you found in Fix 4 for both values. The full walkthrough, including how to read the result, is in SFC offline: how to run sfc /scannow from recovery.

Steps to avoid

Many guides for this message suggest risky shortcuts. Avoid these:

• Deleting pending.xml in C:\Windows\WinSxS. It holds the queued servicing work; removing it by hand leaves that work half-done, which can make update and repair problems worse.
• Deleting or taking ownership of WinSxS or other system folders. Windows needs them, and changing their permissions can break servicing for good.
• Deleting RebootPending registry keys. One widely copied guide even gives the wrong path. Windows uses these values to track reboots; deleting them hides the symptom without finishing the work.
• Switching the disk mode from AHCI to IDE in the BIOS. It has nothing to do with this message and can stop Windows from starting.

If SFC then runs and reports it couldn’t fix files, see Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation for the next steps.

Related guides

• How to run sfc /scannow in Windows 11 and 10 (and read the results)
• SFC offline: how to run sfc /scannow from recovery in Windows 11 and 10
• Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation: 7 fixes
• How to disable Fast Startup in Windows 11 and 10

Official sources

• DISM operating system package servicing options, including /RevertPendingActions (Microsoft Learn)
• Updates aren’t installed when Fast Startup is enabled (Microsoft Learn)
• sfc command reference (Microsoft Learn)