Any way to reduce the size of the DTPDB.DB file?

Hi MichaelInParis:

What is your Dell computer model, Windows operating system (please include the OS version and build number) and current Dell SupportAssist version shown at Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features? Has the service warranty for your computer expired yet?

What folder is this DTPDB.DB file located in?

I've searched this Dell community and Knowledge Base articles and can't find any reference to a database file with this name. The only relevant Google search result I could find was the file.net article What is Dell.TechHub.Diagnostics.SubAgent.exe? that describes an executable file located in C:\Program Files\Dell\DTP\ .  I uninstalled SupportAssist from my Inspiron 5584 after my service warranty expired (I found it was too buggy and consumed too much CPU and RAM) but if I recall correctly the Dell TechHub service is required to run hardware diagnostic scans from the Scan Hardware panel of SupportAssist.

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NOTE: If this database file is located in the hidden C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\Snapshots folder see my 18-Sep-2024 post in Jacky1103's Can I Delete This Folder: "C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\tempdrivers"? about excessive disk space usage by Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery (also known as Dell SupportAssist Remediation or System Repair).
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5011 * Firefox v131.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24080.9-1.1.24080.9 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.1.11.133-1.0.5048 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v5.4.0 * My Dell v2.2.6.0 * Fusion Service 2.2.14.0

I have this problem too, only worse.
In Folder: ProgramData\Dell\DTP\DB there are 4 files.
DTPDB.DB - 13.6GB
DTPDB.DB-wal - 10.2GB
DTPDB.DB-shm - 20.2MB
DTDB.DB.2003-07-24_215008Z.bak - 4KB

That's 23.8GB... much larger than the whole of the Windows OS
The DB folder is protected, not accessible from Windows Explorer.
It looks like the last file is a backup of the previous DTPDB.DB file which is only 4KB.
Something is seriously wrong here.

How do I fix this.

Alienware 17 R4

Service plan expired

SupportAssist Version:  4.6.0.16649

Memory:  32 GB

Processor:  Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7820HK CPU @ 2.90GHz[Cores 4] [Logical processors 8]

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 10 Home

<Private data removed from public view. DELL-Admin>

I have this problem too, only worse. In Folder: ProgramData\Dell\DTP\DB there are 4 files ... That's 23.8GB... much larger than the whole of the Windows OS
The DB folder is protected, not accessible from Windows Explorer.

Hi @Stonker :

I uninstalled SupportAssist from my Inspiron 5584 (it was too buggy and consumed too many system resources) so I might not be of much help to you.  Hopefully someone who is more familiar with these DTP files will jump in to this topic to provide assistance.

I used TreeSize Free (run as Administrator) to view the contents of my C:\ProgramData\Dell\DTP folder and the entire folder is only using 67.6 MB.  The file creation dates shown in my uploaded image at https://ibb.co/0ZykCyK ** indicate that most of the files in my C:\ProgramData\Dell\DTP\DB folder date back to 09-Mar-2023, which is a few days before I uninstalled all my SupportAssist-related software [including Dell SupportAssist, Dell SupportAssist Remediation (a.k.a. Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery), and Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin for Dell Update] in March 2023.

** NOTE: There is a bug in this forum platform software that currently prevents users from inserting images in their posts.  See the 16-Oct-2024 bug report at Unable to Insert Images in Replies.

I did find one reference to DTP in paulcreedy's 22-Mar-2023 topic Dell.TechHub on Latitude Using .NET v5, which mentions the C:\Program Files\Dell\DTP\InstrumentationSubAgent\ folder that is associated with the Dell TechHub service required by SupportAssist to run hardware scans. Employee DELL-Chris M's 10-Jun-2024 topic SupportAssist, "Hardware scan fails", "We ran into a problem" advises that users having issues with SupportAssist v4.0.3 should uninstall SupportAssist and wait for a new SupportAssist release that (hopefully) includes some bug fixes.

