Dell Alerts - How to stop it from running on start up

That's what I was hoping someone would say.  Only, what if Dell releases a BIOS fix or patch for some of the other system software.  That's my concern, not so much Windows patches which I do check WIndows Update weekly.  Does Dell release urgent patches that I would need the alerts software for?

The common wisdom is that the program performs no useful purpose insofar as providing meaningful alerts.  Uninstalling it will not cause problems.  Using Windows Update regualrly will get you the critical updates that you need.

I've never used it, but from what I've read in these forums, the answer would appear to be NO.  You are better off checking on them yourself from time to time.  It's my experience that BIOS patches only apply to specific problems and are usually not necessary for the majority of users.  That being said, it would only be necessary to check for them if you were planning to add/change hardware on your computer.  That would be the time to check via the downloads tab.

KevinTheRookie,

You can sign up for Dell's File Watch, which will notify you when an update is available for your system. The sign up is here. Many of the notifications you receive will no be applicable, as you will be notified of updates to any hardware which may be installed on a system of the same model you have.

What I've found out is how to remove the Dell Alerts icon from the system tray. Whether this actually prevents the program from starting I'm not sure. In any case, it no longer appears in the system tray but the program can still be accessed from
start\all programs\dellapplications\support. This is what I did: Use regedit and go to
HexKeyLocalMachine/software/dell/alert/1.0 and double click the 1.0 folder. In there you will see a key called systray. Right click it and select modify. The key looks like this:
c:\program files\dell\support\alert\bin\notifyalert.exe and to modify it add a space after exe and type in start=no
The key now looks like this: c:\program files\dell\support\alert\notifyalert.exe start=no
Click O.K. and you're done. If you want the icon back, simply remove the start=no from the key.

Ken

kjharris,

This was also posted in this forum a few months ago.  For those who don't want to edit the registry themselves, they can also use a startup manager program like the one below.  Locate the program on the appropriate tab, right click it, and select 'disable' to prevent it from running.

http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

Message Edited by Jason98036 on 02-19-2004 11:42 AM