During an SCCM upgrade, you might encounter a failure in the prerequisite check due to a pending system restart error. In this article, I’ll explain the reasons behind this error and provide solutions to resolve it.
When you run a prerequisite check for a new current branch upgrade, Configuration Manager performs a series of checks to determine if the upgrade can be successful. Read this article for a detailed overview of the prerequisite checks involved in installing or updating Configuration Manager.
Fix SCCM Pending System Restart Error
The prerequisite check: pending system restart error occurs when another program requires the server to be restarted before the upgrade can happen. To resolve this issue, you must manually restart the server once.

In the below screenshot, we see that there is an error during the prerequisite check. The update pack installation status reveals that the system restart is pending.
There can be many reasons why a system restart could be pending. To see if the computer is in a pending restart state, it checks the following registry locations:
- HKLM:Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\RebootPending
- HKLM:SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RebootRequired
- HKLM:SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager, PendingFileRenameOperations
- HKLM:Software\Microsoft\ServerManager, CurrentRebootAttempts
If you see a pending system restart error, the update won’t install. Restart the server first, then launch the SCCM console. Post the restart, launch the SCCM console. Go to Monitoring > Overview > Updates and Servicing Status. Now right click Configuration Manager Update and select Retry Installation.
You will now see a dialog box “To install the update pack again, click OK“. Click OK to install the update pack. The update should now be installed without any issues.
Further Reading
Listed below are some common reasons why the upgrade prerequisite check fails and the solution to those errors and warnings.
- The site database has a backlog of SQL change tracking data: Solution
- SQL Server Native Client Version: Solution
- SCCM Update Stuck at Downloading State: Solution
- Enable site system roles for HTTPS or SCCM Enhanced HTTP: Solution
- Recommended version of the Microsoft .NET Framework. Warning: The Configuration Manager 2503 update requires at least DotNet version 4.6.2 but recommends the latest version 4.8: Solution
- ConfigMgr Database Upgrade Error 0x87d20b15: Solution
- Co-Mgmt slider is not pointed to Intune: Solution
- SQL client prerequisites are missing for Config Manager setup: Solution
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