This is pure speculation on my part, but if you have SupportAssist v4.0.3 installed on your computer it's possible that uninstalling this buggy software could solve your problem.  In the mean time, the support page for your Alienware 17 R4 at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/alienware-17-laptop/drivers lists a Dell/Alienware Update for Windows Universal v5.4.0 utility *** (Dell-Alienware-Update-Windows-Universal-Application_6F25R_WIN_5.4.0_A00.EXE, released 31-Jul-2024) that should be able to check for Dell software and driver updates that match your unique Service Tag if you decide to uninstall SupportAssist v4.0.3.  If necessary, you can run the F12 ePSA (enhanced Pre-boot System Assessment) from your Dell BIOS if you need to run a Dell hardware diagnostic.

*** NOTE: To install, save the .exe installer to your desktop, right-click the .exe file, and choose Run as Administrator.  Unfortunately, Dell has announced that they will be ending support for all editions of Dell Update v5.x at the end of 2024.  See my 09-May-2024 topic Support for Dell Update / Alienware Update Ending December 2024 for more information.

Alienware 17 R4

Service plan expired

SupportAssist Version:  4.6.0.16649

AFAIK the current version of SupportAssist is the buggy SupportAssist v4.0.3.  Always quote the version number of the Dell SupportAssist application listed at Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features.  The latest release notes and user guide are available at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/dell-supportassist-pcs-tablets/docs.

Dell SupportAssist v4.x has two components listed at Settings | Apps | Apps & Features- the main application and a small "helper" Appx module that contain files and credentials required to install and run the main application - and each component has a different version number.  See my 16-Sep-2024 post in AnotherJamieRI's "Dell SupportAssist" vs "SupportAssist" vs "Dell Update" vs "Dell Update for Windows Universal" for more information.

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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5011 * Firefox v131.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24080.9-1.1.24080.9 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.0.140-1.0.5073 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * TreeSize Free Portable v4.7.3 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v5.4.0 * My Dell v2.2.6.0 * Fusion Service 2.2.14.0

@lmacri​ 
Many thanks for the info.

However, I want to play with this and see exactly what is going on.

What I've found out so far:-
DTPDB.DB is an SQLite database.
After getting through all the access rights and permissions hurdles, I've opened the database with [DB Browser for SQLite].
It contains 26 tables and 4 indices.
Most of the tables have a reasonable number of rows EXCEPT for....
[InstrumentationRequestingAppIds]  37 million rows
This is just a cross-referencing table with 2 columns, a guid and a pointer to an ID in table....
[InstrumentationResults].
This table has 8 columns, one of which [Value] has data type [blob]. blobs can be as large as you like. This table records the results of instrumentation runs.
This table has over 36 Million rows.
These 2 tables easily account for a 13.4GB file. 

I notice in the Database pragma,  [AUTO VACCUM] is turned off. Also [Secure Delete] is turned off. Therefore, unless the Application specifically executes a VACUUM command, the database will never recover any space after records are deleted.

There are several things that can cause a VACUUM to fail:-
Unscheduled power down.
An uncommitted SQL Transaction on the same connection.
A [VACUUM INTO] command needs a lot of disk space, twice the size of the original file. However, there is a WAL file (Similar to a Log file in SQL Server) in that folder which might indicate a VACUUM has been attempted. 

I'm going to try and work out a non-destructive Fix for this problem.

I'll copy the whole DB folder to a large drive.
See if turning [AUTO VACUUM] to[Full] or [Incremental} has any effect.
Manually execute a VACUUM.
Manually execute a VACUUM INTO.
Manually Delete all rows in both tables other than rows related to the last instrumentation run.

I'll let you know what happens....

LOL... Normies just don't understand the pleasure we Nerds get from doing things like this.

Update: I notice my DTPDB.DB file has now grown to 20GB.

My DTPDB.DB is 81.6 GB!

