Device Census Stopped Working Problem

Since my devicecensus failure only occurs once daily, I'll have to defer 'til tomorrow to report my result.

But, I'll report that result here then.

You don't have to wait.

DeviceCensus.exe is scheduled to run daily, but you can manually run it any time you want. To do so

1. Press Win+R combination on your keyboard to open Run dialog box (Or open it from the start menu. Or open Cortana instead of Run. Whichever is good for you.)
2. Type "DeviceCensus.exe" (if you are using Cortana instead of Run, wait for it to be found.)
3. Press Enter

Sure. Go ahead and ask anything you wish.

If you want to know how I deleted the "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution" folder, it is as easy as issuing the following commands:

net stop wuauserv

rd "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution" /s

net start wuauserv

This is the confirmed solution for me.

The Disk Cleanup solution has never received a direct confirmation. I ask people to carry it out and they stop pestering me altogether instead of giving me a clear confirmation. They say no news is good news.

Thank you, very much for that information. That's what I needed. Others, elsewhere had simply removed

devicecensus, but I was denied that access, and somewhat concerned with that anyway.

Since my devicecensus failure only occurs once daily, I'll have to defer 'til tomorrow to report my result.

But, I'll report that result here then.

Thanks again.

Sure. Go ahead and ask anything you wish.

If you want to know how I deleted the "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution" folder, it is as easy as issuing the following commands:

net stop wuauserv

rd "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution" /s

net start wuauserv

This is the confirmed solution for me.

The Disk Cleanup solution has never received a direct confirmation. I ask people to carry it out and they stop pestering me altogether instead of giving me a clear confirmation. They say no news is good news.

I can't believe it! I seem to have managed to fix this pesky problem on two systems in 23 hours! 😁

1. On a desktop computer, the problem was gone after stopping the Windows Update service, deleting the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder, and restarting.
2. On a laptop, I strongly believe the problem was definitely gone after I had run Disk Cleanup with the Windows Update Cleanup checkbox selected and the system was shutdown at least once.

Someone, please verify this solution.

If your desktop circumvention/solution above is still holding, can I get some basic help for my validation?

Thanks.

I can confirm that one of the things I did before this problem disappeared on my machine is run Disk Cleanup and clean up Windows Update files.

I don't know for sure if that did it, but it's a pretty good bet.

Thanks "R.Hansen_690". You must have been sitting on this thread today.

I've been reviewing all the history on this devicecensus saga, and the only definitive solution is the previous post from 08/04/2018, from "Fleet Command". Unless I've missed something. I have walked

through many of your postings, all the way since inception. Even though you've been a frequent

participant, I don't seem to recall your final victory declaration.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I religiously perform a weekend administrative process that always

includes storage cleanup. Not only using MS facilities, but supplemented by Ccleaner. As you stated, I also

always specify "system files" in the process. Since this includes update & dormant OS images, it can be

somewhat of a recovery gamble. But, I maintain excellent backups as well. Done it for years without any

problem(s), thus far.

Back to point, I had requested some basic help from "Fleet Command" mainly just to confirm his steps, and even though running as admin, that I would have sufficient authorization. I'm not a Windows expert,

and prefer to fully understand a process completely before undertaking. It read like "Fleet Command"

might have a solution applicable for me.

I've had this devicecensus problem since 07/11/2018, when I upgraded to 1803. I can't see that anything

remedial is being done about it, so I want it gone. I had a very clean 1709 system, and now the only

problem I now have at 1803.

You seem to imply that it is gone for you? Congratulations on your fortune, I hope. and if so, blessings to

you that it will not return. However, there does seem to be many here not quite as lucky as you and maybe

"Fleet Command". I'm just trying to capitalize on that success.

Thank you, for your visit.

I can't believe it! I seem to have managed to fix this pesky problem on two systems in 23 hours! 😁

1. On a desktop computer, the problem was gone after stopping the Windows Update service, deleting the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder, and restarting.
2. On a laptop, I strongly believe the problem was definitely gone after I had run Disk Cleanup with the Windows Update Cleanup checkbox selected and the system was shutdown at least once.

Someone, please verify this solution.

If your desktop circumvention/solution above is still holding, can I get some basic help for my validation?

Thanks.

I can confirm that one of the things I did before this problem disappeared on my machine is run Disk Cleanup and clean up Windows Update files.

I don't know for sure if that did it, but it's a pretty good bet.