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Dell Command Update Updating
I manage approx. 200 Dell devices throughout a medium size organisation across multiple geographic sites and remote users.
We deploy Dell Command | Update (Windows Platform Version) to keep the machines up to date.
Since approx. v 4.2.0 and above (we're now deploying 4.3.0 which appears to have the same issue), on all our devices; whenever the product updates, it no longer functions. CLI shows "an unexpected fatal error occurred", the GUI just refuses to start following the splash screen.
A Windows event log trawl hints that the software is failing due to a .NET unhandled exception:
Application: DellCommandUpdate.exe
Framework Version: v4.0.30319
Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.
Exception Info: System.NullReferenceException
at Dell.DCU.App..ctor()
at Dell.DCU.App.Main()
The only way I have discovered to resolve the issue is a manual uninstall and reinstall of the product, which is clearly not an acceptable in an enterprise environment.
Anyone encountered this issue or a workaround / resolve prior to us complaining to our account manager? At present, software written by Fisher Price would be more reliable.
When the unhandled exception issue occurs, the only way to resolve it seems to be:
1. Manually remove DCU using control panel
2. Restart the machine
3. Reinstall DCU 4.4.0
The product will then run normally.
DELL-Cares
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November 16th, 2021 02:00
Thank you! We have received the required details. We will work towards a resolution. In the meantime, you may also receive assistance or suggestions from the community members.
EduardoBrown
1 Message
0
December 27th, 2021 12:00
Where we at on this? I am having the same issue in my organization. After it reinstalls it only seems to work once and then it's back to not working again.
Antiohia
10 Posts
0
April 6th, 2022 06:00
I just installed a firmware update and got the same issue. No idea how to solve it. Any updates?
MTooki
1 Message
0
April 20th, 2022 10:00
We're running through similar issue with our small org. All our devices are XPS and have a range of different Dell update utilities (Dell Command | Update, Dell Update, Dell Universal Update). We are trying to standardized using Dell Command Update however it requires uninstalling any other version of Dell update utilities which we are trying to achieve through Intune. Issue is that our detection rule is looking for the DellUpdate.exe or DCU.exe which can't be found on many of our devices. Where are the Dell Update and DCU application executables located? Obviously we can go around to each device and uninstall through Apps and Features but we'd like this automated.
WPITech
3 Posts
0
July 22nd, 2022 12:00
Hey, everyone!
I've been struggling with DCU v4.5.0 crashing/hanging, too. DCU-CLI can't run any commands and crashes after 3 minutes with "fatal error" while the GUI displays the splash screen and eventually disappears. Uninstalling & reinstalling works for a bit, but inevitably I end up in this same spot. This post clued me in that there's a "Dell Client Management Service" that sure enough, doesn't start, so this is the core culprit. Knowing that an uninstall/reinstall fixes it, I set out to reverse engineer this the best I could & came up with the following workaround.
When I delete the "C:\ProgramData\Dell\UpdateService" folder in its entirety, the service is able to start & re-populate with fresh files.
I went further with this trying to delete temp files, review the UpdateScheduler.dat file contents, etc, but never could get to a more granular fix other that nuking the entire folder & letting it repopulate.
Hope this helps you at least not have to uninstall/reinstall. Thank goodness it can be automated, too. If you or anyone else gains any further insight, please share! TY! --Matt
RachelGomez
162 Posts
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August 18th, 2022 01:00
Dell Command | Update is a stand-alone application, for commercial client computers, that provides updates for system software that is released by Dell. This application simplifies the BIOS, firmware, driver, and application update experience for Dell commercial client hardware. This application can also be used to install drivers after the operating system and network drivers are installed based on the computer identity.
On the Dell website, you can get different versions of Dell Command Update. Currently, the available versions are Dell Command Update 4.5, 4.4, 4.3, 4.2.1, 4.2, 4.1, 4.0, 3.1.3, 3.1.2, 3.1.1, 3.1, 3.0 and 2.4.
Now, the Dell Command Update latest version is 4.5 which was released in March 2022. Dell offers two available downloads – universal Windows platform version for Windows 11 and Windows 10 (32 and 64 bit) and Windows 32/64-bit version for Windows 10 and 8.1.
Dell Command Update download 64-bit
If you are running Windows 11, click the first version to download. After getting the setup.exe file, double-click it and then click the INSTALL button to continue. Then, accept the license terms, decide whether to participate in the improvement program, and click Install to begin the installation.
Regards,
Rachel Gomez