sfc \scannow didn't finish, so I ran it at boot using method 1 here: SFC /SCANNOW : Run in Command Prompt at Boot That gave me the error "There is a system repair pending which requires reboot to complete." I rebooted into windows and then back to the disc several times and got the error each time. My computer does not have a pending.xml file.

Since sfc \scannow wasn't working, I tried to do a repair install using this method Repair Install. I ran the compatibility check (by clicking "upgrade" after starting setup) on the windows 7 disk and it gave me this message: "Windows needs to be restarted so necessary changes to system files can be made before continuing."

Restarting, however, does not accomplish this. What can I do? It seems my main problem right now is finishing up whatever Windows thinks it needs to update on a reboot (I've rebooted many times since discovering the message.)