How to Stop Windows 11 from Showing a Pending Restart

There are a total of 4 ways to stop your PC from showing the notification message saying Windows 11 update pending restart. You can try these 4 methods to help you get out of this problem. Let's come to the details.

  1. Fix 1. Clear the SoftwareDistribution Folder
  2. Fix 2. Pause Windows 11 Update
  3. Fix 3. Modify the Windows Registry
  4. Fix 4. Change Group Policy Settings

Fix 1. Clear the SoftwareDistribution Folder

Windows stores the update files in the SoftwareDistribution folder, and by deleting the files in this folder, Windows should stop bothering you to restart your PC to install Windows 11. Here's how to clean the SoftwareDistribution folder:

Step 1. Click on the "Start" button and then type "Command Prompt."

Step 2. Select "Run as administrator."

open Command Prompt as administrator

Step 3. Type and enter the command "net stop wuauserv" to stop the Windows Update Service.

Step 4. Now, type and enter "net stop bits."

enter commands

Step 5. Open "File Explorer" and navigate to this location C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution.

Step 6. Select all the files and press CTRL+SHIFT+DEL.

Fix 2. Pause Windows 11 Update

Alternatively, you can pause Windows 11 update to stop Windows from bothering you for 7 to up to 35 days. However, after this period, you can again extend the time frame if you still want to wait before updating your PC to Windows 11. Here's how to pause your Windows updates:

Step 1. Click on the "Start" button and search for "Settings."

Step 2. Select "Update and Security," and on the right side window, select "Pause updates for 7 days."

pause Windows updates for 7 days

Step 3. However, if you want to stop Windows from notifying you to update to Windows 11 for more than 7 days, click on "Advanced options," and under the "Pause until" section, click on the "Select date" drop-down and select the maximum allowed date to pause the update.

click Select date

Fix 3. Modify the Windows Registry

We hope you've used EaseUS Todo Backup to back up your computer because incorrectly editing the Windows registry can break your computer. Now, here's what you need to do:

Step 1. Press Win+R on your keyboard and type in "regedit" to open the registry editor.

Step 2. Navigate to the following location:

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

Step 3. Right-click on the right-side window and select "New" followed by "DWORD (32-bit) Value."

create a new DWORD (32-bit) value

Step 4. Change the name of the value to TargetReleaseVersion and the data from 0 to 1.

give the registry file a name and value

Step 5. Now, right-click again and select "New," followed by "String Value."

Step 6. Name the String Value as TargetReleaseVersionInfo and open it by double-clicking it.

Step 7. Under "Value data," type "21H2" and press the "Enter" key.

Step 8. Restart your PC.

Fix 4. Change Group Policy Settings

Modifying group policies incorrectly can break your PC, which is why you should back up your PC before you proceed with changing the group policies. Now, here's what you need to do:

Step 1. Press Win+R and type gpedit.msc to open the Group Policy Editor window.

open Group Policy Editor using Run

Step 2. Select "Turn off auto-restart for updates during active hours," followed by "Computer Configuration" and "Administrative Templates."

Step 3. Now, select "Windows Components," followed by "Windows Update."

Step 4. Select "Enable" and change the start and end times to your PC's active hours.

enable group policy settings

Step 5. Go back and select "Select the target feature update version," followed by "Computer Configuration" and "Administrative Templates."

Step 6. Lastly, select "Windows Components," followed by "Windows Update" and "Windows Update for Business."

Step 7. Click on Disable," followed by "OK."

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