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  • Win 8 Stuck Undoing Changes

    I. Hate. PCs.

    And I think the feeling is mutual.

    Boss's laptop (ASUS X551M running Win 8.1) did some updates last night. When I started it up this morning to work, it gave me the "Updating... please don't turn off" bit. I waited, the computer restarted on its own, and then it popped up with:

    We couldn't complete the updates
    Undoing changes
    Don't turn off your computer

    Well, it's been this way all freaking day. After four hours I said screw it and tried shutting it off so I could reboot in safe mode. Guess what? I can't get it to give me the safe mode prompt! I tried F8, shift+F8, esc, and ctrl+alt+del to get something at restart, but while esc got me into the BIOS menu, I couldn't find any way of getting into safe mode from there. The computer will just not proceed past the undoing changes part.

    Someone please tell me how to fix this thing.
    Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

  • #2
    Okay, I just dealt with a CWs laptop which did the same thing. Tried every option. It would boot in safe mode but wouldn't complete the updates. Tried manually downloading updates, wouldn't work. Basically, tried everything I could find on Microsoft.com and a bunch of other sites, and in the end I had to reinstall the OS. Oh, and the first time I tried to reinstall it failed that, too. Was a Dell laptop.
    Replace anger management with stupidity management.

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    • #3
      UBH?

      I've occasionally had some very long boots... Until I trimmed my tree-climbing toenails.
      I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
      Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
      Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

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      • #4
        Quoth notalwaysright View Post
        Okay, I just dealt with a CWs laptop which did the same thing. Tried every option. It would boot in safe mode but wouldn't complete the updates.
        I can't even get to safe mode. It loads the ASUS screen, then goes gray, then blue, shows the "preparing updates" message, then clicks right over to the "undoing changes" message.

        All the instructions online say to get into safe mode you have to actually be in Windows, which is no freaking help whatsoever if you can't get into Windows in the first place.
        Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

        Comment


        • #5
          Safe Mode loads INSTEAD of normal windows -- sounds like those sites have some seriously bad wording, or are referring to "Reboot in Safe Mode" from within windows. From a cold boot, f8 or f5 should work, it need to be right after POST (disable any POST logo if you can) and just before you see the Windows Loading screen -- hold the button down if need be; on older versions of windows, at least, f5 loads directly into Safe Mode/no networking without a prompt.

          Also, check online -- for Dells, you can enter the service code from the back of the system to look up manuals, reinstallation CDs, warranty info, and possibly other obscura such as a nonstandard boot-time diagnostic mode key combo. If one is not listed, call them and see if they know it -- for Dell specifically" http://www.dell.com/support/article/...9/SLN115162/EN
          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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          • #6
            Is ASUS the same as Dell? Not being a smart ass: I know that some electronics companies sell components rebranded as something else without really changing anything and what I'm working with is an ASUS.

            And I tried both F5 and F8 (and F2), but none of them are interrupting it going from the ASUS startup screen to the stupid "undoing changes" message. I've tried holding it down from the moment I hit the power button to rapid-fire pressing it, and neither are having any effect.
            Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

            Comment


            • #7
              ASUS is a hardware manufacturer (Russian, I think), and Dell makes their own stuff for the most part. Separate companies.

              Ahhh - I didn't sere the ASUS mention when I posted the prior message. ASUS help site here: http://support.asus.com/Diagnosis/Se...x?SLanguage=en -- box on the bottom right leads to a page where you can enter the item's code for model-specific info

              Also, try f9 during POST to jump to a recovery partition (not all systems do this, but ASUS systems should). ESC at POST to jump to boot drive selection (in case you wanna boot from USB or something to run antivirus or just pull data off of the drive prior to a nuke n pave) -- from here: https://www.desertcrystal.com/bootkeys

              I hope this helps!

              Just as a side note -- for any system -- once you can get into Windows reliably, I recommend using f8 and then going into the Advanced options, then choosing "Disable Automatic Restart..." (on failure, or something like that). Unless you do this, BSOD messages will disappear too quickly to easily write down what they say (the useful line is generally the one that begins with STOP: 0x########, where thr #s are specific hexadecimal numbers -- these can be googled when needed for insights into what caused the BSOD)
              Last edited by EricKei; 07-16-2015, 01:31 AM.
              "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
              "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
              "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
              "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
              "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
              "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
              Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
              "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

              Comment


              • #8
                Sorry, yeah, the laptop I was working with would boot normally and also would boot in safe mode. In both cases the updates would fail. So, my brain missed whole "can't get into windows at all" part that you totally did say.

                Anywho, some places say F11 will get you system recovery, where you would get to safe boot.
                Replace anger management with stupidity management.

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                • #9
                  Ok, the computer's at work so I'll try the F9 bit when I go in tomorrow. What can I do if there's no recovery partition?

                  I remember that ESC worked but didn't give me any options to boot in safe mode or what not, and guess who doesn't have a bloody startup disc (or USB) for her computer? I try and tell Boss Lady she needs these things, and she says "Great. Get me one."

                  I'm not an IT person. I shouldn't be doing all this stuff. I'm just the only one in the office with any decent Google fu and the wherewithall to apply it.
                  Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

                  Comment


                  • #10


                    So I went in this morning and powered the laptop up. Mind you, when I shut it down yesterday it was in a constant restart loop.

                    It powered up and went right into Windows, easy peasy.

                    I lost a day of work with this mess, but it's working now. Thanks for the advice you guys gave me, though.
                    Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Still weird >_< Glad it's working, though! *crosses fingers*
                      "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                      "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                      "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                      "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                      "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                      "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                      Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                      "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Yay! Still, I'd check the windows update history to make sure those actually got installed. It might do the same thing the next time it tries to update, if it failed the last time. The laptop I worked on hadn't successfully installed an update since March.
                        Replace anger management with stupidity management.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          If it were anything prior to Win 8 I would know how to check the history. They screwed the layout up so much with Win 8 that I can't find anything anymore.

                          Would you please tell me where the history is located?
                          Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            You just have to remember that Microsoft doesn't want you to understand how your OS works. To that end, they decided they wanted end users to use searches to find everything. So just mouse over to the bottom right until the charms bar comes up and search for windows updates.

                            If you have classic view (so it looks like windows 7), you can just use the search on the start menu. Or go over to control panel. It's possible there are better ways, maybe someone else knows them.
                            Replace anger management with stupidity management.

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