SFC scans are useful for finding and fixing hard drive problems. However, sometimes when trying to run an SFC scan you get the following error:
There is a pending system repair that requires a reboot to complete. Restart Windows and run the SFC scan again.
When specifying the error, restart the system and the error will disappear. However, it doesn't always happen.
Why
Some commands that should have been executed get stuck and interfere with the SFC scanning process. Simply restarting the system does not perform them and this causes the problem.
Try the following steps to fix the problem:
Solution 1] Update Windows
Sometimes a deferred Windows update can cause this problem. You can try updating Windows to fix this problem.
Solution 2] Update the drivers
Updating drivers (especially graphics drivers) can help with the problem. This is the procedure for updating the drivers.
Solution 3] Using the command prompt
The reason the error message recurs is that a process is stuck pending. We could try to delete the folder related to the process via the command prompt.
1] Press Win + R to open the Run window. Write the command cmd and press Enter to open the Command Prompt window.
2] Type the following command and press Enter.
del X:windowswinsxspending.xml
Where X: is the drive driver letter from which we are removing the folder.
3] Repeat this command for all drives in the system.
4] After running these commands, try this modified command for SFC scan:
sfc /SCANNOW /OFFBOOTDIR=c: /OFFWINDIR=d:Windows
Solution 4] Try to fix the problem in recovery mode
1] As soon as you reboot your system, keep pressing F8 to boot Windows 10 into recovery mode.
2] Go to Troubleshooting >> Advanced Options >> Command Prompt.
3] Type the following commands in the bootrec / fixboot command prompt window:
bcdboot C: Windows bootrec / FixMBR bootrec / FixBoot
4] Reboot your system and check if you can run SFC scan now.
Solution 5] Registry-level fix
1] Press Win + R to open the Run window. Write the command regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor window.
2] Go to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion
3] In the right pane, find the RebootPending key. Right-click on it and select Permissions.
4] Find your name in the username section.
5] Select the Full Control checkbox in the permissions section and apply the settings.
6] Reboot the system and try the SFC scan now.
I hope this helps!
