SupportAssist for Home PCs Version 3.7 User’s Guide September 2020 Rev.
Notes, cautions, and warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. © 2020 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Contents Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................................. 5 Key features..........................................................................................................................................................................5 Document purpose..............................................................................................................................................................
Get Drivers and Downloads tile notifications............................................................................................................. 28 Chapter 7: Scanning PC hardware............................................................................................... 29 Scan specific hardware component..............................................................................................................................29 Run quick hardware scan.........................................
1 Introduction SupportAssist automates support from Dell by proactively and predictively identifying hardware and software issues on your PC. SupportAssist addresses PC performance and stabilization issues, prevents security threats, monitors and detects hardware failures, and automates the engagement process with Dell Technical support. Depending on your Dell service plan, SupportAssist also automates support request creation for issues that are detected during a scan.
● ● ● ● ● Install the factory operating system or upgrade to the latest operating system available for your PC. The local network to which the source PC is connected is displayed when you initiate data migration. The estimated time remaining and current data transfer speed are displayed when data migration is in progress. The estimated time to migrate the settings is displayed when you select only the settings that you want to migrate.
Table 1. SupportAssist capabilities and Dell service plans (continued) SupportAssist capabilities Description Troubleshoot issues manually You can fix common PC issues by using the step-bystep instructions and video tutorials that are available on the troubleshooting page. Scan and update drivers manually You can manually scan and install the driver updates that are available for your PC.
Table 1. SupportAssist capabilities and Dell service plans (continued) SupportAssist capabilities Description failure prevention 3 agent contacts you to ship the replacement part. Notify PC optimization issues that are detected during scheduled scans Depending on your operating system, a notification is displayed on your task bar or in Windows action center about PC optimization issues that are detected during scheduled scans.
2 Getting started with SupportAssist for Home PCs SupportAssist is preinstalled on all PCs shipped out of the Dell factory. If SupportAssist is not preinstalled, follow the instructions in this section to install, configure, and use SupportAssist. Minimum PC requirements The following table lists the minimum PC requirements for installing and using SupportAssist: Table 2.
Table 2. Minimum PC requirements (continued) Particulars Requirements ● ● ● ● https://downloads.dell.com https://www.dell.com https://dl.dell.com http://content.dellsupportcenter.com Install SupportAssist for Home PCs Prerequisites ● The PC must meet the minimum PC requirements for installing and using SupportAssist. See Minimum PC requirements on page 9. ● You must have administrator rights on the PC. About this task By default, SupportAssist is installed on all PCs shipped from the Dell factory.
Figure 1. Home page-default view After the scans and optimizations are complete, the following details are displayed on the Home page and the History page: ● Amount of hard drive space reclaimed ● Number of driver updates installed ● Number of viruses or malware removed The following screenshot displays the summary view of the Home page: Figure 2. Home page—summary view To go to the tiles view, click .
● ● ● ● Clean Files Tune Performance Optimize Network Remove Viruses & Malware NOTE: If you do not have administrator rights on the PC, only the Scan Hardware tile is enabled. The following screenshot displays the tiles view of the Home page: Figure 3. Home page—tiles view NOTE: Figures 1, 2, and 3 are for illustrative purpose only. Individual features such as header color, buttons, and so on, are different on Alienware PCs.
Change language setting About this task SupportAssist is available in 25 languages. By default, SupportAssist is set to the same language as that of the operating system. You can change the language according to your preference. Steps 1. On the top-right corner of the SupportAssist user interface, click the settings icon and click Select language. The list of languages is displayed. 2. Select your preferred language. 3. Click Yes to restart SupportAssist in the selected language.
Create Dell My Account Prerequisites You must have administrator rights on the PC. Steps 1. In the Create an Account section on the Dell My Account Sign in page, enter the first name, last name, email address, and password. NOTE: The password must include one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one number. The password length must be within 8-12 characters. 2. Re-enter the password. 3. Click Create Account. Dell My Account is created and you are signed in to SupportAssist.
2. Click Continue. The current profile is deactivated, and the Home page is displayed. A link to create a profile is displayed on the top-right corner of the SupportAssist user interface. See Create SupportAssist profile on page 13. Configure Internet settings Prerequisites You must have administrator rights on the PC. About this task Your PC must be connected to an active Internet connection to experience the automated support capabilities of SupportAssist.
Manually upgrade SupportAssist Prerequisites ● You must have administrator rights on the PC. ● You must have created a SupportAssist profile. See Create SupportAssist profile on page 13. About this task Upgrading SupportAssist ensures that the latest SupportAssist features are available on your PC. If a newer version is available, SupportAssist automatically upgrades to the new version. If required, you can also manually check and upgrade SupportAssist.
Table 4. Notifications on the SupportAssist user interface (continued) When the notification is displayed Action ● Click Remind Me Later to view the notification when you reopen SupportAssist after 24 hours. ● Click Never Remind Me to stop SupportAssist from displaying the notification again. You renewed your PC service plan. Click OK to hide the notification. SupportAssist OS Recovery is enabled for your PC ● Click Thanks, got it to stop SupportAssist from displaying the notification again.
Banners on SupportAssist home page When the service plan of your PC is nearing expiry or has expired: ● A notification is displayed on the SupportAssist user interface. ● Depending on the version of the operating system installed on your PC, a notification is displayed on the taskbar or in Windows Action Center. ● A banner is displayed on the SupportAssist Home page. You can renew or upgrade your service plan by using the links that are provided in the notification or banner.
