A major bug in the latest SupportAssist / Dell Diag Control Device

No meu caso tenho um Dell XPS 8700 que estava com problemas no Dell Data Vault.

Após várias tentativas de suporte técnico, acabei desistindo, pois ele só sabem dizer para restaurar o computador para antes do problema, o que não dá pois tenho vários programas instalados e configurações que não podem ser perdidas...

Desativei o serviço Dell Data Vault (para não rodar automaticamente) e deixei assim por vários dias.

Hoje, fiz o teste de confiabilidade do sistema, e constatei que vários programas da Dell foram desinstalados e reinstalados automaticamente e, aparentemente, os problemas parecem ter desaparecido.

Espero que isso possa ajudar outros que estão passando pelo mesmo problema e que meus problemas também estejam sanados.

I didn't uninstall these Dell programs, but after installing the hotfix I did turn them off in Services. Imagine my surprise when they were automatically downloaded without my being prompted, and turned back on.

Please, someone, answer , at least, two (2) previous posts---customers, including me, have had our computers for 18 months, 2 years, 2+years--without various Dell programs on them--How do these various Dell programs, even, get onto our computers, all the time, one after another, after another, etc,. when we did not download them????  For instance, I will go to my computer and suddenly find some piece of Dell junk software utility on my computer.  The Dell software, all of it, in my opinion, is always full of bugs, harms my computer--and not just a little, instead huge harm.

Please, please, please someone tell us how the Dell "stuff" gets downloaded onto our computers, with no actions, whatsoever, by us--and with no permission, whatsoever, from us.  Further, sometimes there is no icon downloaded with whatever it is--and we do not even know it is running on our computers--until we, suddenly, have a huge problem that we never had before.  Then we have to find that Dell junk "stuff" and try to get it off of our machines.  Even so, it still leaves files in The Registry--and those continue to cause a lot of harm; a lot of time--Our Time.

Dell, please Stop. Stop, Stop hurting so many of us and So,. So. So  continuously.  Like others have been posting for years and years and years--this is my last Dell.

This is something ALL major computer manufacturers do, not just dell. Generally the software consists of diagnostic software (SupportAssist fits this category), trial software (antivirus software and similar), and small things they get paid to install on your computer by third parties. In dells case I must commend them on deciding that rather install the third party software on my computer from the factory, there were desktop icons which were shortcuts to install the software. Lenovo actually had a case of pre-installed third party software called Superfish blow up in their faces just a month ago.

Unless you uninstalled them, these programs have been on your computer since the day you bought it. Dell released an update to their diagnostic software and the old version that was previously installed on your computer automatically updated itself to the new version. The reason you just noticed it was because this particular update had a bug in it that caused usability issues. This particular piece of software occasionally runs hardware tests on your computer and should automatically alert you if something fails.

Personally I had left the software installed but disabled the services that it needed in order to run. I only re-enabled it when I had a DVD drive issue so I could manually run tests on it. I never actually went back and disabled the services again once I ran the test, so that would explain why the software updated itself on my computer. Theoretically the software should have alerted me that my drive had failed one of the tests, but since I had disabled the software I found out my DVD drive was shot, a month out of warranty when I tried to use it, rather than possibly earlier while the warranty was still valid.

This is exactly what this piece of software was meant to do: actively detect and alert users to problems (in some cases before they notice them) so they can get them resolved.

Well SOMEONE's drank the kool-aid!

Yikes!

Anybody else hear the voice of HAL 9000 in their heads while reading this?

"Theoretically the software should have alerted me that my drive had failed one of the tests, DAVE but since I had disabled the software I found out my DVD drive was shot, a month out of warranty when I tried to use it, rather than possibly earlier while the warranty was still valid. Once again proving this was HUMAN ERROR Dave. We must not question the wisdom of the programmer Dave."

So sure, yeah having an on board diagnostic is fine for a company go provide for their customers but thats not what this is. This is nothing but a fancy Trojan horse which appears to be a diagnostic tool but in actuality is the vehicle to introduce these "small things they get paid to install on your computer by third parties."  But because they don't really care if the support assistant works or not since they are just using it as a cover they through together some buggy code and got busted.

  I gotta know: How is Dell not even MORE reprehensible than say one of the anonymous Trojan down-loaders your Computer's Internet Security is working so hard to defend you from? Yes the anonymous Trojan can contain a virus or spyware that can cripple your system and rob your privacy BUT you know its a bad thing out there, you take precautions to avoid it and have other software to defend you from it which, when it successfully does stop the Trojan, the programmers have gained nothing and lost everything -as far as your machine is concerned.

  With Dell you PAY them for a product that they may sell you with some adware (trial software) installed in (like coupons printed on cereal boxes) and that's fine but once that machine has been purchased and is owned by you for them to CONTINUE to go back into what is now YOUR property and install things without your permission that may contain things THEY feel will be helpful to you AS WELL AS "little things" THEY get paid for from 3rd party vendors which cripples your system and robs you of your privacy all because we were told we could trust them so we disabled out defenses for them and allowed them to do the very thing the Trojan horse programmers do.

  Its like getting a Real Estate agent to sell you a house which you love but install good locks on the doors and security cameras because the neighborhood is notorious for thieves and squatters. Now imagine waking up in the middle of the night to noises downstairs and you find your Real Estate agent has let himself  with flowers for your new home but he has also rented out your couch and kitchen to two  big scary men who couldn't rent elsewhere because of their felonies and walks out as soon as you switch on the light never to acknowledge what he has done. He made money off you buying the home, money off the felonies renting them YOUR home and is no where to be found when you gotta clean up the wreckage from trying to have the felons evicted and all you wanna says is "Yeah but he brought flowers."

