Support Assist

Question

I've just got a Dell 8940, but it's having a lot of issues, for example Support Assist will not install, when I try to install it was it needs to install .net, when I say Yes go ahead, it does nothing.

Another issue is I often get the fatal error "Reference by pointer".

When I try to use recovery, that starts, then it says internet is not working (even though when the PC is up internet works fine).

Other issues I've had is Microsoft Store stopped working.

~The PC is driving me nuts.

Hardware scans report no error. I've had the PC for about a week.

XPS_Man · Accepted Answer

Disable secure boot prior installing a new GPU or buy GPU from dell supported on this model.

Also do a clean install of operating system using Microsoft image which will not have any customization from dell. You can download the image and make a bootable USB using Media creation tool

mrglwatson · Accepted Answer

Thanks Xps man, I read somewhere else that Dells version of Windows 11 is failing with some graphics card and the solution is to reinstall an unmodified version of Windows.  So I will give that a go.

lmacri · Answer

Hi mrglwatson:

Is this an XPS 8940, and what is your Windows operating system? If you have a Win 10 or Win 11 OS please include the edition (Home or Pro), version and build number shown at Settings | System | About | Windows Specifications. It would also be helpful to know the current Dell BIOS version - open a Run dialog box, enter msinfo32 to open your System Information panel, and look for the “BIOS Version/Date” field.

Please read samsuzzoha's 28-Jul-2022 SupportAssist Not Updating for a few suggestions if SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 is not updating or installing correctly. Note that the minimum system requirements posted <here> for SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 have changed and MS .NET (Core) Runtime v5.0.17 is now required in addition to MS .NET Framework v4.7.2 or higher. From my Inspiron 5584:

Win 10 Pro v21H2 Control Panel SupportAssist v3_11_4_29 and MS NET Runtime v5_0_17 21 Aug 2022.png

There are multiple users reporting in the SupportAssist for PCs board that they have been unable to install or run SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 (rel. 23-Jun-2022) and many have decided to wait for the next v3.12.1.180 installer that Dell started pushing out to a limited number of machines this past week.
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Just an aside, but I personally don't like SupportAssist - it's too buggy, consumes too many system resources, and the "system optimization" scans (Clean Files / Tune Performance / Optimize Network) are too aggressive and have the potential to do more harm than good - see my 12-Jul-2021 comment in ex-jedi's Prevent Automatic Recycle Bin Emptying. I have disabled my Dell SupportAssist and Dell TechHub services so SupportAssist can't launch automatically on my Inspiron 5584 at boot-up, and I've started using Dell Update for Windows Universal v4.x to check for Dell software and driver updates. If I ever need to run a hardware scan I can still run Dell's F12 ePSA (enhanced Pre-boot System Assessment) hardware diagnostics from my BIOS, and my Windows 10 OS also has its own built-in hardware diagnostics at Settings | Update & Security | Troubleshoot | Additional Troubleshooters.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1889 * Firefox v104.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2205.7-1.1.19500.2 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.14.210-1.0.1751 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6867 * Dell SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 * Dell Update Windows Universal v4.6.0 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.20.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

mrglwatson · Answer

Now after much trial and error, I have removed the Graphics card (a GeForce 1070 originally from my Dell 8930) and gone back to the onboard graphics.

So far, the PC seems much more stable, but it's only been a few hours

mrglwatson · Answer

also wanted to say that I also tried a GeForce 1050Ti for a couple of days and also had similar issues.

lmacri · Answer

@mrglwatson wrote:

Now after much trial and error, I have removed the Graphics card (a GeForce 1070 originally from my Dell 8930) and gone back to the onboard graphics.

So far, the PC seems much more stable, but it's only been a few hours

Hi mrglwatson:

Did removal of the NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1070 video card you swapped in from your old Dell computer fix your SupportAssist problem, or do you mean that your new 8940 is working better in general since you removed this video card and started using the onboard graphics GPU that shipped with your computer?

If SupportAssist still isn't working please clarify if your new 8940 is a XPS 8940, provide the requested details about your Windows OS, and let us know if the .NET Runtime v5.0.17 is installed on your system.

I have no idea why Dell would release a SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 installer on 23-Jun-2022 that requires a .NET (Core) Runtime v5.x, since the download page at https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/5.0/runtime notes that .NET (Core) Runtime v5.0.17 reached end of support on 10-May-2022 and will not receive further security updates. Also note that SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 specifically requires .NET (Core) Runtime v5.0.17 and will not work correctly with .NET (Core) Runtime v6.x or v7.x.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1889 * Firefox v104.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2205.7-1.1.19500.2 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.14.210-1.0.1751 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6867 * Dell SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 * Dell Update Windows Universal v4.6.0 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.20.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

mrglwatson · Answer

I thought Secure Boot, would just the PC from booting if a problem was detected. Are you saying that it could allow the PC to boot but give all the issues I have been having?

mrglwatson · Answer

Thanks for your help. What I think I will do is give the PC a few days with no graphic card. If thats OK, I will disable secure boot and try a graphics card again.

I was not aware before that I needed to toggle secure boot if changing the graphics card.

mrglwatson · Answer

sorry I thought I'd supplied the info.

Its Windows 11 Pro, version 21H2, build 22000.918

BIOS 2.9.0 13/7/22, yes its an XPS 8940. It was supplied without a graphic card.

What I have now done if remove the graphic card, reset the PC keeping no files and then selected the local re-install.

That seems to have performed a factory reset. Since doing that the PC has been OK.

However, playing some games, which will be the main use for this PC, is like wading through treacle.

So I'd really like to put some kind of graphics card in it.

Inspiron

Support Assist

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