Devices Page Crash in Settings

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ceo54

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Dear Community,


I'm currently customizing a Windows 10 image for personal use with a debloating preset that inadvertently causes the "Devices" page in Settings to crash immediately upon access.


After reviewing the preset, I've identified the most likely culprits as:


  • Device Experience components
  • SettingSync components
  • Cloud Files API
  • Microsoft Sync components

While I could retain all these components to resolve the crash, my goal is to maintain a privacy-focused image by disabling cloud-related features (SettingSync, Cloud Files API, Microsoft Sync) while preserving basic Devices page functionality.


Question: What is the minimum set of components required for the Devices page to function reliably, and which specific combination is causing the crash?


Any guidance on the essential dependencies or safe removal combinations would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you for your assistance!


Best regards
 
I doubt it's the cloud components. I always disable them, though in 11, and I never noticed any issues (as long as you don't use any MS services and related apps). Oh, yeah, removing the CloudFiles breaks Dropbox and sync.com clients too in 11 and possibly some other cloud clients, but Nextcloud and Google Drive are unaffected. It's most likely removing the Device Experience that breaks that Devices page. I always leave it in 11 too. You can disable Settings Sync but you probably need to keep Sync Host, removing that breaks some stuff, even if it seems unrelated.

Also, removing Connected Device Platform breaks several Settings pages in Windows 11.

If you want to maximize privacy then consider running AdGuard DNS server, they have an .exe build for Windows too. There are DNS blocklists available for it that specifically block Microsoft telemetry and other unwanted services. On top of that it's an excellent ads and malware blocker too.
 
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Anonymous Internet User said:
I doubt it's the cloud components. I always disable them, though in 11, and I never noticed any issues (as long as you don't use any MS services and related apps). Oh, yeah, removing the CloudFiles breaks Dropbox and sync.com clients too in 11 and possibly some other cloud clients, but Nextcloud and Google Drive are unaffected. It's most likely removing the Device Experience that breaks that Devices page. I always leave it in 11 too. You can disable Settings Sync but you probably need to keep Sync Host, removing that breaks some stuff, even if it seems unrelated.

Also, removing Connected Device Platform breaks several Settings pages in Windows 11.

If you want to maximize privacy then consider running AdGuard DNS server, they have an .exe build for Windows too. There are DNS blocklists available for it that specifically block Microsoft telemetry and other unwanted services. On top of that it's an excellent ads and malware blocker too.
Click to expand...
Hello,

Your observation is spot on. I also arrived at the same conclusion that Device Experience is needed vertically with core system components. And you're 100% correct about the CDP too, with it being disabled -or- non-functional, many Settings pages breaks even though the two seem unrelated. Microsoft has partially fixed this in Windows 11 but for Windows 10 those two things i.e. Device Experience and CDP are mandatory.

Question remains what to do with SettingsSync, Cloud Files API and Device Sync (Microsoft Sync)

I don't use any cloud drives on the PC so all the cloud functionality for me is just useless resource churn provided it's not a dependency on some core components just like device experience and CDP.

Thank you for the response, your help is highly appreciated.

Edit: When you say "Sync Host", what is that component called within NTlite ? I want a lite system not broken system.
 
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ceo54 said:
Question remains what to do with SettingsSync, Cloud Files API and Device Sync (Microsoft Sync)
Click to expand...
Cloud Files (Cloud Files API) are safe to remove as long as you don't plan to use cloud sync services; and not just OneDrive, Dropbox and Sync.com clients need it. Sync support specifically said that. I self-host Nextcloud and it works. Also Google Drive should work with this removed if I remember correctly. I always remove this.

Sync Host is just called that in Windows 11, it may not exists or be called something else in 10. It's under Networking:

Screenie 2026-01-24 16.07.56.jpg

I don't remember what it was but removing it broke something for me. I wish I documented all this stuff better.

Though I remove anything else related to Settings Sync, OneSync and SyncCenter and that has no effect on anything that I use. This is the feature that syncs settings between PCs and I sure as hell do not want that, though some of those may also play other roles like syncing contacts or calendars, not sure, really. If you're not gonna use any MS software and services (Office, Outlook, Sharepoint, etc) you should be fine. Removing these has no effect on any settings as far as I can see and any third party apps such as Firefox or Thunderbird, they use their own sync frameworks.