I have Dell with windows 10.  Suddenly today the free space on disk c: is 0.
The file DTPDB.Be has grown to 53.3 DB
need help asap

@lmacri​ 
Sorry for not replying earlier. As someone else had mentioned, this file is in C:\ProgramData\dell\DTP\DB.

As there was no solution to this problem right away, and my disk partition was saturated, I found another way to free space, namely move the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search folder, the size of which is ca. 16 GB, to another disk partition. So this freed significant space on my laptop C: partition.

Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT how to reduce it. It replied by saying first that "The DTPDB.DB file is associated with the Dell Trusted Device Agent, a software component installed on Dell systems to ensure the security and integrity of the hardware. Over time, this database file can grow in size as it logs activity and collects data." and provided some suggestions, but I have to doublecheck them. For one thing, I can't find whether that "Dell Trusted Device Agent" is running or not on my Dell laptop (Alienware 17R4 running Windows 10 Pro). There is one suggestion, which is related to something @Stonker wrote:

Shrink or Rebuild the Database

• If the database is a standard SQLite database, you can compact it using an SQLite utility:
  1. Download and install an SQLite database management tool (e.g., DB Browser for SQLite).
  2. Open the DTPDB.DB file in the tool.
  3. Run the Vacuum command to reclaim unused space and shrink the file size.
• Alternatively, clear unnecessary data from the database:
  • Use SQL queries to delete outdated or unnecessary entries.
  • Rebuild the database file if supported by the application.

I might try this.

PS: it turns out that the Dell Trusted Device Agent is not installed on my laptop. So I wonder how correct is ChatGPT's suggestion (AI tools are known to hallucinate).

Alienware 17 R4

Service plan expired

SupportAssist Version:  4.6.0.16649

Memory:  32 GB

Processor:  Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7820HK CPU @ 2.90GHz

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 10 Home

To everyone having this same problem:

As previously noted, I've uninstalled all SuportAssist-related software from my Inspiron 5584 and don't know what Dell program(s) use the DTPDB.DB database, so all I can do is throw out a few ideas.  If your Dell service warranty has not expired yet I'd advise you open a support request with Dell customer support. 

I found one other reference to the hidden C:ProgramData/Dell/DTP/DB folder in the reddit forum at Can I delete the Dell/DTP folder in c:drive that was posted 15-Oct-2024, and like Stonker, that user also has an Alienware laptop (model 15 R3).  Perhaps this is a relatively new problem that is restricted to higher-end Dell computer models?

 
Stonker also reported they have SupportAssist v4.6.0. If this is the correct version number (** see my note below) perhaps this problem was triggered by a bug in the new SupportAssist v4.6.x line of products that now requires MS .NET Desktop Runtime v8.0.x.  User paulcreedy's 22-Mar-2023 topic Dell.TechHub on Latitude Using .NET v5 mentions the C:\Program Files\Dell\DTP\InstrumentationSubAgent\ folder that is associated with the Dell TechHub service used to run hardware scans with SupportAssist , which still makes me suspect that your current DTP problem has something to do with SupportAssist. NOTE: paulcreedy was likely using SA v3.11.x, which required .NET Runtime v5.0.x.

** NOTE: Dell SupportAssist v4.x typically has two components - the main Dell SupportAssist application application and a small "helper" SupportAssist APPx module that contain files and credentials required to install and run the main application - and each component as a different version number. I would suggest you always check at Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features (i.e., not Settings | Apps) to find the "correct" version of your main SupportAssist application.

Also note that Dell has just released a new SupportAssist v4.6.2 - see employee DELL-Nat M's 04-Dec-2024 announcement in Stanan's Support Assist Hangs that suggests users uninstall their current SupportAssist *** (typically SA v4.0.3 on most machines) and use the download link at Explore SupportAssist for Home PCs to get the installer for the latest SupportAssist v4.6.2 ***. If Dell DTP has something to do with data protection then perhaps Dell tweaked the Dell Data Vault (DDV) module in newer SupportAssis v4.6.x versions that is causing this buggy behaviour.

