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January 11th, 2025 17:19
SARemediation folder just keeps growing and growing and new Support Assist has no option to stop it anymore
As the title states, the last entry I can find from Support team is a year old and Support Assist has changed. What is the new procedure other than remove Support Assist, trim the tree from my machine and never install Support Assist again? What's worse however is that while I could trim the tree to solve the problem, somehow the folder structure is incredibly hidden to where in no certain terms does it exist, yet the files exist upon scanning for the backup files they do exist in the non-existent "\Snapshots\Backup" folder. And without ANY changes being made to the system, these files are updating every 5 minutes while the system is on. Meaning if I trim the tree, there will be permanent orphaned data on the drive only removeable by third party software or a "Format C:" which is wholly unacceptable. And then there is the question as to the mechanism that is doing there remediation backups, without any setting to change it, how do I remove it? BY the way, under the older Support Assist I had this under control. Why did the settings change when it was updated?
fubar4fun
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January 12th, 2025 15:19
This is a moot point as of when I just removed support assist, took ownership of the \SARemediation branch, removed SYSTEM access and trimmed it. It didn't kick any errors and reclaimed 68GB of Disk Space, the oldest files in the folder were logs from 2019. Optimized the drive and after a complete shutdown reinstalled Support Assist from the Dell Support site. Once completed opened and what do you know...a new box appeared under the Settings tab called System Repair allowing me to disable the bloody thing since once this computer has a system failure it's time for a new one.
THAT setting is what was missing from my previous install/upgrade of Support Assist. I've seen a lot of bugs over my 30+ working in IT but a program setting function blatantly missing from the menu of a piece of software installed from the vendor site like that with no error message nor even a screen glitch is extremely rare.
BTW, this is an Alienware m17 R3, Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10980HK CPU @ 2.40GHz OC to 4.10 GHz, 32GB RAM, NVIDIA RTX 2080 Super, Windows 11 23H23 26100.2605 and I keep all software updated monthly. This is my gaming PC.
fubar4fun
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January 12th, 2025 15:30
@lmacri None of that applies, except the last snippet before the Aside.
"Are you certain your free disk space is being consumed by files in C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\Snapshots\Backup? There is a known bug in the current SupportAssist v4.6.3 (rel. 24-Dec-2024) that causes database files in the C:\ProgramData\Dell\DTP\DB folder to grow over time and consume excessive amounts of disk space (i.e., typically in the range of 20 - 80 GB). According to employee Dell-Brad L's 19-Dec-2024 post in MichaelInParis's topic Any way to reduce the size of the DTPDB.DB file? Dell is hoping to have that bug fixed in the next release of SupportAssist."
This is Support assist 4.6.3 yes. And I had turned off System Repair in a previous version. When 4.6.3 installed in December 2024, System Repair was not an option under the Settings tab, almost like it was done away with. My problem started in a previous version upgrade that turned the option on, and I guess I just didn't notice. I am an IT developer/Cyber Security guy and used to do a lot of things that crashed systems by accident and rather reinstall from USB and backups which are done daily. Never seen any issues with the \Dell\DTP\DB folder. Will watch it. Thanks.
fubar4fun
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January 15th, 2025 04:42
@DELL-Cares Not anymore. The Support Assist application, having been updated a few times via Support Assist itself became faulty. Resolution was to remove Support Assist and the entire tree structure it created and install from scratch. Once completed I had access to the System Repair options in the Settings menu where I turned the bloody hard drive stealing nonsense off. It had consumed 68GB of space in hidden proprietary folders inaccessible folders in the \ProgramData\Dell tree. By doing that I solved the problem as I have no need of that function due to timely backups and updated Win11 install USB.
lmacri
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January 12th, 2025 13:57
Hi fubar4fun:
If the following comments don't help please let us know your Dell computer model and Windows OS [if Win 10 or Win 11 open a Run dialog box (Windows key + R) and enter winver to see the version and OS build number], and post a further explanation or image of the problem you're experiencing. I'm not sure how you confirmed that backup files are being created every five minutes in the hidden, protected C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\Snapshots\Backup when you couldn't view the contents of that folder.
Please read my posts in newmarket's Nov 2024 topic Program Data is huge; something's wrong about a known issue with C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\ that occurs on occasion when older system repair points (snapshots) created by Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery in the hidden, protected C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\Snapshots folder fail to be automatically purged as newer repair points are created ~ 30 minutes after each Windows startup. I uninstalled all SupportAssist-related software from my Inspiron 5584 after my service warranty expired so I've never used SupportAssist v4.x, but if it's similar to SupportAssist v3.x then:
AFAIK all files in C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\ are created by Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery v5.5.x (also called Dell SupportAssist Remediation or System Repair), not SupportAssist v4.x.
