What is DFSSvc.exe (Dell.DFS.Agent.WinService) in Task Manager.

I would also like more info.

What I have determined for my new OptiPlex 9020 (Win7Prox64) that this is part of:

Dell Foundation Services that has been loaded on the machine by Dell.

It should appear in Add/Remove Programs.

Googling and searching has found little info.  Is it driver or bloatware??

Come on Dell, if you install software I should be able to find a good description of what it is on your website....

Hi wraujr.

This is the OP.

It appears Dell Foundation Service uses this for Dell Data Protection Encryption.

If you use this tool, then you need DFS. Since DFSSvc.exe was eating up a chunk of my memory,

I stopped Dell Foundation Service (in services). My memory went down considerably after this.

I still want clarification from Dell on DSF and why there is a high memory allocation on my system.

TC.

Thanks for info.  Made another attempt and couldn't get a full description.

Really would like a full description before I remove from my OptiPlex 9020.

Funny thing is that I bought an OptiPlex 9020 in Aug 2014 and NO Dell Foundation Services in [Add/Remove Programs]

Then bought 2nd OptiPlex 9020 in Dec. 2014 (3 to 4 months later) and it has it.

Just concerned it is a "package" that also supports other things like audio, peripherals, etc.

As an additional observation - My Dell DFS agent is using ~900 MB of memory out of 16 GB on my Dell XPS 15. Not sure what it does and I'm going to disable the service to see what happens.

Hi All,

I'm with Dell Software development and am hoping to answer your questions here.

You are correct, DFS stands for Dell Foundation Service and is an application we started installing in the factory to provide specific services facilitating customer serviceability, messaging and support functions.  The future intent is to centralize features from other Dell applications providing a more seamless, easy user experience.

DFS versions prior to 2.0.39.0 may exhibit high memory usage during normal operation (>65MB).  To resolve this issue, please download and install the latest version from the following link:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=W2V25

Thanks,

I suppose what was also being asked is "is it actually needed?"

All I saw was in your answer was marketing hype about "providing a more seamless, easy user experience."

I just want a windows mahine to do what I want, not what others, especially Micro$oft think I might need.

After getting Dell's for the last 6 years, this is my last one...................

Just sick and tired of all the cr*p constantly being added 8(

I don't need a lot of background processes, especially since my users can't install updates since they have no admin rights on their machines.

Would be nice for Dell to actually answer what happens if uninstalled of disabled.

I finally removed this from my 9020 (home machine, not corporate) about a month ago with no ill effects.

Based on description above it sounds like IT management software for a corporate environment.  My home is no such place....

I like the quality/engineering of the Optiplex 9020 so I buy them for home, but obviously all the IT management "stuff" from Intel and Dell is not required.

Came to this question to ask the same thing, and I am in a corporate environment.

This Dell Foundation Services still looks like junk to me. I didn't install it and have noticed no ill effects. Dell's own description in the driver details is:

"It is recommended for this application to be installed on the device in order to achieve optimal user experience and support"

Sorry Dell, that description is just not good enough for me to install it on a fresh computer for an employee. It apparently is part of Dell Data Protection Encryption suite, which we don't use.

DDPE is an IT managed service that reminds me of an antivirus server that pushes new client updates and virus definitions to your clients.

Although we DO use Self Encrypted Drives controlled by Dell Data Protection Security Tools, this is different than DDPE and doesn't need the Foundation Services. It sound similar but they're different products.

McAfee firewall frequently pops up a block of various Dell Foundation Services calls for several different Dell DLL files. If these are legitimate executable files, you'd think a company the size of Dell would be able to register their programs with the AV/FW vendors.

Based on these comments by "WhoCares234" and others, and a complete lack of support when I try to contact Dell by phone, I am electing to uninstall all the Dell programs as they don't appear to serve any useful purpose.

I spent over three grand for a high-end Dell computer, based in part on my experience in the corporate and academic environments, but their lack of software support is definitely a turn-off and leaves me leaning towards alternate vendors in the future.

I've had a similar lack of support regarding Dell's Data Protection suite of programs. It's some pretty hardcore stuff - drive encryption, fingerprint scanning, all of it tied into pre-boot authentication and the UEFI BIOS features. Screw it up and you can quite literally lock your entire drive forever.

Absolutely none of it is documented sufficiently.  There's no quick start guide. There's no evaluation guide. There's no support for it. It comes pre-installed on every Dell Latitude we buy and I feel like it should come with a pretty solid 200 page manual on how to implement it but instead it comes with nothing.

It doesn't work very well either and drives my users insane. ControlVault, Trusted Platform Module, OPAL2, SED, Dell Data Protect Encryption and DDP Security Tools and DDP Access - all different aspects of this and some require each other, some don't, and some are depreciated but mostly all of them can still be downloaded from the drivers pages. It's a mess.

When you have a problem. typing the problems into Google, nothing comes up. I have had to reinstall and reformat computers 20+ times in an effort to figure it out, because there are several can't-uninstall points during the process. I have a new E7450 that I used as a test bed to just try every possible step by step combination to get a fresh Windows 7 x64 machine working with the Dell security suite of tools and I still couldn't get it working.

Anyway, in my experience, Dell Foundation Services and Dell Command Update aren't things you need to keep installed.