There are many problems in Windows but one that really gets on users' nerves is the Boot Loop problem along with the text: “Undoing changes made to your computer.” It is usually caused by some failure in installation of Windows Update, where the computer tries to restore its state to before the failed update was installed. But instead of doing so, it goes into an endless loop.

Undoing Changes Made to Your Computer: How Long Should It Take?

For users stuck staring at this screen, the immediate question is always: undoing changes made to your computer how long should it actually take? Usually, it will take between 20 and 45 minutes to perform a legitimate rollback based on your storage speed, whether SSD or HDD, and the size of the update. However, should your computer be frozen after two hours, you must intervene manually.

How to Fix Undoing Changes Made to Your Computer

However, since you cannot load the desktop environment by default, you must proceed to do so from within the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). This is done by rebooting your computer three times in sequence by physically pressing its power button while loading the first window startup interface. Upon your third reboot, you will see WinRE begin to load. Proceed to click on Troubleshoot Advanced Options.

Method 1: Boot into Safe Mode

Safe Mode loads Windows with a minimal set of drivers and services, which frequently bypasses the corrupted update script, causing the boot loop.

1. From Advanced Options, select Startup Settings and click Restart.
2. Upon reboot, press 4 or F4 to enable Safe Mode.
3. If Windows successfully loads the desktop in Safe Mode, navigate to Settings Update Security Windows Update and pause updates temporarily. Restart normally to verify if the loop is broken.

Method 2: Use Command Prompt to Rename Software Distribution

If Safe Mode fails, corrupted update cache files are likely blocking the rollback process. You can purge these files via the Command Prompt in WinRE.

1. Select Command Prompt from the Advanced Options menu.
2. Stop the core update deployment services by typing the following commands sequentially, pressing Enter after each: net stop wuauserv net stop bits
3. Rename the folder holding the update cache to isolate the corrupted data: rename C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
4. Restart your machine. Windows will generate a fresh, uncorrupted directory and skip the broken rollback script.

Method 3: Uninstall Latest Quality or Feature Updates

WinRE allows you to manually strip out the offending update package that initiated the system crash.

1. In Advanced Options, choose Uninstall Updates.
2. You will be presented with two choices: Uninstall latest quality update (for minor patches) or Uninstall latest feature update (for major OS builds).
3. Start with the quality update option, authenticate using your administrator password, and allow Windows to extract the faulty patch.

Preventing Future Update Failures

Once you successfully master how to undo changes made to your computer and regain desktop access, perform crucial system maintenance. Run sfc /scannow in an elevated Command Prompt to fix broken system architecture, ensure you have at least 20GB of free storage before updating, and keep underlying hardware drivers updated to prevent system deployment collisions. For more info, you can visit: https://datarecovee.com/knowledge-base/undoing-changes-made-to-your-computer/