Boot-loop issue in Windows Vista with F-Secure

Update on September 16, 2009: The issue has now been resolved and the fix is being distributed to users via an automatic update.

September 9, 2009:

We have received reports of an issue concerning certain F-Secure products when installed on Microsoft’s Vista operating system. During the download of system updates, the computer may start rebooting continuously. A fix for this issue is currently undergoing testing.

When installing security updates for Windows Vista, the computer might continuously restart if the computer is running any of the following F-Secure products:

- F-Secure Internet Security 2009 and 2010
- F-Secure Anti-Virus 2009 and 2010
- F-Secure Protection Service for Consumers 8 and 9

If you have already encountered this issue, follow the instructions below to recover from the situation.

To recover from the situation, you must rename the pending.xml file in the computer's file system. You can do this either through the Windows Recovery Console or, if you do not have the Windows Recovery Console preinstalled, you can use the Windows Vista DVD for this.

To recover from the situation by using Windows Recovery Console:

1. Restart your computer and press F8 repeatedly once per second until a menu appears.
2. From the menu select System Recovery.
3. Select the appropriate keyboard layout - e.g. English users should select the English layout - and click Next.
4. Login.
5. Select Command Prompt from the menu displayed.
6. Type c: and press Enter.
7. Type cd C:\Windows\winsxs\ and press Enter.
8. Type ren pending.xml pending.old and press Enter.
9. Type exit and press Enter.
10. Restart the computer.

To recover from the situation by using the Windows Vista DVD, start the computer into recovery mode:

1. Insert the installation CD to the CD drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. If you are prompted to press any key to start Windows from the installation disk, continue by pressing any key.
4. Choose the language settings you prefer - i.e. English users should select English.
5. Select Repair computer.
6. Select the appropriate Vista copy and click Next.
Note: If you are prompted to repair your computer (Startup repair - Your computer was unable to start), click first Cancel, then Yes, and finally Finish. If message "The current repair operation cannot be canceled" is displayed, restart the computer and start over from Step 1.
7. Select Command Prompt.
8. Type c: and press Enter.
9. Type cd\ and press Enter.
10. Type cd windows and press Enter.
11. Type cd winsxs and press Enter.
12. Type ren pending.xml pending.old and press Enter.
13. Restart the computer.