Are you certain your free disk space is being consumed by files in C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\Snapshots\Backup? There is a known bug in the current SupportAssist v4.6.3 (rel. 24-Dec-2024) that causes database files in the C:\ProgramData\Dell\DTP\DB folder to grow over time and consume excessive amounts of disk space (i.e., typically in the range of 20 - 80 GB). According to employee Dell-Brad L's 19-Dec-2024 post in MichaelInParis's topic Any way to reduce the size of the DTPDB.DB file? Dell is hoping to have that bug fixed in the next release of SupportAssist.
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*** ASIDE: When I uninstalled my SupportAssist-related software in March 2023 I replaced Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery with Macrium Reflect Free v8 disk imaging software (which reached end of support in January 2024 but continues to function - see TechRepublic's June 2023 Top 5 Free & Reliable Hard Disk Drive Cloning Software for 2023 for other suggestions) that I use to create emergency media (e.g., a bootable removable USB stick) and save the occasional full disk image on an external backup drive in case I ever have perform a emergency recovery and want to quickly re-image my entire hard drive to an earlier date. As an added precaution I've enabled Windows System Restore (disabled by default in Win 10 and Win 11) as instructed in the Windows Central article How to Use System Restore on Windows 11 so I always have a recent Windows restore point I can use to roll back my Windows OS.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5247 * Firefox v134.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.4.157-1.0.5116 * 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
DELL-Cares
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January 15th, 2025 04:21
Hello, I see you are looking for technical assistance. If you need our help, you can follow @dellcares and start a private/direct message with us, and we will be happy to assist you.
DELL-Cares
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January 15th, 2025 04:27
Hello, I see you are looking for technical assistance. If you need our help, you can start a private/direct message with us and we will be happy to assist you.
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January 15th, 2025 04:32
Greetings, I notice you are seeking technical support. Should you require our assistance, feel free to follow @dellcares and initiate a private/direct message with us, and we will gladly help you
Lady1914
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January 30th, 2025 04:16
@dellcares, can I delete all files in folder SARemediation? SupportAssist tells me 24GB of drive space recovered, but it won't allow me to click the delete icon above the number. I believe SupportAssist moved these files to SARemediation for manual delete. Right? Thanks!
lmacri
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January 30th, 2025 14:01
Hi Lady1914:
Please read Borja14's 27-Jan-2025 Problems with Storage. Borja14 confirmed that turning OFF System Repair in their SupportAssist settings permanently deleted almost all the files in their hidden, protected C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\SystemRepair\ folder. The section titled "Configure System Repair Settings" <here> in the SupportAssist v4.x User Guide states that "If you disable the system repair option, backups created before are removed and any hard drive space that was used is freed up" so all you need to do is turn OFF System Repair and restart your computer to remove those files.
I no longer have any SupportAssist-related software installed on my computer but the two images below I captured with TreeSize Free (run as Administrator) back in May 2021 that shows the size of my entire C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\SystemRepair\ folder dropped from 22 GB to 20 KB after System Repair was turned OFF.
I found it was "normal" for my C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\SystemRepair\ folder grow to 20 to 25 GB in size when System Repair was turned ON, even if I chose the recommended 15 GB of disk space for my Dell system repair points in my SupportAssist settings, so the 24 GB of disk space used on your system was not unusual. In Borja14's case their C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\SystemRepair\Backup subfolder grew so large that they only had 15 GB of free disk space left on their entire hard drive.
My 29-Jan-2025 post <here> in Borka14's topic also notes that once you purge the files in C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\SystemRepair\ that you must turn System Repair back ON to start saving new Dell system repair points (snapshots) if you intend to use Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery for emergency recoveries.
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ASIDE: As long as your service warranty hasn't expired you can contact @DELL-Cares by clicking the blue Get Help Now button in the bottom-right corner of each page on the forum to start a Live Chat. After you type in your question an automated chat bot will ask for your email address and your unique Service Tag. Once it confirms you still have a valid service warranty it should connect you to a live customer service rep.
If you have a valid service warranty you can also contact DELL-Cares on the profile page at https://www.dell.com/community/en/users/647be88fb3bb1b09f18e2639 by scrolling down to the "Contact Me" section and clicking the "Send this user a direct message" link as instructed at How to Send DELL-Cares a Direct (Private) Message.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5371 * Firefox v134.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.5.158-1.0.5135 * 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 * TreeSize Free Portable 4.7.3.550