Windows could not get a list of devices from Windows Update



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Printers require drivers and are not always pre-installed on the system. So when you try to install a printer, the device tries to get the drivers from Windows Update.

Assume this situation. We are navigating to Settings > Devices > Printers and Scanners > Add Printer or Scanner – but the system cannot find the printer. So we click on The printer I want is not listed.

In the Add Printer dialog box that opens, select Add Local Printer or Network Printer with Manual Settings . Ideally, a printer list should appear that displays the following error message: Windows updates the printer list.

If this fails, an error message may be displayed:

Windows could not get a device list from Windows Update

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We could run Windows updates and try to reload the driver list, but if that doesn’t help, do the following :

Rename the Software Distribution folder

To delete or rename the SoftwareDistribution folder, right-click the Start button and select Command Prompt (Administrator). Enter the following commands in order and press Enter after each command:

net stop wuauserv
network stop bits
network stop bits
rename to c:windowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak
net to start wuauserv
net start bits
net start bits

Now proceed to the next step.

Catroot folder reset2

To reset the catroot folder2, do the following :

Open a high command prompt, type the following command in order and press Enter:

net stop cryptsvc
md %systemroot%system32catroot2.old
xcopy %systemroot%systemroot%system32catroot2 %systemroot2 %system32catroot%system32catroot%system32catroot2. old /s

Then delete all contents of the catroot2 folder

After doing this, type the following in the CMD windows and press Enter :

net start cryptsvc

Your Catroot folder will be reset when you restart Windows Update.

Close the command prompt, reboot the system, try again and see if the problem is solved.



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