Sometimes, when you are trying to install software, you get the error message bellow, after restart, it still exist:

" there are pending system changes that require a reboot. Please reboot the system and rerun the installation."

Error

In the SEP_Inst.log (located in %TEMP% or in %Windir%\temp) log you may see the following:

(NOT MIGRATIONPENDINGREBOOT) OR SISFAILED=1

Cause

The “PendingFileRenameOperations” registry entry contains information about files that Windows has marked to replace after restarting the computer.

This entry is located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\.

Solution

To resolve this error, restart the computer, which clears the information in the “PendingFileRenameOperations” registry key.

To prevent this error from occurring in the future, immediately restart the computer after you install an application or driver.

If the error persists after you restart the computer, follow these steps:

Note: For Windows Registry backup and restore instructions, see How to back up and restore the registry in Windows.

  1. Open the Windows Registry using regedit.exe.
  2. Search for the entry “PendingFileRenameOperations” in:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\Session Manager
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\BackupRestore\KeysNotToRestore

    If you find the entry, first back up each key, and then delete the entry in each key.

  3. Search for the RebootRequired key:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RebootRequired

    If you find the key, first back up the key, and then remove the key.

  4. Restart the SEP installation; the install should finish without error.