SA, latest version not working

I have had this same issue on my Dell laptop with Windows 10 Home and I thought it was just me.I realized it the other day. It will check for updates but fail; on an "unexpected error" for all others after spending some good time on "preparing.".

According to my logs, the last successful scan of all components was October 8. Today is November 3.

I reinstalled it, but still fails.

I have uninstalled with Windows' method, reinstalled SupportAssist 3.0.1, and it completes but then not loads.

I uninstalled with Revo, cleaned leftovers, rebooted, reinstalled. I was watching during the reinstall and I saw the SupportAssist icon on my DESKTOP but then it vanished. Setup completed. In the START, is an empty Dell folder. I tried to load it from my backups of shortcuts, does not load.

So.....?? I know Dell is not going to give a proper response because, well, they got other things to deal with than the problem of a few of us users (I should know, I work for Dell but not in this area of code). :)

This is a good app when it works, the problem is half the time it doesn't. I have 4 Dell PCs, XPS8700, XPS8500, Inspiron 5749 Laptop, and an Inspiron 3647 all running Windows 10 and Support Assist ver 3.02.48 installed.

The latest issues I'm seeing include:

App fails to run because required services stopped or never started
App starts with warning window "checking for latest version", says latest version already installed and then hangs.
App starts but then hangs on/never starts tests

I attempted to use it this morning (11/4/2018) on 3 of 4 PCs with the following results:
Inspiron 3647: Started fine, was stuck on 43% for about 10 minutes on the "Clean Files" test
XPS8700: Checking for latest version then hung (uninstalled and reinstalled the app to make it run correctly)
Inspiron 5749: Checking for latest version then hung (uninstalled and reinstalled the app to make it run correctly)

Dell and PC Doctor really need to make this app work correctly and consistently or replace it with something that does.

I keep getting notification to run SupportAssist, so I try and it completes the update component, but hangs on "preparing" to scan hardware until it times out...  "unexpected error" every time... Oh well...

I downloaded and installed the latest versions of Dell Inspiron 5458/5558/5758 HSW/BDW System BIOS update and Dell SupportAssist for PCs two days ago (11-02-2018), Version 3.0.2, and  SupportAssist now fails to launch. The little 4 boxes in the center of the screen just go around and around until one closes the program.  My Windows Reliability Monitor shows that the program was successfully updated and installed, and it was Version 3.0.2.48 of Dell SupportAssist that was installed. Of course, I tried calling Dell Support , but they won't help me solve this issue without paying their support fee since my "service plan has expired". Either the BIOS update caused SupportAssist to fail or this new version of SupportAssist has bugs in it. It is ironic in that SupportAssist was running okay prior to the BIOS update, and it was SupportAssist that told me a new BIOS update was available for download and install.  I did not run the old version of SupportAssist after the BIOS upgrade to see if it still ran. The two updates were done sequentially on the same day. Is anyone else experiencing this problem with Dell's SupportAssist? Does anyone at Dell or in the Community have  any suggestions for a fix for it? I am using a Dell Inspiron 5558 laptop running Windows 10 Pro. Thanks.

Here are some changes with Support Assist 3.0.2.48 with Windows 7 and Windows 10:

The programs in the Home tab display do not indicate when the programs were last run; instead, they list the last results.  To find out when, you have to click on the History tab where you will find under each date heading, the program run, whether manual or scheduled, the results, date and time.

 Hardware Scan is working now. 

 Here are some problems that still remain, even though updated to 3.0.2.48:

 IN WINDOWS 7:            

1. If you click on the Notification icon on the TaskBar, it will automatically run ALL programs. There is a note about this issue (issue #3 in the readme.txt; apparently the issue has not been fixed for Windows 7!!)
2. The installation will put a Support Assist on the Desktop. And, if you click on the Desktop icon, you can manually select the program(s) you want to run and thus avoid running any of the Optimization programs, which I have found can cause problems.
3. In Drivers and Downloads, it reports a BIOS update that is not appropriate for my machine. I have a Windows 7 Dell Latitude E5530 non-V Pro.  However, it lists a V-Pro BIOS BIOS update.  It also lists a driver that was updated on my machine long ago: ST Microelectronics Free Fall Data Protection Driver. This problem has continued onwards starting with v2.2.0.53, installed May 11, 2018.  The previous version (I don’t know its number) was still on my machine on May 7, 2018, when the correct non-V Pro BIOS, A20 with a date of Feb 21, 2018, was installed. I have not had any relevant Drivers or BIOS listed since this previous version.

