SupportAssist Release Information

SA ran a 'Full Scan' ONCE after updating to 21H2.

On checking for 'updates' again, it appears to run OK but did not update the date on the 'Home' screen.

Dell asked me to un-install SA and then re-install it.

Now, I cannot even install an up-to-date version of SA, never mind run it; so I now have no means of knowing when updates are available.

No there is no way to find out which version or when it was released. 

 

However tech support seems to be rolling the ball. That seems like a wrong information 

SupportAssist 3.10.2.29 is compatible with 21h2 

Whats happening when you are trying to run it. 

 

Install SupportAssist again and Let is Fail 

Open Event viewer > Application LOGS

Please provide exact error from the error logs

 

Also I would suggest to follow this GUIDE Step by Step Don't miss any step. 

 

You may find that a few thing I am recommending to delete are already deleted from your computer so skip those steps.  

1 Use Microsoft's unInstaller : Run this uninstaller and choose uninstall and SupportAssist.

This step is crucial as Microsoft's uninstaller disables the services as well. Choose SupportAssist and uninstall, Uninstall Dell updates by running the the uninstaller again. If Support Assist doesn't show in List ignore this step

Run the uninstaller again and this time Uninstall Application name "Dell updates". . 

Reboot (important) 

1. Delete following folders and ignore the once which are already deleted. 

C:/ Program Data/ PCDR 

C:/ Program Data/Supportassist 

C:/ Program Data/Dell/Dell data volt 

C:/ Program Files/ Dell/Supportassist 

C:/ Program Files/ Dell/ Dell data Volt 

C:/ windows/Temp (everything inside the folder 

Remove these Registries 

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services key.

Delete Dell hardware service, Delete Dell client management service, Delete Dell updates. 

Reboot 

install SupportAssist 

Install SupportAssist again and Let is Fail 

Open Event viewer > Application LOGS

Please provide exact error from the error logs

 

Also I would suggest to follow this GUIDE Step by Step Don't miss any step. 

 

You may find that a few thing I am recommending to delete are already deleted from your computer so skip those steps.  

1 Use Microsoft's unInstaller : Run this uninstaller and choose uninstall and SupportAssist.

This step is crucial as Microsoft's uninstaller disables the services as well. Choose SupportAssist and uninstall, Uninstall Dell updates by running the the uninstaller again. If Support Assist doesn't show in List ignore this step

Run the uninstaller again and this time Uninstall Application name "Dell updates". . 

Reboot (important) 

1. Delete following folders and ignore the once which are already deleted. 

C:/ Program Data/ PCDR 

C:/ Program Data/Supportassist 

C:/ Program Data/Dell/Dell data volt 

C:/ Program Files/ Dell/Supportassist 

C:/ Program Files/ Dell/ Dell data Volt 

C:/ windows/Temp (everything inside the folder 

Remove these Registries 

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services key.

Delete Dell hardware service, Delete Dell client management service, Delete Dell updates. 

Reboot 

install SupportAssist 

 

1. Mark this as resolved so that others can find it. 

2. Reply with an email to the tech support team.

Thread marked as resolved.

I have a phone call booked with a Dell support manager tomorrow (Monday), which I am now looking forward to with eager anticipation,

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@IanFM wrote:

I'm running Windows 10 v 21H2 Release Preview (Build 19044.1200) x64 on an Inspiron 3670....

....So come mid-October, how can I find out which version of SA will be & when will it be released?

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Hi IanFM:

I forgot to mention that Release Notes and a User's Guide for new SupportAssist versions are posted in the section titled "Manuals and Documents" at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/dell-supportassist-pcs-tablets/docs shortly after their official release.

My SupportAssist self-updated from v3.10.1.23 to 3.10.3.3 on 26-Aug-2021.  I never received v3.10.2.29 (rel.11-Aug-2021, which added support for Win 11) and I think that version was removed from the Dell download servers and replaced with v3.10.3.3 fairly quickly.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H1 build 19043.1165 * Firefox v91.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2107.4 * MB Premium v4.4.5.130-1.0.1430 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.3.3 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v 5.4.3.15135 * Dell Update for Windows 10 v4.3.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G 256 GB NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

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@IanFM wrote:
...I turned my anti-virus software's (Malwafrebytes) firewall protection and re-installed without any issues.

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Hi IanFM:

My MB Premium doesn't include with a firewall. Do you mean that you had to disable the real-time Web Protection module as shown below in order to download the latest SupportAssistInstaller.exe from https://www.dell.com/support/contents/en-us/article/product-support/self-support-knowledgebase/software-and-downloads/supportassist, or have you installed BiniSoft's Windows Firewall Control (also known as MB Windows Firewall Control after MB acquired BiniSoft in May 2018) as a separate program?

P.S.

It's ridiculous that the automated filters in this forum will not allow users to post a reply if it includes the word "M-a-l-w-a-r-e-b-y-t-e-s" (without the dashes).