Though maybe someone with actual Windows 10 experience will chime in. I base all this on my Windows 11 experience.

Just gotta warn you that Windows 10 and 11 are ful of complex interdependencies that may seemingly be unrelated and they will break something you wouldn't expect. It's just the way it is and it's likely to get worse in the coming years. Not sure if this is malicious atempt by MS to make Windows modding harder or, more likely, just lazy coding and "we don't care" attitude.

I learned early on that this is an uphill battle and I gave up on trying to achieve absolute privacy. So, you may not be able to achieve full privacy and full functionality and stability at the same time. I removed as much as I could, without breaking stuff that I use, and my Windows PCs still talk to Microsoft domains tens of tiimes per day. That's where my AdGuard DNS curbs this nonsense.

It could be that Sync Host I left behind. I'm working on and off on a new build, maybe I'll try to remove it see what breaks.
 
Please attach your preset. A complete view of changes is easier to review for known dependencies. Remove any user passwords or license key before posting.
 
garlin said:
Please attach your preset. A complete view of changes is easier to review for known dependencies. Remove any user passwords or license key before posting.
Click to expand...
Hello Mr. Garlin.

Thank you for taking interest in my issue. Looking forward for your expert analysis.

Here also the privacy settings that might effect something.

Code: 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings\Windows.SystemToast.SecurityAndMaintenance]
"Enabled"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"HideSCAMeetNow"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\PushToInstall]
"DisablePushToInstall"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager]
"ContentDeliveryAllowed"=dword:00000000
"OemPreInstalledAppsEnabled"=dword:00000000
"PreInstalledAppsEnabled"=dword:00000000
"PreInstalledAppsEverEnabled"=dword:00000000
"SilentInstalledAppsEnabled"=dword:00000000
"SystemPaneSuggestionsEnabled"=dword:00000000
"SoftLandingEnabled"=dword:00000000
"SubscribedContentEnabled"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search]
"DisableWebSearch"=dword:00000001
"AllowCloudSearch"=dword:00000000
"ConnectedSearchUseWeb"=dword:00000000
"AllowCortana"=dword:00000000
"EnableDynamicContentInWSB"=dword:00000000
"AllowSearchToUseLocation"=dword:00000000
"ConnectedSearchPrivacy"=dword:00000003
"DisableRemovableDriveIndexing"=dword:00000001
"AllowIndexingEncryptedStoresOrItems"=dword:00000000
"PreventRemoteQueries"=dword:00000001

; Telemetry level = Security (lowest possible)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection]
"AllowTelemetry"=dword:00000000
"DisableEnterpriseAuthProxy"=dword:00000001
"LimitEnhancedDiagnosticDataWindowsAnalytics"=dword:00000001

; Legacy fallback paths
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\DataCollection]
"AllowTelemetry"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\SQMClient\Windows]
"CEIPEnable"=dword:00000000

; Disable inking & typing data collection
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\InputPersonalization]
"AllowInputPersonalization"=dword:00000000
"RestrictImplicitInkCollection"=dword:00000001
"RestrictImplicitTextCollection"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\TextInput]
"AllowLinguisticDataCollection"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\HandwritingErrorReports]
"PreventHandwritingErrorReports"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CloudContent]
"DisableWindowsConsumerFeatures"=dword:00000001
"DisableSoftLanding"=dword:00000001
"DisableThirdPartySuggestions"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Dsh]
"AllowNewsAndInterests"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\GameDVR]
"AllowGameDVR"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AdvertisingInfo]
"Disabled"=dword:00000001
 

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garlin, so do you remember off the top of your head if removing Sync Host breaks anything? I don't have any notes on that but I can't help thinking that it broke something. I don't use any MS apps or services though. But it could be one of those stupid things that breaks a tray icon for something unrelated, or something like that. Thank you :)

I saved my NTLite directories so I can go back to my last good state; and I'm gonna try removing all that sync stuff, but it may not be immediately obvious if/what is broken. NTLite notes say it's needed for the MS Store, maybe that's what it was?
 
