How to Identify Pending File Renames

Software installations and updates will often need to rename existing data on your computer. If a file is loaded into memory and currently being used, it cannot be modified. In that case, Windows schedules the file to be renamed after the computer has rebooted. These pending file renames are stored in a registry string and read during the next reboot. Identify any pending file renames by launching the Windows Registry Editor and viewing this string value.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Hold the “Windows-R” keys simultaneously to display Run. Type “Regedit.exe” and press “Enter.”
   • 2
     Click “Yes” on the User Account Control screen. Once the Registry Editor opens, click to expand each of the “Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager” branches on the left pane.
   • 3
     Double-click the “PendingFileRenameOperations” string on the right pane. This opens an Edit Multi-String dialog. If this string does not exist, you do not have any file renames pending.
   • 4
     Look in the “Value data” box. These are all of your pending renames and their respective paths, with two lines for every pending rename. The first line contains the current filename, and the second contains the pending name. This continues for as many pending renames as you have. In other words, every other line in this string value is the new name the file will be given.