Inspiron 3891, Event Viewer error - Usbupdate.exe fails

To rule out USB hardware failure =

Test a wired USB mouse in all front and rear USB ports. Does the wired USB mouse work in all USB ports?

Every laptop user should have the external AC power adapter attached and then do same wired USB mouse testing on all USB ports. Does the wired USB mouse work in all USB ports?

Are all using the latest version of SA (SupportAssist) and DU (Dell Update) (per your PC drivers page)?

On the Inspiron 3891 drivers page, it only shows =

Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin for Dell Update 5.5.1.16143, 1/21/2022

Dell Update 4.4.0, 10/29/2021

Yes.  Uninstalling them and reinstalling did not help.  This error of the part of the update came out of the blue for all of us.  I have not read anywhere in this thread that some changed hardware or had a major software change that precipitated this error.  It just happened.  Some say on 5/27, mine started 5/28.  I honestly do not believe we are doing anything to cause it.  I have the dump files created. If there were a way to attach them, I would.

@moha56 You could drag/drop the .dmp file into the box below this window where you type a new post, as long as it's <75 MB.

Or you can use Who Crashed (free) to open it and just copy/paste the essential details directly into a post.

Thanks, but this forum tells me a .dmp file is not a valid file type, and Who Crashed did not find the mini dumps in it's default folders.  So if there is a plan "C ", I'll give it a go.

These are the files I am trying to give to this thread, but cannot.

I was asked once to zip the dump file

@moha56  - Search your boot drive for those .dmp files and make note of the files' exact path.  Then open WhoCrashed and add that exact folder to the list on the Options>Directory tab, if not already listed there.

If WhoCrashed still can't open it, there are other free .dmp file readers available on the net so search for them.

Started on the 29th. No Windows/App updates that I can see. 8 errors on system boot. 8 errors when running Support Assist, but appears to work.

XPS8900, W10 21H2, all drivers/bios up to date.

My EDR tells me that USBUPDATE.EXE was triggered by C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\UpdateService\ via InvColPC.exe (Inventory Collector), a signed process from Dell, Inc.

I want to think it's not automagically trying to install BIOS updates, and based on the activity, I think it's running a check in the background to download new updates for the device. I'll be applying a regkey to all of these devices to ensure no automatic updates are running: 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Dell\UpdateService\Clients\CommandUpdate\Preferences\Settings\Schedule]
"ScheduleMode"="ManualUpdates"

(Based on my observations this happens when the device is on Manual, Scan/Notify, or has no settings at all under Schedule)

PS: The guesses here remind me of calling 'NoSupport' for help. There's no theory or underlying hypothesis; keep running MalwareBytes like it's 2010 and the same Windows repair commands that rarely find or do anything. 

And if you run the Alienware Update manually after applying that reg entry, do you still get the errors?  I would suspect yes.  Is that correct? 

I still think this is odd that all this started on a weekend out of the blue.  Was somebody in Development messing around with the code and hit a wrong button, then left for the Holiday (US).  Thinking out loud, just IMO. 

That was the name of the file that was identified by the app Who Crashed when I ran it on the .dmp files created.  It's a driver file.  Not my name, Dell's.

Conclusion

8 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. A third party driver has been identified to be causing system crashes on your computer. It is strongly suggested that you check for updates for these drivers on their company websites. Click on the links below to search with Google for updates for these drivers:

usbupdate.exe.sys

The regkey doesn't change the behavior of USBUpdate.exe crashing at all. I figured it would at least identify Dell Update as the parent application launching it and prevent whatever that application is from running, hopefully. However, I can't say why it's running in the first place on a device that's set to 'Manual' update before the incident started to occur. I don't know anything about Alienware Update related to this situation, though I'd imagine it's pulling down the same packages in the background.

I keep getting Private Messages from someone at Dell asking me to supply all sorts of info regarding this issue.  A very awkward way to communicate. I had to refer them to this thread after they thought I had a problem with AWCC......  not even close!  Doesn't support read these threads?  How do I know someone who can do something is reading this? 

We buy a bundle of electronic boards and chips from Dell because they manage the "Third Party Drivers" on the system. e.g., Dell Update is scanning, and downloading USBUpdate, then executing it on the system where it crashes. There's no need to Google updates for USBUpdate because Dell, Inc sign it, and you've put up a file with two extensions, which is odd. I don't see the connection at all.

Does anyone know if there is a fix to dell Support Assist yet??