I started my SupportAssist app yesterday (8/24/26) and a notification came up about "Windows OS repair and restore features are available to download" ..Is this a security update for SupportAssist? 

Hi LuckyCharms4U:

What is your Dell computer model, Windows version and OS build number [open a Run dialog box (Windows key + R) and enter winver], and current BIOS version (open a Run dialog box, enter msinfo32 to open your System Information, and look for the field named "BIOS Version / Date" in the summary)?  If you go to Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features what versions of Dell SupportAssist, Dell SupportAssist Remediation and Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin for Dell Update, if installed, are listed there?

It appears the latest SupportAssist v5.2.0 (rel. 20-Aug-2026) is trying to install an update for Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery v5.5.x emergency recovery software. Note that Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery is listed as Dell SupportAssist Remediation at Settings | Apps | Installed Apps, at Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features, and in Windows Services.  Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery settings can be configured in SupportAssist (see the section at Settings | Configure System Repair Settings in the SupportAssist for Home PCs v5 User Guide) if you don't like using the Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery settings manager at Control Panel | System and Security | SupportAssist OS Recovery shown below, but they are two different programs with two different functions. Here's an old image I captured in March 2023 on my Win 10 machine.

I removed ALL SupportAssist-related software from my Inspiron 15 5584 after my Dell service warranty expired because they were too buggy and consumed too much RAM and CPU (see my 08-Feb-2025 post in ygil’s BSOD Issues After Windows Updates for further details) but here's another image I captured back in March 2023.

In the mean time you might want to follow RomoSouthAm's 25-Aug-2026 topic New SupportAssist 5.2 Version - Asking and Failing to Update OS Recovery Plug-in about a problem they've had since updating to SupportAssist v5.2.0.

Is this a security update for SupportAssist?  Will this preempt the regular Windows 11 repair process from starting - that the SupportAssist function will start first?

I don't know how the latest version of Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery (v5.5.16.2?) behaves, but I had a problem a few years ago where my Win 10 system would not boot into Windows, and Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery would not launch and start a system repair, even after multiple attempts to re-boot the system.  After spending a few hours on the phone with Dell Tech Support I was finally able to enter my built-in Windows Recovery Environment and reset my computer back to factory condition, but after that fiasco I decided to uninstall Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery (a.k.a. Dell SupportAssist Remediation) and replace it with Macrium Reflect Free disk imaging software. I've also enabled Windows System Restore (normally disabled by default on Win 10 and Win 11) as instructed in the Windows Central article How to use System Restore on Windows 11 and Windows 10 as an extra precaution.

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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.7663 * Firefox v154.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.26070.9-1.1.26070.7 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.6.5.306-163.0.5714 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * My Dell v2.2.6.0

Hi LuckyCharms4U:

 

See my 27-Aug-2026 reply in RomoSouthAm's New SupportAssist 5.2 Version - Asking and Failing to Update OS Recovery Plug-in about the major design changes in SupportAssist v5.2.0 (rel. 20-Aug-2026), including AI integration, changes to notifications and alerts, and a new requirement for Microsoft .NET Desktop Runtime 10.0.x.

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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.7663 * Firefox v154.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.26070.9-1.1.26070.7 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.6.5.306-163.0.5714 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * My Dell v2.2.6.0

@lmacri​ Thanks for the reply.  The I will read your reply in the other post - but just to answer your question - I have a Dell Tower ECT1250.  Windows 11 Home.  I see that one change from SupportAssist is that it updates in the background now - like Microsoft Office.  Because my OS Recovery tools and Plugins are updated in the Control Panel (see attached).  What I am concerned about is this "let's go" button. It seems there is a new feature.  The OS Recovery obviously updated.  My question is ... this new feature about automatically turning on when there are problems booting - is this going to precede the regular Windows Repair function?  I have been clicking "remind me later" to push it off.  But I just need to know if it has changed - where it automatically happens instead of the normal Windows Recovery system.

