wicainventory. exe causes high CPU usage

Anonymous
2014-05-17T23:22:50+00:00

I need a solution to the problem that I have with my computer accusing a VERY HIGH CPU usage by the file system WICAINVENTORY.EXE.   NO information or solution available (if any) in the Microsoft support area nor community.  This was installed in April as an automatic update, since then I have observed the cooling system (fan) starting very frequently and at high speed.

For your reference:

wicainventory.exe                       installed version 6.3.9600.17057

operative system                        windows7 home premium with service pack1 installed.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2014-07-04T17:13:47+00:00

After an extensive Web search, I discovered that Wicainventory is installed as part of the "Recommended" Win7 update KB2952664

Microsoft's Knowledge Base article for that update lists the files involved but does not say what it does, other than it is a  "Compatibility update for upgrading Windows 7"

Some of its files are dated mid-April, 2014, and it was installed on my system in late April.

Of course, many of us are not in the least interested in upgrading Windows 7 to any currently offered alternative.

For instructions on uninstalling Windows updates, see

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/remove-update#1TC=windows-7

Uninstalling it from my system did not require a reboot, but supposedly it'll be offered every time updates are available.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-07-13T01:35:26+00:00

    I found some more details about the WicaInventory.exe process that runs:

    Program file location:  C:\Windows\system32\CompatTel\WicaInventory.exe

    Command-line:   WicaInventory.exe /apps /fast /ext "exe,sys" /output "D:\CompatTelemetryLogs\WICA_Programs_MONOLITH.xml" /log "D:\CompatTelemetryLogs" "C:\Windows\system32\CompatTel"

    Parent program that starts the above:  C:\Windows\system32\rundll32.exe aepdu.dll,AePduRunUpdate -nolegacy

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-07-12T15:39:17+00:00

    I double-checked to make sure that I removed the correct update.  It fails to find it in the list of installed updates, and shows it in the list of updates I had chosen to hide (which I had done).

    I found WicaInventory.exe at five places on the hard disk:

    C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel

    C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\a2481d4de5a8bc4b97f73e76448aa704\amd64_microsoft-windows-a..de-compat-telemetry_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.18521_none_e5c458cc1000077b

    C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-a..de-compat-telemetry_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.18444_none_e5b1b7ec100d8e3b

    C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-a..de-compat-telemetry_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.18467_none_e59f18f2101b1222

    C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-a..de-compat-telemetry_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.18503_none_e5dbf9380fee0247

    Looking into System Configuration Utility, I am not sure which Service is running WicaInventory.exe in the first place.  I also used Sysinternals AutoRuns, and do not find WicaInventory.exe registered to run on system start-up anywhere.  But it still runs on every cold boot.

    When it runs, it also seems to be creating CompatTel folder inside the TEMP directory.

    I did not yet try just deleting the above directories.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-07-12T11:31:59+00:00

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/remove-update#1TC=windows-7

    Uninstalling it from my system did not require a reboot, but supposedly it'll be offered every time updates are available.

    Thank you. I had excessive disk usage from this update. I have uninstalled it and all is quiet. It says I will need to reboot.

    OT: MS keeps asking me for a security code sent to my other account but when I try to log onto that account it says I need a security code sent to that account, but when ... Is this KB22?

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-07-12T09:26:27+00:00

    I uninstalled KB2952664.  Wicainventory still runs during boot and stalls the hard drive.

    In that case, it's probably appropriate to search your disk drive for wicainventory.exe and delete it.

    Also, you can use the System Configuration utility to disable its invocation in the system startup script.

    See http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/run-selective-startup-system-configuration#1TC=windows-7

    You also should verify that KB2952664 is actually the one you uninstalled. It's easy to accidentally click on an adjacent line.

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