Continues Errors at startup "Metadata staging failed"

[Marcus]

Thank you for your compliment to this community. Although I am relatively new to this forum, but also long been active in the IT environment.
We all know that there is no perfect system and we need to work together when it comes to problems. Whether Microsoft, Apple, or the normal user. We're all in the same boat. The technological age.
We are all different people and have our own views and opinions, but the fact that we can collectively advise to mutually complement each other, bringing us further.

Hey Saammy, I have a couple questions for you (or any other experienced user willing to help). Before changing the registry I made a backup copy for the key with the non working url. Supposing Microsoft should revert to the old domain in the future, can I just import the saved key into the registry and everything will be fine once again?

Also, users who decide to wait for now, sticking with the old url, will they get devices/drivers recognised and updated on their machines, as it was before errors started showing up? Are red marks in Event Viewer the only concern, or is there an actual issue undermining devices installation/update/behavior?

Anyway, the url and solution you kindly provided proved flawless on my system

 

[amtino]

FWIW - I ignore my check engine light also! :0)

Seriously tho', there are reporting mechanisms for different levels of understanding.
For example, the Action Center would correspond roughly to the check engine light - while the Event Viewer would roughly correspond to the error codes generated when the tech connects a computer code checker to the diagnostic port on the car. The codes tell you things, but you have to have a different skill set to interpret the results.

This isn't to discourage people from using it, rather it's to show that it's more difficult to interpret - and that it'll take some work to figure out why this error is being generated. The Event Viewer is one of the tools that confounded me early in my career - and it took a lot of work for me to start to understand it.

This topic was an excellent example of the community working together to figure out what's wrong with a common problem and to take steps to fix it. I was really impressed by the hard work and cooperation that this topic shows!

I totally agree with all the different levels of understanding and concerns with this issue but lets face it we are all different with differing levels of understanding, technical ability and personal concerns about our event viewers picture and OS.

If my Oil warning light came on in my car I wouldn't loose any sleep and I would not rush to the garage at 9am for oil putting in. However, I would want to check out why the light came on in the first place i.e. check the oil level and then I would be following the path of ensuring the oil warning light went out and I wouldn't want to be waiting a month or so for it to go out. Not being a car maintenance technician I wouldn't know that the Engine wouldn't die if I did not take any appropriate action to try and resolve the issue.
I think this is the case with this issue, some of us just do not want this issue showing for months and as a community working together we are making progress. The more members that inform Microsoft directly the sooner the message will register that there is actually something failing here.

 

[Maszi65]

Thank you mbushnaq00!

 

[gator2013]

Well, I finally decided to take the plunge. It's been about 36 hours since I replaced the original Device Metadata Service URL in the Registry with the one provided by Saammy and everything has been working perfectly with zero errors. I must admit that I am curious as to how and where Saammy came upon this information but regardless of how this information was obtained it works and that is the important part.

A Google Search on the term "DeviceMetadataServiceURL" revealed that this is not the first time this issue has come up Device stage (DMRC) cannot contact WMIS - Microsoft Community

and also revealed an interesting piece on Metadata retrieval in general.

How the DMRC Determines When to Search the WMIS Server (Windows Drivers)

Thanks for the information Saammy! I hope you stick around and continue to help us out.

 

[Saammy]

hello,
for your information I would like to announce that I have contacted Microsoft in Redmond and have reported them in detail the problem. With reference to this thread and on other forums in which I am working. We will now consider the incident closely and working on a solution.
Of course, Microsoft also of how I came up with the solution of this problem interesting. I have not only the domains tested and the redirects, but also directly the individual internal IPs from Microsoft. This also was of course only possible through intensive efforts, the server structure of Microsoft to break down. It was "NO" Hack, only an intensive search. To change the URL in Windows was the smallest problem. Because you just have to find the appropriate registry entry.

regards
Saammy

ps.: sorry for my bad english

 

[Saammy]

Thank you for your compliment to this community. Although I am relatively new to this forum, but also long been active in the IT environment.
We all know that there is no perfect system and we need to work together when it comes to problems. Whether Microsoft, Apple, or the normal user. We're all in the same boat. The technological age.
We are all different people and have our own views and opinions, but the fact that we can collectively advise to mutually complement each other, bringing us further.

Hey Saammy, I have a couple questions for you (and for any other experienced user willing to help). Before changing the registry I made a backup copy for the key with the non working url. Supposing Microsoft will revert to the old domain in the future, can I just import the saved key in the registry and everything will be fine once again?

Also, users who decide to wait for now, sticking with the old url, will they get devices/drivers recognised and updated on their machines, as it was before errors started showing up? Are red marks in Event Viewer the only concern to them, or is there an actual issue undermining devices installation/update/behavior?

Anyway, the url and solution you kindly provided are proving flawless on my system

Hello Marcus,

you do it just right. To secure the original link is always a good idea. Should it be necessary, you can restore it at any time. I would do it but then also manually. Just as before the swap links in the registry.