@lmacri​ sorry - forgot to add - my BIOS is 1.17.0. 

 My winver is 25H2 - OS build 26200.9168.

The OS Recovery obviously updated.

Hi LuckyCharms4U:

 

It does appear you have the latest available version of the Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin for Dell Update v5.5.16.2 (rel. 09-Jul-2026).  If you use a Dell Update app (e.g., Dell Command | Update, Dell Update for Windows Universal, etc.) to check for available updates instead of using SupportAssist this plugin works together with the Dell Update app to keep your systems recovery environment up to date with the latest version of SupportAssist OS Recovery.

 

However, your image in your 27-Aug-2026 post <above> indicates the main Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery application (which would be listed in Settings | Apps and Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features as Dell SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.16.2) is not installed on your system.  Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery is typically pre-installed at the factory on most Dell computer models - see the model list at Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Support Matrix. This emergency recovery software creates a new Dell system repair point (a.k.a. snapshot) in C:\ProgramData\Dell\SARemediation\SystemRepair\Snapshots about 30 min after every system restart and purges the oldest system repair point once the maximum allotted disk space of ~ 15 to 20 GB as been reached.  These system repair points can be use by Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery for an emergency recovery if your system ever fails to boot up into Windows.

I see that one change from SupportAssist is that it updates in the background now - like Microsoft Office.  ... What I am concerned about is this "let's go" button. It seems there is a new feature.  The OS Recovery obviously updated.  My question is ... this new feature about automatically turning on when there are problems booting - is this going to precede the regular Windows Repair function? 

I don't know if you previously uninstalled Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery v5.5.x from your Dell Tower ECT1250 or if was never installed at the factory in the first place. I also know very little about the default behaviour of the current SupportAssist v5.2.0 (rel. 20-Aug-2026) given the major design changes Dell has introduced in v5.2.0 - see my 27-Aug-2026 reply in RomoSouthAm's New SupportAssist 5.2 Version - Asking and Failing to Update OS Recovery Plug-in for details.

 

However, I can tell you that previous versions of SupportAssist and Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery behaved as follows on my Inspiron 5584 in the past:

 

SupportAssist has always had automatic background updating enabled by default. When I still used SupportAssist I would turn off all automatic background scanning at Settings | Scans and Optimizations |  Check for Software Updates (see the section titled Settings | Schedule Updates, Scans, and Optimizations in the SupportAssist For Home PCs User Guide) and I would only run "Update Software" and "Scan Hardware" tasks manually when needed from the Home tab of SupportAssist to prevent any unexpected updates or unwanted changes to my system.

 

After I uninstalled Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery v5.5.x a SupportAssist check for available updates would repeatedly offer to re-install this software, which I would always decline.  NOTE:  The full Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery v5.5.x can only be installed via a proprietary Dell software updater utility like SupportAssist or Dell Update (e.g., Dell Command | Update, Dell Update for Windows Universal, etc.) and it will be offered as a software bundle called "Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Tools".  AFAIK Dell does not provide a standalone offline .exe or .msi installer for Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery v5.5.x anywhere on their support site (including your Dell Tower ECT1250 support page) that would allow users to download and install this emergency recovery software themselves.

 

According to the Google Gemini AI chat bot answer <here> "Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery does not permanently disable or delete the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) ... When your Dell PC encounters consecutive boot failures, SupportAssist OS Recovery is often configured by default to launch automatically instead of letting Windows WinRE take over".  I cannot tell you from personal experience if SupportAssist OS Recovery always takes precedence over WinRE since, as I noted in the last paragraph of my 26-Aug-2026 post <above>, the one time my Inspiron 5584 would not boot up Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery failed to automatically launch as it was supposed to and appeared to prevent WinRE from launching as well.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.7663 * Firefox v154.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.26070.9-1.1.26070.7 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.6.5.306-163.0.5714 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * My Dell v2.2.6.0