
Beyond the web, his work has appeared in the print edition of The New York Times (September 9, 2019) and in PCWorld's print magazines, specifically in the August 2013 and July 2013 editions, where his story was on the cover. With over a decade of writing experience in the field of technology, Chris has written for a variety of publications including The New York Times, Reader's Digest, IDG's PCWorld, Digital Trends, and MakeUseOf. Chris has personally written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times-and that's just here at How-To Geek. We recommend always having backups of your important personal files, just in case.Ĭhris Hoffman is the former Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. However, if the update process is actually frozen, performing a hard shut down is the only thing you can do. Warning: While we've successfully tested this process, there are no guarantees that your Windows operating system will work properly after you perform a hard shut down. Performing a hard shut down is never ideal, but it may be your only option in cases like this. Wait a few seconds, and then turn your PC back on. To turn off your PC at this screen-whether it's a desktop, laptop, tablet-just long-press the power button. This is true even when Windows is telling you not to turn off your computer. This shouldn't be necessary, but Windows has bugs, and sometimes you have to restart your PC to fix them. Windows will try reinstalling the update again later, and it should hopefully work the second time. After you reboot, Windows will stop trying to install the update, undo any changes, and go to your sign-in screen. On screen after languages, choose repair this pc, not install.Yes, You Should Turn Off Your Computer If It Gets Stuck HereĪs we've shown above, restarting your PC should be safe. If you were doing a reset and keeping files/settings, you can try to rescue some via:Ĭhange boot order so USB is first, hdd second

On another PC, download the Windows 10 media creation tool and use it to make a win 10 installer on USB - handy boot drive and rescue disk

If there are no signs of life, you can try to restart PC and see what happens. If its only a small SSD (under 1tb) then it might be frozenĪny sign on the hdd light? any signs of life? cursor on screen moving? if there is life, just let it go, resets can take a while depending on age of PC. What type of reset? Keep files and settings or wipe all? How big is the hdd? is it an ssd or hdd? If its a big drive (several tb) and a hdd it might take a while to wipe drive.