To your second question. I can not estimate whether more than just the Device Stage is affected by the link failure. And of course it would stay with a broken link and the messages in the Event Manager. Your Windows can´t downloaded at a new device installation any information, or third-party software to a proper function of your hardware needs.

The worst case would be if a security breach would result from a corrupt server configuration, on the malicious code via Windows update could be included. So it looks at the moment, although Microsoft says not, but is also checked.

 

[usasma]

Nice work Saammy! I'd give you more rep if the system would let me.
BTW - your English isn't very bad - and is certainly much better than my speaking/writing of any other language! :0)

 

[RonnieJP]

Thanks Saammy, your registry fix apparently took care of all the Event Viewer 131 errors, but I'm still getting warnings 122 showing "Access to drivers on Windows Update was blocked by policy". I don't recall seeing those warnings before this fiasco started with last week's Windows Updates. I checked the Device Installation Settings and I think(?) they are the way I've always had them. Please see the attached screen capture.

View attachment 51007

Do you think I'm getting these warnings because I have the "Never Install Driver Software from Windows Update" box checked?
If I check the "Always Install the Best Driver Software from Windows Update" instead, would that be the same as just checking the "Yes, Do This Automatically (Recommended)" box? Or would it still give the option not to use the Windows Update driver if I choose not to?

 

[Marcus]

Hello Marcus,

you do it just right. To secure the original link is always a good idea. Should it be necessary, you can restore it at any time. I would do it but then also manually. Just as before the swap links in the registry.

To your second question. I can not estimate whether more than just the Device Stage is affected by the link failure. And of course it would stay with a broken link and the messages in the Event Manager. Your Windows can´t downloaded at a new device installation any information, or third-party software to a proper function of your hardware needs.

The worst case would be if a security breach would result from a corrupt server configuration, on the malicious code via Windows update could be included. So it looks at the moment, although Microsoft says not, but is also checked.

Many thanks for the very instructive and clear reply and for all of your efforts. Let's hope to hear from Microsoft soon. Blessings and all the best

 

[Saammy]

Thanks Saammy, your registry fix apparently took care of all the Event Viewer 131 errors, but I'm still getting warnings 122 showing "Access to drivers on Windows Update was blocked by policy". I don't recall seeing those warnings before this fiasco started with last week's Windows Updates. I checked the Device Installation Settings and I think(?) they are the way I've always had them. Please see the attached screen capture.

View attachment 51007

Do you think I'm getting these warnings because I have the "Never Install Driver Software from Windows Update" box checked?
If I check the "Always Install the Best Driver Software from Windows Update" instead, would that be the same as just checking the "Yes, Do This Automatically (Recommended)" box? Or would it still give the option not to use the Windows Update driver if I choose not to?

Hi RonnieJP,


I tried your settings on my system and then also get the message "Access to drivers on Windows Update was blocked by policy". I place. "Yes, automatically" then are not there warnings in the Event Log That was not so some time ago.


I think this is due to the new driver database with the Microsoft Windows has introduced 8. Since there is offered for download also third-party software such as Logitech, Lexmark and others. In order to do it the "normal" users much easier.
From Windows 8 a lot more events are logged in as the Windows versions before. This may annoy a "professional" users, for he holds these messages rather irritating than useful. But a threat, or an "error" does not mean that.


Most experienced users prefer to control themselves what is happening and installed on your computer. But Microsoft wants his system to sell well and make it as easy as possible. For everyday use.


I personally disable certain warnings that bother me, but are not dangerous or harmful for the system, through the registry. I would but no other know, as there is always a risk posed if one makes changes in the registry. So make either automatically, or live with the message.

ps.: Have you even made ​​changes in your Group Policy?

- Always Install the Best Driver Software from Windows Update: ( only driver )
- Yes, Do This Automatically (Recommended): ( driver + third-party software )

 

[RonnieJP]

Thanks for the reply Saammy.
I just noticed that the Event Viewer 122 warning "Access to drivers on Windows Update was blocked by policy" only appeared upon the first reboot after making the URL registry change. I've rebooted several times after that and those warnings have now disappeared. By the way, my group policy settings are at default (not configured)
Basically, I just want to make certain that my system settings do not allow automatic device driver updates from Microsoft. I sometimes see optional driver updates when I check Windows Update, but I have that set to allow me to choose what updates to download and install.
It will be interesting to see how Microsoft responds to this issue since I suppose it affects 100% of Windows 8.1 users who did all the September updates. But of course, only a small percentage ever check their Event Logs, especially if they are not having any operational problems, so I don't know how many users will report it to Microsoft?

