Perform a Client Restart from SCCM Console

Using the SCCM console you can identify clients that require a restart. You can also use a client notification action to restart them. We will take a look at both of these features in this post.

The client restart feature was first introduced in SCCM 1710. Since then it has helped ConfigMgr admins to manage the clients in a better way. It’s definitely worth knowing the client computers which require a restart before you deploy anything.

Note – To use the SCCM client restart feature, you must be using Configuration Manager version 1710 and above.

Identify Clients with Pending Restart in SCCM Console

In the SCCM Console, you can identify the computers that require a restart. To identify devices that require pending restart :-

• Go to the Assets and Compliance workspace in the Configuration Manager console.
• Select the Devices node or you could choose a device collection.
• View the status for each device in the details pane in a new column named Pending Restart.

Notice that in the above screenshot, one of the computer has got a restart pending. The reason why it requires a restart can be determined with the value that is shown in the console.

Here are the different values for pending client restart.

1. No – This means No restart is pending on the client computer.
2. Configuration Manager – This value comes from the client reboot coordinator component (RebootCoordinator.log).
3. Add or Remove Feature – You see this value when there is an addition or removal of a Windows feature requires a restart.
4. Windows Update – This value comes from the Windows Update Agent reporting a pending restart is required for one or more updates.
5. File Rename – This value comes from Windows reporting a pending file rename operation.

Restart Clients using Configuration Manager Console

In the SCCM console, when you find a computer with pending reboot, you can restart the client using the below steps.

• In the Assets and Compliance workspace, select the Devices node.
• Right click the client and click Client Notification > Restart.

When you restart a computer, the Configuration Manager checks whether the client is online or offline. To perform a restart the computer should be online. Click OK.

The client computer receives restart notification and a notification window opens to inform the user about the restart. By default, the restart occurs after 90 minutes. This can be changed under Client settings > Computer restart setting.