*** NOTE: If you uninstall your current SupportAssist version I'd suggest you monitor your system for a few days and see if that affects the size of your hidden C:\ProgramData\dell\DTP\DB folder before upgrading to v4.6.2.

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If you haven't already done so, it  would be helpful if users having this DTP problem would post back with the following information to see if we can find some commonality between your systems:

• Dell computer model and Windows OS (if Win 10 or Win 11 please include the version and build).
• CPU processor model.
• Dell SupportAssist Remediation version, if installed (sometimes called Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery or System Repair).
• Dell SupportAssist version listed at Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features, if installed.
• If SupportAssist is installed, is System Repair enabled in the SupportAssist settings (see the SupportAssist v4 user guide <here>) ?

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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5131 * Firefox v133.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.3.156-1.0.5108 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v5.4.0 * My Dell v2.2.6.0 * Fusion Service 2.2.14.0

I attempted to run the VACUUM command using DB Browser for SQLite - it created an even larger file than the .DB one and seemed to hang.
 
So I ended up updating SupportAssist with the link which @Imacri had provided. Lo and behold: once installed, it emptied the DB folder (so I gained over 15 GB of space...) and started rebuilding the files there. It seems to have stopped and the size of DTPDB.DB is ca. 1/2 GB, which is quite satisfying.

The current version of SupportAssist in my laptop is now 4.6.2.21388.

Update: this morning, my laptop turned out to be very slow: Dell Instrumentation and Dell Data Manager were hogging the RAM (99%) and the CPU.

I found an online suggestion that for cases (like mine) where the laptop is not under maintenance nor even (paying) support from Dell, uninstall Dell SupportAssist, which will remove these two programs (and check from time to time for updates of the Dell part of the system). Which I did. 

My laptop runs fine now, and even more memory has been freed in the C: partition.

My DTPDB.DB was over 60 gb on my Alienware Area51 as of this AM...and I was down to single-digit GB of space on my SSD...I tried updating Support Assist to the correct version first (since I still have an active support contract), it didn't help. I uninstalled BOTH versions of support assist via add/remove programs. It freed up about 20GB of space but the database is still sitting at 42 GB size, and I've not a clue what to do about it at this point...

My specs

• Alienware Area 51m running Windows 11 Home, version 10.0.22631 Build 22631
• Intel Core i7-9700k CPU @ 3.60GHz, 3600 Mhz, 8 cores
• I have no more installations of any Support Assist versions - but looking @ program install/uninstall, there appears to be some sub-components integrated with AlienWare like Alienware SupportAssist Remediation, etc. No idea what any of these are, but since I do have an active support contract, my preference would not be to strip out all of the integrated tools if possible.

@KenLShore​ 
I have uninstalled SupportAssist but apparently Alienware SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin for Alienware Update and Alienware SupportAssist Remediation are still installed.

Unless I am mistaken, what really reduced the size of the DTPDB.DB file was my installation of the latest version of SupportAssist: it deleted totally the existing DTPDB.DB file, and rebuilt it, to 1/2 GB (rather than the previous 13 GB). I later uninstalled SupportAssist due to the high load of two related programs, and that solved my problem.

It might be worth trying installing its latest version, and see if it solves the problem of the size of that file (and uninstall it later if it overloads your system).

@Le Miklos I just spent the last 2 hrs on the phone with Dell escalated support (since my support plan is active, why not use it, right?) They basically manually uninstalled support assist and its multiple components, including force-deleting folders from multiple locations via remote assist. This blew out the database completely and removed it, freeing up almost 40 additional GB of space...then, all attempts to reinstall support assist failed - level 2 support basically said something in the OS was preventing the windows installer from running properly, and the only way to fix it was to wipe the OS and reinstall everything. I told them no thanks, I'm fine just running without support assist for the time being, and my C drive is back in good shape space-wise.