In plain English
A restart can be the final step that lets a software change take full effect. This status means an installation or update has reached that point and is waiting for the computer or device to restart.
In context
Here, "Pending restart" reports that the installation or update is waiting for the computer or device to restart before the change is fully applied.
- Situation
- Installing, updating, licensing, and checking compatibility for applications
- What it communicates
- reports that applied changes are waiting for a restart
Meaning limits
By itself, the term does not say that the installation or update failed; it only identifies a waiting state before full application.
Examples
“The update finished installing but stayed pending restart until the lab computer was rebooted.”
“After the files were copied, the system marked the patch as pending restart.”