The Microsoft Store app "Dell SupportAssist for PCs" does not function properly on my Dell Optiplex 960 with 32 bit Windows 10 Pro (latest OS version and updates installed).
It installs (version 3.1.30.0) and it is announced that it can be launched but then only momentarily a blue window with the SupportAssist wrench symbol is shown.
When I don't install it from the Microsoft Store but directly from the Dell Support site ( version 3.1.0.142) Settings\Apps & features shows 2 "SupportAssists" installed:
- Dell SupportAssist 146 MB and
- SupportAssist (Dell Inc) 16.0 KB.
I used to have it installed from the Dell Support site but since the latest update it has the same problem as described above.
Note: the installed differences I noticed between the 2 versions of Dell SupportAssist are described under the procedure below.
There are 2 ways to address this issue:
1) Go directly to your Dell Support site and enter your service tag # or have your PC/laptop detected.
But be careful: it will only work using the following browsers:
- Windows Explorer;
- Mozilla Firefox;
- Google Chrome;
- Opera.
It will not work properly with:
- Microsoft Edge;
- Brave;
- Epic.
e.g. When Diagnose for Optiplex 960 is selected a message is generated that the system is not supported, only Windows 7, 8 and 10 are supported which seems to indicate that the OS is not properly detected.
Note: these are the browsers I checked.
The site will detect your PC, it requires Dell SupportAssist to do so.
If that has not been installed it will install after your consent (follow the instructions on the screen) and continue with the detection so you can use the site services (Driver updates, Diagnosis, HW checks, System properties, etc.).
2) If you want to use SupportAssist without going to the Dell Support site, a helpful discussion with jbilinski (moderator on the Dell Community) has helped me to devise a temporary workaround to get the Dell version of the app going.
It provides a shortcut on your desktop screen that will start SupportAssist correctly.
2.1) If not already installed, install SupportAssist from the Dell site:
https://www.dell.com/support/contents/us/en/04/article/product-support/self-support-knowledgebase/software-and-downloads/SupportAssist
2.2) Follow the instructions of the procedure below.
Procedure:
1) Open Notepad
2) Write: C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c C:\"Program Files"\Dell\SupportAssistAgent\bin\SupportAssistUI.exe Launch
3) Right click on your desktop and select new>shortcut
4) Copy your text from item 2) and paste it into "Type the location of the item"
5) Click next
6) Type a name for the item (initially it shows cmd), I changed it into SupportAssist and click Finish.
7) Ready: your desktop now shows a predominantly black icon (DOS cmd screen picture) with the new name.
Double clicking it starts a command screen immediately followed by launching of SupportAssist. When you close SupportAssist the command screen closes automatically.
Optionally the desktop icon can be changed to the normal SupportAssist icon:
1) rightclick the new icon and select properties
2) click "Change Icon"
3) click "Browse"
4) double click "Local Disk (C:)
5) double click folder "Program Files"
6) double click folder "Dell"
7) double click folder "SupportAssistAgent"
8) double click folder "bin"
9) double click folder "Content"
10) double click folder "images" whereafter the Dell_SupportAssistAgent icon is shown
11) click the icon and select open, the icon is now shown in the Change Icon window
12 click OK and OK in the following screen
Done: the icon has been changed.
Noticed differences between Dell SupportAssist from Microsoft Store and Dell site
When only Dell SupportAssist for PCs is installed from the Microsoft Store:
- its installed size is 51,0 MB (Settings\Apps & Features);
- 5 services (Dell Data Vault Collector, Dell Data Vault Processor, Dell Data Vault Service API, Dell Hardware Support and Dell SupportAssist) are not available;
- 3 folders/files (C:\ProgramData\PCDr, C:\ProgramData\SupportAssist and C:\Program Files\Dell\SupportAssistAgent) are not present;
- it is not found by the Microsoft tool to address install/uninstall problems.
This may explain the difference in installed size for the different application sources.
When only Dell SupportAssist is installed from the Dell site after the version from the Microsoft Store has been removed:
- its installed size is 146 MB for Dell SupportAssist but also 16,0KB for an additional SupportAssist Dell Inc app;
- the 5 services above mentioned are available and running;
- the 3 folders/files above are present;
- it is found by the Microsoft tool to address install/uninstall problems.
Now what the Microsoft Store app should do I don't know because I never tried it before but it has the same start problem as the Dell app.