Stuck on configuration updates stage 3 of 3, for the past 12 hous, keeps shutting down but coming back to same screen

Try this
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistawu/thread/13dec2a0-2694-4b11-9b0c-9b8fbe6162ee

Vista Update Stage 3 Stall……

You see Installing Updates Stage 3 of 3... 0% in Vista after you start or restart your computer and it never goes past 0%. Rebooting the computer doesn't change it. It still boots to Installing Windows updates 3 of 3 and never goes past that 0% mark. Sometimes Windows will even reboot in some cases. I have found that this often happens after Windows updates. I have no idea why, but this seems to be a fairly common occurrence. The last one I repaired was caused by a Service pack 1 installation.

Here's what I have done to fix the 3 of 3 error.

You will be doing a System Restore from the Vista f8 startup

Since the computer your working on is probably stuck on this screen the first step will be a hard shut down.

Hold the power button down until the computer shuts down.

Restart the computer.

Tap the f8 key about once or twice per second to get the Safe mode screen to come up.

In Windows Vista there is a new choice when the safe mode selection comes up. "Repair Your Computer"

Highlight the "Repair Your Computer" choice.

Windows will act like it is going t boot up.

You will see a System Recovery Options window.

It will ask you to choose your language.

Click Next

Select your user and put in your password. (leave blank if you don't have a password)

You should now have choices and the one you want is "System Restore"

Follow through the prompts with the Vista System Restore program.

Remember you should pick a restore point that is 1 or 2 points back.

Once you have completed the system restore process you will be asked to restart your computer. Go ahead and restart the computer. It should start correctly at this point. If you don't have a restore point available you may not be able to repair this error. I have not tried to repair one of these without a restore point yet.

Please use this solution thta I have placed on this forum.
Please follow exactly these steps then you computer should be working again.
I have used the following solution.
Restart computer.press f8 then choose option restore computer.
choose option open command.
type: prompt winsxs (press enter)
type: move C:\windows\winsxs\pending.xml text.xml (press enter)
type: exit and restart computer.
Computer should be working again.
good luck.
hope it works for you.
pieter.

Press F8 to go to Safe mode, open SYSTEM RESTORE to go back to checkpoint where not yet updated the system.
And next time to open back your system normally finished all updates before you shut down.
Good luck!

Hello!
This is a tough one. I've seen this recently and had to just press and hold the power button to shut down. Not good!

I'm assuming you're using Windows of some sort since it shows "Stage 3 of 3" when it does updates during shut down.

What has happened is you downloaded some sort of "fix" from Microsoft and it's getting stuck while trying to install. I've had this happen and have never found a good solution for it.

1. Turn you computer off.
2. Turn your computer on
3. As soon as the power comes on, start pressing F8 repeatedly.
4. When you get a black and white menu, use your arrow keys to move up and down, select "Last Known Good Configuration" and press enter.

What the solution I've provided does is revert your computers software to a point in the past, hopefully just before you received the screwy update.

Good luck!

Make sure to rate the solutions you get!

This is generally caused by bad blocks in the Master Boot Record(Table). The drive itself is probably not salvagable. You'll need a reputable reapir person to slave your drive to another system to get the data off.

Good Luck

no computer is trash when you are dealing with a software issue.

boot up and tap on the f8 key... when you get to that screen... choose safe mode... if it successfully boots.... go to start menu... and restart again... it should boot... if it wants to do the update let it.... if still nothing.... f8 again and choose last known good configuration

Robert

This is all I could find:


It's not only Windows Vista Service Pack 1 that isn't ready for general consumer availability. Some of the updates released on February 12, 2008, as a part of the Microsoft monthly patch cycle, have managed to effectively kill Windows Vista. Users are reporting that, following the introduction of the February 12 updates, Vista gets stuck at the finalization of the deployment of the updates displaying the message "Configuring Updates Stage 3 of 3 0% completes" and then entering
an infinite reboot loop. And there is absolutely no way out for the end users, because canceling the configuration process of the updates is a move equivalent to losing access to the operating system entirely. This will even happen in Safe Mode.

Microsoft has yet to officially respond to the issue, or to provide a resolve or at least a workaround. However, it does seem at this point that there is an issue with the deployment of the pre-requisite updates necessary for the smooth installation of Windows Vista SP1. Namely, the problem resides in the Vista installation software. The fact of the matter is that end users will have to first update the Vista installation software and only then deploy the remaining February 12 updates and only at the end Vista SP1 RTM.

If you are stuck watching the "Configuring Updates Stage 3 of 3 0% complete Do not turn off Computer" and in the endless reboot loop, then stop the cycle and boot from the Vista media. You will need to "Repair your computer," so select your Vista installation and restore it to a point before the deployment of the updates. After gaining back access to your operating system, you will have to install the service stack update, namely Update for Windows Vista (KB937287). Deploy this update before any other on your Vista, and only then install the rest. At this point in time, you should experience no more problems.

"Update 937287 is a prerequisite package that contains updates to the Windows Vista installation software. The installation software is the component that handles the installation and the removal of software updates, language packs, optional Windows features, and service packs. Update 937287 is necessary to successfully install and to remove Windows Vista SP1 on all versions of Windows Vista," Microsoft revealed.

Maybe you could try the last known good configuration. When the laptop is starting up, wait until the acer screen disappears and then tap F8 on the keyboard before the windows screen comes up. You should get a black screen with some options that say safe mode. The fourth or so option on the list will be "Last Known Good Configuration". The computer should try and load windows. Hopefully that will restore the machine before the update. 

If it works it would be a good idea to go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and fully update your laptop. This will download the update manually instead of doing it with automatic updates. 

reboot it! guranteed vista issue
just press and hold the power button shut it down then reboot it and it will finish....