Windows 10: Endless Circle of dots during boot (in ancient terms, a form of Hang)

Recently I did the 1903 upgrade on 4 Windows 10 machines, two laptops, and two desktops. It went smoothly on all of them. However, after that, two further upgrades became available:

KB4506991 2019-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.8 for Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64

KB4507453 2019-07 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64 based systems

These two installed in the normal fashion on both laptops, and one of the desktops, but on the other laptop, the fun began.

In the process of the normally required reboot, it occurred, the endless circle of dots, regularly redrawing with no progress being made. On the initial try, I let the ECOD (Endless Circle Of Dots) update for 30 minutes with no joy.

As it was necessary to have all 4 machines bootable, I searched for a method of mitigating those two updates, planning to follow up later. I found the Microsoft utility for hiding and 'unhiding' updates, and used it to temporarily hide those two updates on the machine where the trouble occurred. It performed perfectly, hiding the two updates, and the machine ran otherwise perfectly (along with the other three) for the reunion.

Now the week is over and it is time to get those updates on the 4th machine.

My initial theory was that there was a conflict between the two updates which was further aggravated by the only other difference between the offending machine and the other three. (The offending machine has an SSD (solid state disk) as a system (C drive; none of the other three do.)

If I was correct, I should have been able to 'unhide' each update in turn and install each one individually, rather than trying to do them both at the same time.

First unhide, KB4506991. Then 'check for further update' showed KB4506991, and it dutifully started to install. After downloading and installing, I was advised that a restart was required (as is usual). Mentally crossing my fingers (it is very difficult to type with them crossed), I called for the reboot.

Aha! I thought as the system booted successfully, no ECOD. It must have been something about the potential interleaving between the two update processes even though it shouldn't occur.

So next, try the other update. should be a piece of cake, right?

Second unhide KB4507453. Then 'check for further update' showed KB4507453, and it dutifully started to download and install. 'Just about there' I thought. When advised that a reboot was required, I called for the reboot.

Guess what! Why am I here?

The dreaded ECOD occurs.

Machine particulars:

CPU Intel Core i7-3770k CPU @ 3.5 Ghz

Installed RAM 16 Gbytes

64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Windows 10 Home

Version 1903

installed 6/24/2019

OS build 18362.207

drives:

128 Gigabyte SSD

D and E: 500 Gigabyte Rotary

I can't retrieve the drive details here as I am running in Safe Mode with Networking, and parts of the OS aren't working (expectedly). This message is being generated on the offending machine. I have read many answers on the ECOD, but none under my particular circumstances. I will be fighting to get that update hidden while you my knowledgeable readers cogitate and bring forth pearls of wisdom which will enable me to make further progress.

Thanks for your time and attention.

:)

 

Installation media boots to command prompt

I've just booted from known working install media to see exactly what it does when booting. The sequence of events is...

1. Windows logo on a black screen
2. circling dots appear beneath the logo
3. light blue 'Please wait' screen with circling dots
4. a command prompt window (very briefly)
5. the initial Setup page appears

Do you see steps 1-3? If so, it appears you have stopped at step 4, suggesting that something on the disc cannot be read.

Does the disc boot properly in another machine? If so, try cleaning the laptop's drive lens then try booting from the disc again.

If not, make new install media with Microsoft's Media Creation Tool, either as a bootable USB, on an ISO that you can burn to another disc. At Step 8 in Option One of this tutorial you can choose between making a USB or an ISO.

Download Windows 10 ISO File

 

Windows 10 - stuck on orange screen with white circling dots

This PC is not part of a domain, and I never get to a login screen; only the orange screen above.



Your linked instructions for Safe Mode are not useful in my situation, as they assume I can boot
normally into the system and then set an option to boot to safe mode. There is a way to boot to safe mode without the ability to boot normally but it is well hidden and complex - I will detail it below for future readers of this thread.



Your suggestion regarding Clean Boot is also not applicable. The instructions show how to disable services and startup items for third party applications. However, as I stated in my original post, I Reset Windows 10 so there are no third party
services or startup items. Never the less, I went through the steps and the results are the same - orange screen with white circling dots.



Finally, your suggestion regarding creating a new user account is again not applicable. I have multiple accounts on this PC. As I never am presented with a login screen, I cannot utilize any of them.

I await your next repair step…



For readers who are unable to boot normally and wish to boot to safe mode (only try this if you are technically advanced):

• Boot to a Windows 10 installation disk
• Go to Troubleshoot – Advanced Options – DOS Prompt (one might wonder why “Boot to Safe Mode” is not available in Advanced Options!)
• Follow the instructions here: https://www.windowsphoneinfo.com/threads/boot-into-safe-mode-on-windows-10.9461/#option3

 

Stuck on the circling dots screen.

I am having the same problem, but it's not related to updates, at least not always. Every time I restart, it gets stuck on the circling dots screen. The dots keep circling for hours with nothing happening. I have to power down, then bring up the boot screen.
Sometimes, I can restart normally from there, but more often I have to choose system restore, and sometimes that will actually go into a normal boot without actually offering me any restore points.

Someone suggested disabling "fast start", which I did, and that seemed to help for a few restarts, but now it's back to it's old freezing self.