Dell Client Management Refuses to Start (Error 1053)

Question

I have faced this issue for well over a month. It all started when I was unable to update my Dell drivers. Tried support assist, does not work, installed and uninstalled and things just started to get messy. After doing a deep dive, I found out that the issue lies within the Dell Client Management Service in services.msc was not working and unable to start and prompted the error 1053 where services were unable to start due to a timeout

I am using a G15 5521 bought early 2022 with windows 11 home. I contacted Dell Malaysia for a troubleshoot solution and has gone back and forth with them. The solutions offered are those that I could already search online. "Basic" solutions I would call it. Uninstall and install again, DISM etc. A temporary solution that was popular was to delete the 'Client' folder in the program data/dell/updateservice folder and restarting the service. I would not want to do this everytime I wanted to update my drivers or bios right?

So then I thought that well maybe it was a botched windows OS installation or something. I then proceed to restore the device back to its factory settings, updated the drivers that were recommended on the dell page for my device. It was going fine until I tried to install the Dell Universal Update Application. The version offered was version 4.4 on the website. Again, the same problem occured which was error 1053. Proceeded to wipe the entire device again after some log errors kept popping up.

Some were saying that it had due to the folder permissions of the 'Client' folder i mentioned earlier in program data. It restricted the access to the users and administrators. So again I tried to change the permissions and after each restart, the permissions would change back to default removing what I have done. Back to square 1 with this issue. Contacted Dell Malaysia again explaining the issues, they had no idea what was the issue as well. They were guessing it had to do with the OS not being installed properly or has corrupted or something. They offered to swap out my entire SSD and fresh reinstalled my OS. Let's just see how this goes (I'll update when it happens).

It is extremely frustrating when that one software by the manufacture is supposed to help update the machine is preventing it from doing it. With dell client management service not working, support assist itself becomes wonky and not work. Not only did it automatically installed some updates which causes the whole device to act all funny, it kept producing all sorts of log files in my appdata files. The sole reason I decided to purchase a Dell device in the first place is to have a peace of mind. Instead well... need me to say more. So again I restored the entire pc once again only this time, I am running an older version of Dell Update (3.1.2) which seems to be working, allowing the Dell Client Management Service to start without manually prompting it. Uninstalled Dell Support Assists and here I am.

Dear Dell, multiple users all around the world is complaining about this issue from multiple product lines. XPS, Alienware, Vostros, Inspirons and the G Series. Do take the time to read some of our rants and frsutrations on forums like Reddit. There are many posts talking about this issue. Some have chosen to ignore the issue. I for one think that it is unfair to those that are unaware of this issue.

Please do not tell me solutions like, 'try installing and uninstalling it', 'install support assists' etc It will be much appreciated.

Sincerely

A very frustrated customer

Paul1106 · Accepted Answer

https://youtu.be/RxUAuMMtgLw A youtube video link showing the issue for your reference

DELL-Cares · Answer

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.

Paul1106 · Answer

Thank you, much appreciated for the response

AdrianG001 · Answer

I've found out it the Clients folder causing the Error: 1053 bug and had tried to change the security permission to full control for my user account then it works first time but fails on the second time, it seems to rewrite clients file. Dell need to fix this problem in the next update!

FGDXPS9570 · Answer

Hi, I found this solution and it worked also for a problem with Dell's SupportAssist which failed to perform driver updates. Client Management Service didn't start until I could access the UpdateService folder and erase Clients folder. But then I got the same problem as AdrianG001. Did you had the same issue?

Paul1106 · Answer

Hi, yes,

I have found similiar observation as Adrian there. Once you restart the system, folder permission resets automatically not allowing full access. I am suspecting that it could be possibly due to a corrupt microsoft profile to which i have not attempt to solve. I have left it as it is. I am keen to hear your findings in this.

Cheers

sethm1 · Answer

I am getting permissions issues - on my own machine?

sethm1 · Answer

Where is the UpdateService folder ?

LcRok · Answer

It is now September 2023, Dell Update version 5.0 and issue is still happening to me. Every time when Alienware or any other software tries to update, I have to do this process or removing clients folder or it will fail.

MikeSW77 · Answer

@Paul1106​  much appreciated; that sure did the trick

Dave031387 · Answer

So it's been over a year, and still no real solution to this? I bought an Alienware x17 R1 a couple years ago. The Alienware Update service has been working fine up until about a month ago. Now I have the same issue where trying to start the Alienware Client Management service is failing with the 1053 error code. I followed the instructions in the video that was posted above. It allowed me to run the Alienware Update service. However, it is not a permanent fix, and you have to repeat it each time you want to check for updates. Has anyone found a way to permanently fix this issue? I like to keep my system current with firmware and software updates, but it's become a real chore with this bug.

Dave031387 · Answer

I have a customer service ticket open with Dell. I've found a lot of other threads on Dell Community that mention this same issue, going all the way back to 2017 or earlier. Seems like someone would have figured something out by now to permanently resolve this issue.

Ponder28 · Answer

I have the same problem on a Dell Precision 7540 and a 7550. I had a ticket open with Dell Support and they finally told me to just update the computers manually because I cannot rebuild the computers because they are specialized computers for 3D modeling work. Neither Dell Command Update 5.1 nor the Dell Assist will function.

TXnBH · Answer

I have the same issue on several Latitude 5520s, and a couple of 5520s.

I get error 1067 unexpected error when trying to start the Dell Client Management Service.

Been through the uninstall/reinstall of Support Assistant. Ran SFC /scannow until there were no violations.

Uninstalled/Reinstall Dell Command Update. Have an open T-Ticket with Dell, ran several t-shooting steps.

Check for Updates still not working.

Tried the steps in Paul1106's posted Youtube video above, now I get the 1053 error when trying to start the DCM Service.

Rebuilding is not an option due to remote workers in production.

Still trying to find a solution...

Inspiron

Dell Client Management Refuses to Start (Error 1053)

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