Support Assist Breaks System

Question

My desktop PC: XPS8940, 8GB memory, single platter drive, 1TB.

Support Assist version: V3.10.4

All system memory used up. The desktop PC slows to a crawl.

Was able to update BIOS and drivers successfully after multiple tries, so all up to date.

Apparently Support Assist is failing to install a subsystem over and over. I saw failed to install "Support Assist OS Recovery" multiple times.

Does Support Assist have a log file I can review?

Note: I divided the main disk into two logical drives C: & G:

My solution to this problem was to uninstall Support Assist, Dell Update, etc... in order to have a usable PC.

Obviously, this is not a sustainable solution.

Is there a way to run Support Assist without the program attempting to install a subsystem first?

Should I just run Dell Update instead? All I need is a way to update Dell provided drivers and BIOS.

Thanks.

ZeroMemory · Accepted Answer

False alarm for Support Assist...

I was able to duplicate the bad behavior without Support Assist installed.

Another install from another vendor exhausted memory. I will continue to investigate the problem searching for a root cause. A Windows UI component, 'dwm.exe', "Desktop Windows Manager" was responsible for the memory exhaustion, both times, during the installs from different vendors.

lmacri · Accepted Answer

@ZeroMemory wrote:

False alarm for Support Assist...Another install from another vendor exhausted memory. I will continue to investigate the problem searching for a root cause. A Windows UI component, 'dwm.exe', "Desktop Windows Manager" was responsible for the memory exhaustion, both times, during the installs from different vendors.

Hi ZeroMemory:

Just a thought, but if you have an Intel UHD Graphics GPU on your motherboard are you using the v27.20.100.9664 driver currently recommended on the support page <here> for your XPS 8940? Your current graphics driver version can be found in Device Manager under Displays Adapters. From my Inspiron 5584:

Win 10 Pro v21H2 Device Manager Intel UHD Graphics 620 Driver v27_20_0_9664 17 Jan 2022.png

The Intel support article dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) Produces a Memory Leak with Drivers Newer Than 27.20.100.8587 describes a known bug in the Intel UHD Graphics 630 drivers, but if you search the Intel Graphics product support board for "dwm.exe" you'll find users with other models of Intel GPUs (e.g., Intel UHD Graphics 620, etc.) that reported memory leaks from dwm.exe that started after they updated their Intel graphics driver.
-----------
64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1466 * Firefox v96.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v.4.18.2111.5-1.1.18800.4 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.0.152-1.0.1538 * Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 * Dell SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.0.16046 * Dell Update for Windows 10 Universal v4.4.0 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.16.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

ZeroMemory · Answer

More Configuration Info:

Windows 10, 21H2. Up to date with Microsoft through December. NOT updated for January fixes.

The G partition was inserted between C: and the partitions lacking drive letters Dell created.

ZeroMemory · Answer

Yes. Thank you very much for pointing out this known problem and 12/17/21 fix.

What is surprising is the Dell driver update utilities offered to upgrade to a later Intel driver with a history of bad memory leaks.

I understand now why some suggest you never update a driver unless you are having a problem. I don't recommend automatic driver updates and I recommend a full backup before applying most driver updates, especially video, network adapter, and BIOS updates. Do such updates only when you have the time to deal with potential problems.

Notes:
* The fix was NOT offered on Dell Support Assist or Dell Update or Intel Driver and Support Assist as of 01/23/22.
* When installing igfx_win_101.1191.exe from Intel, the fluffy Intel Graphics Command Center was also installed.
* The fix from Intel took roughly 11 months from initial report.
* Common for the dwm.exe memory leak caused by the Intel video driver to exceed 1GB.

Thanks a million. Marked resolved.

ujjal_d · Answer

@ZeroMemory​ I am facing some another issue just after the boot up it is showing that i have 54 gb free storage in C drive but after using for 1 hour it is showing that I have only 52 GB free space, do not know what the issue is please give me solution.is it  happening for the dell support assist?

lmacri · Answer

Hi @ujjal_d :

The original poster of this thread, ZeroMemory, had 8 GB of RAM (memory) and reported that they would run out of memory and their computer would freeze because of a known bug in their Intel UHD Graphics driver that would cause the Windows Desktop Manager (dwm.exe) to consume increasing amounts of RAM over time. This old bug was documented in the August 2022 Intel support article dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) Produces a Memory Leak with Drivers Newer Than 27.20.100.8587 and the solution was to install a newer graphics driver that included the bug fix.

The problem you are describing sounds like you are running low on free disk space on your hard drive. You cross-posted your question in alanchown1's Support Assist Using SSD Space?? so please see my 17-Sep-2023 reply <here> to you in that thread.
------------
Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3448 * Firefox v117.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.2.281-1.0.2131 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v5.0.0 * My Dell v2.2.6.0

SupportAssist for PCs

Support Assist Breaks System

Was this post helpful?