17 R5, Dell SupportAssist x64 v3.11.2.143 Installation failed

I am also having issues installing Support Assist. This is after an OS reinstall. Clean install of W11 using latest ISO from MS, followed by all available Windows Updates. Then attempt to install Support Assist and get the "Installation Cancelled" issue.

I then tried enabling the built in administrator account and installing Support Assist with that - same issue.

This is clearly an issue on Dell's side that they need to fix.

Hi @lmacri thank you for sharing update. I was exploring the new SupportAssist Installation cancelled notice that implies that there is a lost internet connection and to check my connection.

The code writer put very little fault analysis/user feedback troubleshooting in these higher versions of SupportAssist. Dell Technical Support's quality assurance of this new code should be revisited. The Dell SupportAssist application is a fundamental must have for all users, and Dell should ensure it continues to be suitable for public consumption. 

It seems that many hours of users' troubleshooting are right to question Dell's quality assurance. Dell's inability for online digital certificate validation of SupportAssist x64 .msi file is questionable. 

Hi @anewlime thank you for sharing update. I have also found that my user's elevated Administrator account permissions of SupportAssist installation in safe mode fails online file validation. Agree that Dell should fix their problem. 

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@lmacri wrote:
....a few people trying to install these v13.2.x installers have found the following error in the SupportAssistAgent.log in the hidden C:\ProgramData\SupportAssist\Client\Agent\logs\ApplicationLogs\ folder:

Dell.SupportAssist.Client.SupportAssistInstaller.AutoUpgradeHelper.SupportAssistInstallerPackage - msi Hash validation failed

....That error could indicate a problem with the hash validation / SHA-256 digital certificate of the downloaded .msi file....

Hi crimsom:

I recall one instance in March 2022 where the validation of the SupportAssistLauncher.exe file likely failed because the digital certificate had expired and Dell simply neglected to renew the certificate - see the image amangupta051 posted on 06-Mar-2022 post in porteno's SupportAssist Installation Issue: Error While Validating Installer File . That might not be the cause in your case but you might want to check the expiry date of the digital certificate of your SupportAssistx64-3.11.2.143.msi file to see if it is still valid.

I checked the properties of the SupportAssistInstaller.exe file I downloaded today from the main SupportAssist for Home PCs download page and the digital certificate of this particular file (which now seems to use a more secure SHA-512 hash, and not the SHA-256 hash it used when I checked a few months ago) doesn't expire until 23-Jan-2023.

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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1706 * Firefox v101.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19200.5 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.9.198-1.0.1689 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6758 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.18.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hi crimsom:

Again, this could be unrelated to your SupportAssist v3.11.2.143 installation issue, but have your Windows Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer been logging USBIEUpdate (UsbUpdate.exe) errors in recent days?  A large number of Dell users have reported seeing intermittent applications crashes for UsbUpdate.exe logged since 27-May-2022 (see my 08-Jun-2022 post on page 13 of LittleMaui's Inspiron 3891, Event Viewer Error - Usbupdate.exe Fails for details) and many think the issue is related to SupportAssist and/or Dell Update. From my Inspiron 5584:

A few users posting in LittleMaui's thread are reporting today (09-Jun-2022) that their UsbUpdate.exe application crashes have mysteriously stopped, but I can't confirm if Dell has done something on their end to fix this problem since these errors only appear every 3 or 4 days on my Inspiron 5584.  I ran update checks with SupportAssist v3.10.4 and Dell Update v4.5.0 yesterday (both found one available update, which I didn't install) and this didn't trigger a UsbUpdate.exe application crash, so I still have no idea what's actually causing UsbUpdate.exe to launch on my Inspiron 5584 in the first place.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1706 * Firefox v101.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19200.5 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.9.198-1.0.1689 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6758 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.18.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hi @lmacri thank you for keeping in touch. 

My Windows Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer have NOT been logging USBIEUpdate (UsbUpdate.exe) errors. 

Windows Reliability Monitor, has many Background Task Host Critical events, which keep complaining about Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub_1.2106.1801.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe. 

If SupportAssist installation attempted, there is only a Warning event that reports installation failed 1603. 

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@crimsom wrote:

....My Windows Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer have NOT been logging USBIEUpdate (UsbUpdate.exe) errors...

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Hi crimsom:

Any chance you're being offered a newer v3.11.3.63 .msi installer today?

I'm not sure what's going on, but Dell employee Chris M posted today on page 15 of LittleMaui's Inspiron 3891, Event Viewer Error - Usbupdate.exe Fails that "We have been told the fix will be an automated update push through SupportAssist". Gee580 reported <here> in that same thread that their SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 updated to v3.11.3.63 (after one failed attempt), but when I launch my own SupportAssist for Home PCs on my Inspiron 5584 it still reports that v3.10.4.18 is the latest version. Perhaps SupportAssist v3.11.3.63 is only being pushed out to higher-end Alienware / XPS / Latitude / OptiPlex models.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1706 * Firefox v101.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19200.5 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.9.198-1.0.1689 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6758 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.18.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

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@crimsom wrote:

..Windows Reliability Monitor, has many Background Task Host Critical events, which keep complaining about Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub_1.2106.1801.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.   If SupportAssist installation attempted, there is only a Warning event that reports installation failed 1603...