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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H1 build 19043.1165 * Firefox v91.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2107.4 * MB Premium v4.4.5.130-1.0.1430 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.3.3 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v 5.4.3.15135 * Dell Update for Windows 10 v4.3.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G 256 GB NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hi Imacri,

Yes I did mean MB's 'Web Protection', and I'm aware of the url for downloading SupportAssist. Also I don't have BiniSoft's Windows Fkirewall Control installed.

I've had a long conversation with the Dell support manager whose technician was working on my ticket, and he let slip that there is an issue with SupportAssist interacting with MB which is still being investigated.

He also said 'it would be resolved when Windows 21H2 goes GA', so I'm waiting with eager anticipation for a few weeks until this happens; if my issue is NOT resolved, I'll be raisinng a 3rd ticket on this issue.

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@IanFM wrote:

... Yes I did mean MB's 'Web Protection', and I'm aware of the url for downloading SupportAssist. Also I don't have BiniSoft's Windows Fkirewall Control installed.

I've had a long conversation with the Dell support manager whose technician was working on my ticket, and he let slip that there is an issue with SupportAssist interacting with MB which is still being investigated...

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Hi IanFM:

The MB False Positives | Web Protection  board doesn't have any recent reports of MB blocking any connections to the Dell.com site (I searched that board for both "Dell" and "SupportAssist"), but that doesn't necessarily mean that your assumption that MB Web Protection was  the blocking your SupportAssist installation is incorrect. The SupportAssistInstaller.exe file for SupportAssist v3.10.2 released 11-Aug-2021 is no longer available for download so I can't upload a copy to VirusTotal.com to see if that particular version was triggering a false positive detection with MB or any other common antivirus scan engine, but given how quickly this v3.10.2 installer was pulled from the Dell download servers I'm wondering now if this installer was triggering a false positive detection with some antivirus scan engines that forced Dell to post a new v3.10.3 installer.

This probably isn't relevant to your SupportAssist installation problem, but just note that there is a known bug where the "Scan Hardware" scan of SupportAssist will not run correctly on some systems unless scan exceptions for the SupportAssist folders are added to MB at Settings | Security | Allow List - see the 16-Feb-2020 solution posted in garioch7's SupportAssist Will Not Scan Hardware. Dell employee jbilinski posted <here> in that thread on 17-Feb-2020 that "According to the PCDr team, the binaries to call HW Test are being blocked by some anti-virus software like McAfee LiveSafe and in some versions of M-a-l-w-a-r-e-b-y-t-e-s. Teams are investigating the issue" so apparently MB is not the only antivirus / anti-malware program that can cause problems with the SupportAssist hardware scan. Perhaps that's the bug that Dell Customer Support hinted about that is actually being fixed in an upcoming version of SupportAssist.
___________________________

Again, apologies for using the phrases "M-a-l-w-a-r-e-b-y-t-e-s" or "MB" to avoid triggering the spam filters in this forum.  I couldn't even provide a link to the MB False Positives | Protection board without casing my post to fail.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H1 build 19043.1165 * Firefox v91.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2107.4 * MB Premium v4.4.5.130-1.0.1430 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.3.3 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v 5.4.3.15135 * Dell Update for Windows 10 v4.3.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G 256 GB NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hi 3 Argentum,

My initial problem with SA is that, when applying the update for the release around 17th August, it would not auto-update as SA couldn't download from the SA server(s), never mind install.

I then decided to do a clean install of Wondows 10 v21H2 (= 21H1 + the enablement package).

SA then downloaded, installed & completed a full scan OK.

On subsequent attempts to 'Get Drivers & Downloads' would not do anything; nothing download, no 'History' created or the date updated on the menu GUI.  However, everything else runs OK.

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@IanFM wrote:
.....I then decided to do a clean install of Wondows 10 v21H2 (= 21H1 + the enablement package).  SA then downloaded, installed & completed a full scan OK
On subsequent attempts to 'Get Drivers & Downloads' would not do anything....

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Hi IanFM:

I wish I could suggest a possible solution, but it's not too surprising that you're seeing issues with third-party software like SupportAssistant (or perhaps even M-a-l-w-a-r-e-b-y-t-e-s) while you're beta-testing a preview build of Win 10 v21H2 (Build 19044.1200). If you don't want to downgrade back to v21H1 then Dell customer support is likely correct that your best option is to wait for Win 10 v21H2 to go into wide release before trying another SupportAssist re-install. In the mean time keep an eye on the "New and Enhanced Features" and "Known Issues" sections of any future SupportAssist release notes posted at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-ca/product-support/product/dell-supportassist-pcs-tablets/docs to see if there's any mention of compatibility with v21H2.

Just FYI, I posted a request today at Please Fix Spam Filter So It Doesn't Block the Word "M-a-l-w-a-r-e-b-y-t-e-s" asking Dell to modify their spam filters so users can use the "M" word without having their post blocked. I'm not holding my breath.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H1 build 19043.1165 * Firefox v91.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2107.4 * MB Premium v4.4.5.130-1.0.1430 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.3.3 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v 5.4.3.15135 * Dell Update for Windows 10 v4.3.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G 256 GB NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620