Modern Apps (including System Settings) require a number of framework libraries:
Code: 
                <c>microsoft.net.native.framework.1.7 'Microsoft .Net Native Framework Package 1.7'</c>
                <c>microsoft.net.native.framework.2.2 'Microsoft .Net Native Framework Package 2.2'</c>
                <c>microsoft.net.native.runtime.1.7 'Microsoft .Net Native Runtime Package 1.7'</c>
                <c>microsoft.net.native.runtime.2.2 'Microsoft .Net Native Runtime Package 2.2'</c>
                <c>microsoft.ui.xaml.2.0</c>

Anonymous Internet User, I don't believe removing Sync Host breaks any major Windows functionality. Obviously it breaks some features, but most single-user desktops probably don't see the difference.
 
garlin said:
Modern Apps (including System Settings) require a number of framework libraries:
Code: 
                <c>microsoft.net.native.framework.1.7 'Microsoft .Net Native Framework Package 1.7'</c>
                <c>microsoft.net.native.framework.2.2 'Microsoft .Net Native Framework Package 2.2'</c>
                <c>microsoft.net.native.runtime.1.7 'Microsoft .Net Native Runtime Package 1.7'</c>
                <c>microsoft.net.native.runtime.2.2 'Microsoft .Net Native Runtime Package 2.2'</c>
                <c>microsoft.ui.xaml.2.0</c>

Anonymous Internet User, I don't believe removing Sync Host breaks any major Windows functionality. Obviously it breaks some features, but most single-user desktops probably don't see the difference.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response Mr Garlin. The components you outlined are hard dependency involved in runtime execution, without which, the target will never be able to run in the first place. My situation is different, I have settings app working, its just the devices page crashes.

I apologise if I sound illogical or confusing, I'm new to all this. Please forgive my ignorance.

If you decide to stop here and won't debug anymore, that's completely understandable. I highly appreciate you taking time and reviewing what I've been doing wrong.

Kind regards
 
With W11, the Game Mode component (at least the DLL file) needs to be retained for Settings to work.
Perhaps with Windows 10, it's only for the Device page.

You can test this by retrieving the gamemode.dll file from System32 and copying it
 
Anonymous Internet User garlin tistou77

I redid the build and this time I retained Device Experience, Setting Sync, Sync Host (Microsoft Sync Framework) and it resolved the issue. Many thanks to all of you, without your expert help, I could have never resolved this in one attempt.

I will try to strip Microsoft Sync Framework, and test again, this feels like a primary culprit for the invasion of privacy. But for now, this is resolved.

tistou77 I checked gamemode.dll is not on the system and settings app is working fine. But thank you for bringing this to my attention, if'll ever make a build for Windows 11, your insight will be very helpful. Who could have known a game related binary would break an essential low level system component.

Thank you from the core of my heart. You guys are awesome.

Kind regards
 
You're welcome

Ah yes, perhaps Game Mode isn't present with W10, I haven't checked
With W11, I don't keep any of those components, and there's no problem with the Devices page, but I don't remember about W10, it's too far
But that doesn't speak to me.
 
TairikuOkami said:
Disabling DevicesFlow service made it crash for me.
Click to expand...

Hello Mr. Okami.

Yes, you've correctly traced the culprit but its still unknown which component in NTlite corresponds to that service and its related infrastructure.

Its gotta be one of these 3:
<c>deviceexperience 'Device Experience'</c>
<c>devicesync 'Microsoft Sync Framework'</c>
<c>onesyncsvc 'Sync Host'</c>

Could be anything. I really want to get rid of the last two.

Thank you for the input, your help is greatly appreciated.
 
As far as I can tell disabling Microsoft Sync Framework and Sync Host does not break any settings pages, taskbar flyouts, anything devices related, like Bluetooth/WiFi, etc.

I removed those in my last Win 11 25H2 build and so far I installed it on two desktops and one laptop (since we started this conversation) and I haven't found anything to be broken. It does break OneDrive, of course, which I remove anyway, but also Dropbox and Sync.com clients, possibly other cloud clients, though Google Drive and Nextcloud are not affected.

I don't recall a Devices Flow standalone component in NTLite. I think there is just that service, and disabling that indeed breaks Bluetooth and WiFi settings.
 
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