SupportAssist fails to check "get drivers and downloads" after BIOS update

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Hi sewing1243:

Is there any chance that Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features shows that one of the buggy (and undocumented) SupportAssist v3.11.x updates described in crimsom's 17 R5, Dell SupportAssist x64 v3.11.2.143 Installation Failed was installed on your XPS 8940?
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1766 * Firefox v101.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19300.2 * 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 * 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

Same issue with the same version of SA on my AW17R3. Dont think it has anything to do with BIOS. Dell struggle with the update to a new version at the moment, so it can be related to that. Who knows when they fix it...

I have 3 other older Dell PCs with the same version of SupportAssist installed and they are not having this issue. In my case I suspect that the database that SupportAssist compares my newer system's drivers and BIOS against hasn't been updated to recognize the latest BIOS version.

Hi sewing1243:

Just an FYI that my Dell SupportAssist v3.10.4.18 auto-updated to v3.11.4.29 on my Inspiron 5584 today. Release notes for SA v3.11.4 were posted yesterday (23-Jun-2022) at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-ca/product-support/product/dell-supportassist-pcs-tablets/docs and the minimum system requirements <here> say that users must have "Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.2 and .NET Core Runtime v5.0.14" (i.e., unlike the previous SA v3.10.4 that only required Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.2).  I already had .NET (Core) Runtime v5.0.17 (x64) installed so the SA update went smoothly on my machine, and a few other users posted that the SA v3.11.4.29 installer should prompt users to install the .NET (Core) Runtime v5.0.x first if the SA installer detects that .NET (Core) Runtime v5.0.x is missing.

I have no idea if this new requirement for a .NET (Core) Runtime v5.0.x is relevant to your current problem or if your XPS 8940 BIOS update is the real culprit, but I posted further details about the new system requirements for SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 today in DGav94's Dell Support Assist Fails to Install.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1766 * Firefox v101.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2205.7-1.1.19300.2 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.10.200-1.0.1702 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6758 * Dell SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v4.5.0 * 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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@sewing1243 wrote:

After updating my XPS 8940's BIOS to 2.7XXX via the SupportAssist app SupportAssist would stick at 99% during the "get drivers and downloads" check...

...I have 3 other older Dell PCs with the same version of SupportAssist installed and they are not having this issue. In my case I suspect that the database that SupportAssist compares my newer system's drivers and BIOS against hasn't been updated to recognize the latest BIOS version.

Hi sewing1243:

There are so many people having problems right now with installation / updating of SupportAssist (especially the SupportAssist v3.11.x updates on higher-end XPS / Alienware / Latitude / OptiPlex models) that my first assumption was that you were having a problem with the SupportAssist app itself.  However, you said you used SupportAssist to update the BIOS on your XPS 8940, and I wonder now if it's possible that your BIOS firmware was corrupted during the update.

Many users in this forum do not recommend using a Dell utility like SupportAssist or Dell Update to install BIOS updates just in case the update fails to run to completion. Some users have even reported that their system would not boot up after SupportAssist updated their BIOS and they had to downgrade their BIOS before they could boot up their system.

If SupportAssist or Dell Update finds an available BIOS update for my Inspiron 5584 I normally download the .exe installer from the Driver & Downloads tab of my Inspiron 5584 support page and save it to my desktop, and then right-click and choose "Run as Administrator" to allow Windows to install the update. Other Dell users believe this method is still too risky and flash their BIOS from the from BIOS Boot Menu using a removable USB thumb drive. Detailed instructions for updating the BIOS from Windows or the BIOS Boot Menu are posted in the "Installation Instructions" section of the release notes (driver details) for every BIOS update listed on the support page for your Dell computer model, including the release notes <here> for the current Dell XPS 8940 System BIOS v2.7.0.
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I don't know if it's relevant, but one odd thing I noticed is that the release notes <here> for Dell XPS 8940 System BIOS v2.7.0 (as well as release notes for earlier versions of the XPS 8940 BIOS) show a discrepancy in the model numbers listed under the "Applies To" sections.

For example, the Dell model numbers match in "Compatible Systems" and "Applies To" sections of the release notes <here> for my latest Dell Inspiron 5583 / 5584 System BIOS v1.80.0 ...

...but the Dell model numbers don't match in the the release notes <here> for your latest Dell XPS 8940 System BIOS v2.7.0 (and earlier BIOS versions).

I'm guessing this is just a harmless typo in your current and past XPS 8940 release notes and not a real problem, but I do know of one recent thread where incorrect metadata for the version number of a Dell OptiPlex 3080 BIOS installer caused SupportAssist to repeatedly try to install the same BIOS update - see DimitrisP's 20-May-2022 SupportAssist Messages to Update BIOS Again and Again.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1766 * Firefox v101.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2205.7-1.1.19300.2 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.10.200-1.0.1702 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6758 * Dell SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v4.5.0 * 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

Thanks for all the information. I've never had a problem updating BIOS from SupportAssist and everything appeared to go as expected on the latest update (PC rebooted, new BIOS loaded, pc Rebooted, and a BIOS check reports the correct version).

I took a look at a couple older versions of the BIOS available on Dell.com and they all seem to have the same "error" in the "Applies To" section (XPS8940 not mentioned).