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Hi crimsom:

Also, do you know where those Background Task Host errors for C:\Windows\System32.BakgroundTaskHost.exe are located in your Event Viewer? Those errors are different from the Dell SupportAssist update/installation warnings being logged in your Reliability Monitor that you showed <here> in you 28-May-2022 post, so it's hard to know if they're related in any way to your SupportAssist installation failures.

The problem details for those those critical Background Task Host errors (Problem Event Name = MoBX; Faulting Module = KERNELBASE.dll) mention the Microsoft AAD Broker Plugin, which might be logging events at Event Viewer | Application and Services Log | Microsoft | Windows | AAD | Operational. My own Event Viewer shows that I haven't had anything logged in that area of my Event Viewer since the last time I was running tests on my system after logging in with a local Windows user account (i.e., not a Microsoft account) with Standard (non-Administrator) permissions.

Have you run sfc /scannow or any of the DISM commands like Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth from an elevated command prompt (see the ghacks.net article Use DISM to Fix Issues SFC Can't) just to make sure you don't have any corrupted Windows system files?
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1706 * Firefox v101.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19200.5 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.9.198-1.0.1689 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6758 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.18.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

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@crimsom wrote:

SupportAssist Version: 3.11.3.63 has now been installed. BlueScreenView says BAD_POOL_CALLER problem caused by Driver DellInstrumentation.sys, which has been renamed to DellInstrumentation.sys.old having taken ownership of this file...

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Hi crimsom:

Thanks for the update.

Just out of curiosity, do you recall where that DellInstrumentation.sys driver was located? I did a quick check and couldn't find it in the C:\Program Files\Dell or C:\Windows\System32 folders of my Inspiron 5584.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1766 * Firefox v101.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19200.6 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.10.200-1.0.1702 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6758 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v4.5.0 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.2.16157 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.18.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hi @lmacri thank you for sharing request. 

The 17 R5 DellInstrumentation.sys driver is located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers. 

Having renamed the problematic 35KB system file DellInstrumentation.sys.old, at Restart, Windows automatically created a new 37KB DellInstrumentation.sys driver. 

Despite Programs and Features saying Dell SupportAssist Version: 3.11.3.63 was installed, 17 R5 Diagnostics said that SupportAssist was not installed. Having undertaken the renamed DellInstrumentation.sys fix, the SupportAssist Repair option was the only way to get SupportAssist to install and appear in the Start Menu (Windows). Very pleased that the Dell SupportAssist application has been reinstated, so that it can be used by other Dell applications. 

Repair SupportAssist 

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@crimsom wrote:

... The 17 R5 DellInstrumentation.sys driver is located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers... 

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Hi crimsom:

Just an FYI that I can't find that dellinstrumentation.sys driver on my Inspiron 5584 / SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 laptop in C:\Windows\System32\drivers. That problematic driver might be specific to Alienware models like your 17 R5 [e.g., the Alienware Command Center (AWCC) and/or Alienware OC Controls application] or even the new Dell SupportAssist v3.11.x release itself.

As of today, my SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 is still reporting that v3.10.4.18 is the latest available version for my Inspiron 5584, and there's still no release notes or user guides posted for SupportAssist v3.11.x at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-ca/product-support/product/dell-supportassist-pcs-tablets/docs.

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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1766 * Firefox v101.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19200.6 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.10.200-1.0.1702 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6758 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v4.5.0 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.2.16157 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.18.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hi @lmacri thank you for sharing your FYI message. 

The 17 R5 C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder has 503 items. The following image shows my changes to the dellinstrumentation.sys driver. 

The behaviour of 17 R5 Diagnostics with Dell SupportAssist Version: 3.11.3.63, gives very different visual graphic tests and result tabulation. 

What I do not understand is why the new SupportAssist 3.11.3.63 files are installed where the installation process cannot find them, and has the wrong msi file name. So there was a lot of research and a small number of changes to file names, to get SupportAssist Repair to work, because SupportAssist Install does not work. Dell Quality Assurance on this SupportAssist version update is poor. 

SupportAssist Version: 3.11.4.29 arrives, but full installation fails. Have to repair this version update to get full installation. 

Seems the issue is related to a outdated NET 5.0: https://www.dell.com/community/SupportAssist-for-PCs/Dell-Support-Assist-Fails-to-install/m-p/8208504#M92914 

Dell needs to fix this ASAP... 

Same problem here on both my systems. The installation starts but comes up with the error that the installation was unable to complete the installation. Restart the PC dosent help. So the update is failing. I guess @crimsom that we have to wait for Dell to send out a automatic fix so the installation will complete successful? Seen several post on the same problem today.