IN WINDOWS 10:

1. It still does not put a Support Assist icon in the Desktop. You have to do this yourself by finding it in the Start Menu App list and dragging it to the Desktop.
2. Issue #3 – If the icon is in the TaskBar, clicking on it will not cause it to automatically run ALL program selections, as it does in Windows 7. Support Assist will open and you can select the programs you want to run (same as clicking on the Desktop icon, if you have put one there).
3. If you click on the Notification in the Action Center, it will automatically run ALL program. So, issue #3 particular to a notification in the Action Center (and not the icon in the TaskBar) has not been fixed.

I got this from another link. Pls DELL - give us an update on this issue as I guess everyone is wasting an endless amount of time on this.

https://www.dell.com/community/SupportAssist/SupportAssist-not-Installing-tried-everything/td-p/6108013

---

@chrissmurth wrote:

I downloaded the latest version of Support Assist (Version 2) a few days ago.When I try to open it, it tries to load but won't load properly (icon just continues to flash and flash), with a message that optimization tools are loading.

The same problem occurs when I try to open it as administrator. There is no option to repair this app when I go to Settings. The only 2 options are "modify" or "uninstall"

This new version of Support Assist is installed on both my XPS 8930.

Is any body else having a problem with this latest version? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

---

Same problem, just did a full restore of my computer and SupportAssist for PCs worked fine and provided updates, until I agreed to update itself SupportAssist to version 3.0.2.48 and now I get this error every time it runs.

Refuses to start!

Dell Support Assist has not worked my my Dell Inspiron 3670 since the day I purchased it, despite spending a grand total of 6 hours on the phone with tech support. I'm am running Support Assist version 3.02.48, with Windows 10 Home Version 1803.   Until today, "Scan Hardware" has never worked, while all other choices worked fine.  Finally, today, I uninstalled McAfee LiveSafe, and enabled Windows Defender Firewall.  I made sure that Support Assist was "allowed" in the Firewall settings.    For the first time since I purchased the computer, Support Assist is working.  It no longer freezes at scanning hardware.

Duplicate post

---

@DELL-Nikhil K wrote:

Hi s.cullen,

 can you share few details related to your issue.

• SupportAssist installed version
• SupportAssist installed size under control panel
• Operating System details
• Which Antivirus is installed on your system?

For workaround :- can you try below steps as workaround.

1. Open command prompt as admin
2. run "cd C:\Program Files\Dell\SupportAssistAgent\bin"
3. run "SupportAssistUI.exe launch"

let me know if above workaround works for you.

 Thanks

DELL-Nikhil K

Social Media and Community Professional
#iwork4Dell

 

---

Your workaround works.  If I follow your steps then Dell SupportAssist runs version 3.02.48 an works as it should.  However, the latest update seems to have caused a major glitch.

If I click on the SupportAssist icon in my Start Menu it tries to load SupportAssist version 3.1.30 - and it simply hangs at the loading screen.

Further investigation in Settings-Apps-Apps and Features shows I have Dell SupportAssist listed at 148MB - Advanced Options shows this to be version 3.02.48.  I also have another app simply called SupportAssist listed - with no size given - and Advanced Options shows this to be version 3.1.30.

The only way to get SupportAssist to work is using your workaround.  Any other method simply results in the program hanging.

Are others seeing the same in Settings-Apps and experiencing the same issues?  Looks to me like the latest update has **bleep** things up and I have TWO versions of SupportAssist - with slightly differing names - installed.?How do I/we resolve this issue.

I have the same issue with SupportAssist version 3.1.30 hanging on loading screen when launched on two computers a 5568-Vostro 3mos old Windows 10 Pro (1809) and 3645-Inspiron Windows 10 (1809).

Also have a 7567-Inspiron Windows 10 (1809), SupportAssist 3.0.2.48 which seems to be working fine