Supportassist won't install - not a Dell PC

Question

I've now had two Supportassist installs cancelled this week as the installer thinks the PCs aren't by Dell. One was a Dimension 530 and the other a Vostro 220. I've never come across this error before and carried out many installs over the years. It must surely be a new bug in the SupportAssist installer or a Windows 1909 problem?

RoHe · Answer

Or SupportAssist just isn't compatible with these old systems which probably have 32-bit CPUs...

Vic384 · Answer

@Dai999 Did you download SupportAssist by going to dell.com/support and entering your Service Tag?  If not, then, like Ron wrote, the SupportAssist software you have may not be compatible with your systems.

Dai999 · Answer

Thanks for the reply and I suspect this may be the reason but these two PCs have previously accepted earlier versions of SupportAssist; also the error message should reflect that the software knows it's a Dell PC but one it can't support.

lcocea · Answer

Same here, XPS 8300.

RoHe · Answer

@lcocea  - Did you get an error message? Are you using an account with Administrator privileges when you try to install it? Did you try temporarily disabling your anti-viral/anti-malware app before installing it? Is your firewall blocking it from accessing the internet?

lcocea · Answer

No error msg.

Yes, my user account has admin privileges.

No, but the previous Support Assists version worked fin and I haven't changed anything since I last used that one.

I have not altered the firewall settings specifically for this application.

RoHe · Answer

@lcocea   - Since you seem to be having hardware problems with this PC, SupportAssist shouldn't be your priority. Get those other issues fixed first and then maybe SupportAssist will sort itself out.

lcocea · Answer

@RoHe&#xa0;Today's cumulative update fixed my hardware problems. As for SupportAssist...&#xa0;Cheers!&#xa0;

RoHe · Answer

Your XPS 8300 is probably just too old for the latest version of SupporAssist to run...

speedstep · Answer

Current Support Assist does not support 15 year old models.

lcocea · Answer

@speedstep Right, but if you drove your Ford car to a Ford dealership for repairs and they told you your car was not a Ford, you would be surprised, wouldn’t you?

savvy2 · Answer

id not run support assistant on my waffle iron. it's the antithesis of the great ePSA. do not this thing upgrade bios, or you will brick the PC.

RoHe · Answer

SupportAssist must see something in BIOS or elsewhere on the motherboard to identify the PC. Older models may not have this "marker" at all or may only have an old version of it that's no longer accepted. So SA concludes it's not a Dell PC. "Not compatible" might be a gentler way of letting you down...

On the other hand, the Ford dealer can see the nameplate on the car, no matter how old it is...

SupportAssist for PCs

Supportassist won't install - not a Dell PC

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