5 Posts
0
2088
November 20th, 2021 14:00
SupportAssist Backups Taking 26GB of storage, is it Safe to Delete?
Currently, SupportAssist is taking up 26GB of precious SSD storage space, and I would like to have that storage back. I have already disabled SupportAssist's backup feature, but yet the backups remain. I would like to know if it is safe to manually delete all of the backup files. I was able to find out where all my space had gone by using WizTree (see screenshot) and while I cannot access the files normally, I can use WizTree to delete them. My SSD is only 256GB big so if anybody knows if it is safe (as in it won't break my computer because it relies on the backup files for something) to remove the backups. (If it is important, my SSD is my boot drive, so I don't want windows to break)
Thanks!
-SpanishMoss
PS. To be clear, I don't want to delete SupportAssist, I just want to delete the backup files.
lmacri
3 Apprentice
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1.6K Posts
0
November 20th, 2021 20:00
Hi SpanishMoss:
Did you re-boot your computer after turning off System Repair in SupportAssist [Options (gear icon) | Settings | System Repair | Turn System Repair Off | DISABLED] before you checked if the hidden folder at C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\System Repair has decreased in size?
According to guthrie's 06-Nov-2021 post in their thread file size -SAR REmediation the Dell system repair points in that folder were not deleted until after their computer was re-booted. If a re-boot doesn't help see some of the other hints posted in that thread.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H1 build 19043.1348 * Firefox v94.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v.4.18.2110.6-1.1.18700.4 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.4.11.149-1.0.1513 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.0.16041 * Dell Update for Windows 10 Universal v4.4.0 * Macrium Reflect Free v7.3.6391 * TreeSize Free Portable v4.5.2.600
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620
SpanishMoss00
5 Posts
1
November 20th, 2021 21:00
Ok, I restarted, but that didn't fix it. I then looked at the post you linked, and it showed how to disable the backups via the control panel instead of via SupportAssist, so I went there, re-enabled then disabled backups, and restarted again. It worked!
Thanks!
SpanishMoss
lmacri
3 Apprentice
•
1.6K Posts
0
November 22nd, 2021 08:00
Hi SpanishMoss00:
Glad to hear you were able to turn off System Repair from the SupportAssist OS Recovery control panel at Control Panel | System and Security | SupportAssist OS Recovery | Settings tab | System Repair.
I should mention that multiple users have reported that there is a glitch in SupportAssist OS Recovery (a.k.a., Dell SupportAssist Remediation) where it will log hundreds of "Successful Application Reconfiguration" events in the Windows Event Viewer and Win 10 Reliability Monitor (Control Panel | System and Security| Security and Maintenance| Reliability Monitor) approx. 30 min after your machine is booted up, even if System Repair is disabled. Dell employee NikhilKiroula's 01-Jul-2021 reply on page 8 of DellKaren's thread "Successful Application Reconfiguration" and SupportAssist explains why these events are logged but hasn't told us if or when Dell is going to re-code the SupportAssist OS Recovery software so it queries the "lighter" Win32reg_AddRemovePrograms class instead of Win32_Product class (which in turn calls msiprov.dll to perform the consistency check).
The only way I've been able to stop this flood of "Successful Application Reconfiguration" events from being logged on my system is to disable System Repair and change the Start Type of my Dell SupportAssist Remediation service at Start | Windows Administrative Tools | Services from "Automatic (Delayed Start)" to "Disabled". See my 15-Nov-2021 post <here> on page 9 of DellKaren's thread for more information.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H1 build 19043.1348 * Firefox v94.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v.4.18.2110.6-1.1.18700.4 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.4.11.149-1.0.1513 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.0.16041 * Dell Update for Windows 10 Universal v4.4.0 * Macrium Reflect Free v7.3.6391 * TreeSize Free Portable v4.5.2.600
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620