  Once a computer is paid for it is private property and should be treated as such and not just barged into night and day changing, manipulating and ofter RUINING said property just because they build it and have a spare key. Its wrong, its a violation of our rights and to top it all off they are PROFITING off the damage they are causing to OUR property and it MUST STOP.

I used the hotfix, but Support Assist  must have re-installed because I just looked and it was back on my computer. I just now uninstalled it through the control panel, but unlike as we have been told, the Support Assist Agent did not uninstall when Support Assist uninstalled. I had to uninstall it separately.

If it was helpful, I'd like to keep it, but my machine is out of warranty. It was bad enough jumping through hoops to get help when it was still in warranty, and it was awful non-help from foreigners who knew less than I about computers*** (and I know little). I don't believe that all the hoop jumping in the world will benefit me now that it is out of warranty, so I can't see as how I need Support Assist anyhow...thus I uninstalled it. If it comes back I will post again for "help".

***Someone from Asia, someone whose name I cannot remember, and I could not pronounce, told me that I needed a new motherboard because my computer wouldn't start without the battery when it wasn't plugged into the wall. She was adamant that I needed a new motherboard no matter how many times I explained why my computer wouldn't start.

The hotfix was a fix for the problem that was causing the support assist software to act up. It was never designed to uninstall support assist.

It was bad enough jumping through hoops to get help when it was still in warranty, and it was awful non-help from foreigners who knew less than I about computers*** (and I know little). I don't believe that all the hoop jumping in the world will benefit me now that it is out of warranty, so I can't see as how I need Support Assist anyhow...thus I uninstalled it. If it comes back I will post again for "help".

Yea it can be a pain, but theres a reason they have a stick to the script. I just wish that when I describe in detail what my issue is, when it started, what I tried to do to troubleshoot, and what my results were actually mattered in the support process.

***Someone from Asia, someone whose name I cannot remember, and I could not pronounce, told me that I needed a new motherboard because my computer wouldn't start without the battery when it wasn't plugged into the wall. She was adamant that I needed a new motherboard no matter how many times I explained why my computer wouldn't start.

To be honest, without more information, that does sound like a motherboard problem to me. Now if it would only start with the battery removed, then I would say it was the battery.

No, it was a "it had zero power going to it problem". Not plugged in, and the battery removed, as I said, and as I told her.

Good Afternoon;

I have turned off the services Dell Data Vault and Dell Data Vault Wizard to solve some horrible performance problems with the entire computer.

The programs are not shown in the Windows Software uninstall window. 

I have found these files

32 ./Program Files/Dell/DellDataVault/
2498 ./Program Files/Dell/DellDataVault/DellDataVault.exe*
201 ./Program Files/Dell/DellDataVault/DellDataVaultProv.dll*
198 ./Program Files/Dell/DellDataVault/DellDataVaultWiz.exe*
193 ./Program Files (x86)/Dell/SupportAssistAgent/bin/DellDataVaultProvider.dll*

My computer:
Dell Vostro 3550 – Windows 7 Pro – 64-bit

My symptoms:
• Key strokes don't appear on screen – then, after several seconds, appear all at once  (both laptop keyboard and external keyboard).
• Context menus take several seconds to open
• Audio stutters
• Intermittent pauses on many software programs

Downloaded Malewarebytes and did a complete scan.   Nothing detected. 

Based on forum messages, I disabled dddriver64dcsa.sys, but no help.

Is the hotfix you mention in your Feb 16, 2015 available?

Nick

Thanks Steve. 

I was skeptical that a new hard drive was the answer because my symptoms did not seem to point to a failing hard drive.  And the diagnostic tests on the drive came back clean.  But I replaced the drive yesterday and all problems are cured.

(I actually did the reverse and replaced the Toshiba with a Seagate -- got a great deal.  Time will tell.)

Thanks again.

Nick

experiencing the symptoms listed by op.  the sound is so irritating its causing a migraine.  it's not exactly loud but that's why its frustrating it's just the frequency is jarring  ugh i didn't even know the issue with the dell assist was related to the noise coming from the ssd, though both i was researching today because this is a new device and i can't live like t his.

Whoever is writing support software for DELL and ALienware is in a DEADLY battle with Microsoft and the .NET frameworks. I have had my Alienware for almost 4 years and from day ONE I had problems that were traced to .NET versions . Alienware solution was to delete ALL .NET frameworks and reinstall one at a time and see what happened.

Unfortunately Microsoft calls the shots here (as they did with DOS) If a driver has a problem with a MS DLL it is NOT Microsoft's fault , it is the third party programming that ! For some reason DELL refuses to hire competent programmers for their utilities (which are) and if Microsoft makes a minor revision to a framework.. these geniuses do not bother going back to see if MS change affects their problem.

On the other side AMD, will issue monthly updates to its drivers and utilities just to keep up with MS .NET changes. Does it speak highly of MS ? NOPE .. the programmers at MS are retired and laughing their off . No one is speaking to anyone ( VERY different from 15 years ago) And BOTH MS and the third party is just telling the cient .

Funny the only industry that IS on top of MS changes is the gaming developers . Carbonite also jumped on WIN 10 issues and rewrote their program in 2 weeks but DELL/ALIENWARE ?  SUFFER! Oh BTW I had a tech in my house for 2 days rebuilding my PC from the ground up and as soon as he was done i started getting surges of FAN sped. calling the guys at alienware in Costa Rica , they admited it was TWO "possible" utilities loaded by Dell . Dell Data Vault & Dell Data Wizard what those two things do is a mystery but they throw the system into horrendous instability. For now, just turn them off through MSCONFIG or Service manager