 

[Marcus]

Thanks for the reply Saammy.
I just noticed that the Event Viewer 122 warning "Access to drivers on Windows Update was blocked by policy" only appeared upon the first reboot after making the URL registry change. I've rebooted several times after that and those warnings have now disappeared. By the way, my group policy settings are at default (not configured)
Basically, I just want to make certain that my system settings do not allow automatic device driver updates from Microsoft. I sometimes see optional driver updates when I check Windows Update, but I have that set to allow me to choose what updates to download and install.
It will be interesting to see how Microsoft responds to this issue since I suppose it affects 100% of Windows 8.1 users who did all the September updates. But of course, only a small percentage ever check their Event Logs, especially if they are not having any operational problems, so I don't know how many users will report it to Microsoft?

You're right, most users never check Event Logs. And rarely restart their systems either (probably only after performing important updates/installations), while it would be good practice to restart every now and then (system refreshes and works more efficiently). Particularly since Windows 8 introduced the new "Fast startup/Hybrid boot" feature, which keeps most data in memory, saving them on the hard disk drive. Well, what I really mean is, unless you fully restart your system or plug new devices, chances are you won't find these red warnings in Event Viewer.

On the other hand, this issue seems not related to September updates, but to some domain change (domain with metadata for devices in our case) Microsoft made on its end. I can safely say restoring to a previous state or downgrading from recent updates is useless as an attempt to fix "DeviceSetupManager EventID 131" error. On my machine all started after a full system restore/factory reset, while no updates were performed yet

 

[RonnieJP]

You're right, most users never check Event Logs. And rarely restart their systems either (probably only after performing important updates/installations), while it would be good practice to restart every now and then (system refreshes and works more efficiently). Particularly since Windows 8 introduced the new "Fast startup/Hybrid boot" feature, which keeps most data in memory, saving them on the hard disk drive. Well, what I really mean is, unless you fully restart your system or plug new devices, chances are you won't find these red warnings in Event Viewer.

On the other hand, this issue seems not related to September updates, but to some domain change (domain with metadata for devices in our case) Microsoft made on its end. I can safely say restoring to a previous state or downgrading from recent updates is useless as an attempt to fix "DeviceSetupManager EventID 131" error. On my machine all started after a full system restore/factory reset, while no updates were performed yet

Thanks for clarifying that Marcus. I had erroneously assumed that perhaps they were related to the September updates since the errors started appearing shortly thereafter. I'm surprised that if Microsoft changed the URL of their metadata server, that they would have not anticipated this issue. I'm curious to see how (or if) they will proceed with a resolution.

 

[mikiep]

Original default url is back to working normal again.

 

[RonnieJP]

Original default url is back to working normal again.

Can we continue to use the "new" URL, for those of us who already changed it in the registry?
So far, I have no errors with it. Do you know if they both work now?

 

[gator2013]

Original default url is back to working normal again.

Can we continue to use the "new" URL, for those of us who already changed it in the registry?
So far, I have no errors with it. Do you know if they both work now?

At the time I switched back to the original URL (several hours ago) the link provided by Saammy was still working perfectly. No idea how long that will last but my guess is that it is another effective path that Saammy developed and should continue to work unless MS changes something in the future that disables it.

Thanks again to Saammy. If he did not bring this to the attention of MS the original URL would probably still be dead.

 

[RonnieJP]

Can we continue to use the "new" URL, for those of us who already changed it in the registry?
So far, I have no errors with it. Do you know if they both work now?

At the time I switched back to the original URL (several hours ago) the link provided by Saammy was still working perfectly. No idea how long that will last but my guess is that it is another effective path that Saammy developed and should continue to work unless MS changes something in the future that disables it.

Thanks again to Saammy. If he did not bring this to the attention of MS the original URL would probably still be dead.

Yes, thanks Saammy. Looks like you got Microsoft to actually do something. Could you comment on whether or not those of who changed the registry key to the "new" URL should revert back to the old one, or do you think the new one will be OK going forward?

 

[amtino]

Hi
I restored a Laptop again last night and found the original url was working also. No need to dip into the registry and change it. However on the other Laptop where I changed the registry I did have a couple of unexplained errors on Device Set-up Manager - DSM failed to start x 2 I also add All User Install Agent could not update time-stamp.

I have changed the registry back to the default url and all is well.

thanks to everyone, we got there in the end.

 

[Saammy]

Hi,


yes I can confirm that Microsoft has taken care of the problem. I have also received a positive feedback. I personally continue to use the proposed link from me. The original URL is indeed only the forwarding. But I would recommend anyone to restore the original state. Microsoft has informed me that there was an internal conversion and the team probably had little oversight.
However, it can still come in the next few days to small problems to 100% is then fixed.

Thanks to all for the good cooperation.

 

[grafccable]

Hi,


yes I can confirm that Microsoft has taken care of the problem. I have also received a positive feedback. I personally continue to use the proposed link from me. The original URL is indeed only the forwarding. But I would recommend anyone to restore the original state. Microsoft has informed me that there was an internal conversion and the team probably had little oversight.
However, it can still come in the next few days to small problems to 100% is then fixed.

Thanks to all for the good cooperation.

Old URL worked for a couple of days but today same problem came back.