Steps 1. Click Start, go to Control panel > Programs, and then click Programs and Features. The Uninstall or change a program page is displayed. 2. Right-click Dell SupportAssist, and click Uninstall. 3. When you are prompted to confirm the uninstallation, click Yes. Results SupportAssist is uninstalled.
3 System repair overview The system repair feature enables you to instantly rollback to a previous point in time on your PC to resolve boot issues or any other performance issues. This feature is automatically enabled on PCs with at least 50 GB of free hard drive space and where SupportAssist OS Recovery is available. But, if your PC has less than 50 GB of free hard drive space, you can manually enable the feature in SupportAssist or the operating system control panel settings.
4 System reset overview The system reset feature enables you to reset the operating system of your PC. You can either reset the operating system to factory state or install the latest version of the operating system. Depending upon the state of your PC, the following options may be available: ● Reset to factory settings—install the factory image on your PC to reset the operating system to the state it was in when your PC was shipped from the Dell factory .
Steps 1. Open SupportAssist and go to Troubleshooting > Erase everything and reset my PC to its original state, and then click Reset my PC. 2. Click Yes, reboot. The PC restarts, and the SupportAssist OS Recovery user interface is displayed. Next steps Perform the steps that are provided in the Reset your computer and update the operating system section in the Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery User's Guide available on the SupportAssist for Home PCs support page.
5 Dell Migrate overview Dell Migrate is a service that enables you to securely migrate your personal files and settings to your Dell PC from any other PC running Windows operating system. NOTE: The Dell Migrate service is available only for Inspiron, XPS, and Alienware PCs in the U.S. In this document, the term source PC refers to the PC from which you want to migrate your files and settings. The term target PC refers to the PC to which you want to migrate your files and settings.
Migrate data from source to target PC Prerequisites Ensure the following: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● The operating system that is installed on the source PC is Windows 8 or later. The operating system that is installed on the target PC is Windows 10. The source and target PCs are connected to an electrical outlet. You are logged in to source and target PCs as an administrator. The source and target PCs are connected to the same local network. Sufficient disk space is available on the target PC.
● If all your files and settings were migrated successfully, click OK. ● If some of your files or settings were not migrated, click Show skipped files to view the details or click Retry to migrate your files or settings again. 7. Optionally, click to view the migration summary, or click to provide your feedback to Dell. NOTE: For any assistance on migrating your files and settings using Dell Migrate, contact Dell technical support.
6 Drivers and downloads overview Updating the drivers helps improve PC performance and patch security risks. By default, SupportAssist scans your PC every week to detect updates available for drivers and Dell applications that are installed on your PC. If required, you can configure the frequency in which SupportAssist performs the scan. See Scheduled scans and optimizations on page 15. NOTE: In this document, the term driver refers to BIOS, drivers, firmware, and Dell applications installed on your PC.
driver update and return the PC to its previous state. At a given time period, SupportAssist can retain only three restore points. If a new restore point must be created, the oldest restore point is automatically removed. NOTE: If you install a newer version of BIOS available for your PC, you cannot uninstall the update. NOTE: In a Windows operating system, by default, the restore point creation setting is disabled.
About this task If you encounter problems with your PC after updating a driver, you can uninstall the update and return the PC to its previous state. Steps 1. Open SupportAssist and click History. 2. On the History page, click the required Restore System link. A message is displayed stating that the PC will be restored to the state when the restore point was created. 3. Click Restore. The PC restarts automatically to uninstall the update.
7 Scanning PC hardware Running a hardware scan enables you to detect hardware issues on your PC. By default, SupportAssist scans your PC hardware once a month to detect hardware issues. You can also manually perform one of the following to identify a hardware issue: ● Scan a specific hardware component ● Run a quick hardware scan ● Run a stress test NOTE: If SupportAssist is minimized and an issue is detected during a scan, a notification is displayed on the Scan Hardware tile.
Steps 1. Open SupportAssist and click . 2. On the Scan Hardware tile, click Run. Results ● If no issue is detected, an appropriate notification is displayed on the tile. ● If an issue is detected and it requires creating a support request, the optimization tiles are disabled and the issue details page is displayed. For instructions to create a support request, see Create support request for issue detected by a scan on page 36.
Table 9. Scan Hardware tile notifications (continued) Status icon PC icon Status Description Critical NOTE: If a critical hardware issue is detected, the PC optimization tiles are disabled until you create a support request. A hardware issue has been detected in the memory module or hard drives.
8 Optimizing your PC SupportAssist helps you optimize your PC by running a series of diagnostics to identify modifications to files and settings of your PC. SupportAssist optimizations improve your PC speed, storage space availability, and PC stability by: ● ● ● ● Cleaning temporary files Tuning PC performance Optimizing network Removing viruses, malware, and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) The following screenshot displays the Tune Performance tile for PC optimization: Figure 5.
Tune PC performance About this task SupportAssist adjusts the power settings, registry, and memory allocation to maximize your PC processing speed. Steps 1. Open SupportAssist and click . 2. On the Tune Performance tile, click Run. During the optimization, the name of task that is running is displayed above the tiles and the progress of scan is displayed on the tile. CAUTION: If you cancel the optimization while it is in progress, the changes that were performed are not reversed.
CAUTION: If you cancel the optimization while it is in progress, the changes that were performed are not reversed. Results ● The number of viruses and malware that are removed is displayed on the Remove Viruses & Malware tile, Home page, and on the History page. ● If PUPs are detected on the PC, the number of PUPs that are detected is displayed on the Remove Viruses & Malware tile. For instructions to remove PUPs, see Remove potentially unwanted programs on page 34.
CAUTION: If you cancel the optimization while it is in progress, the changes that were performed are not reversed. ● If no issue is detected and there are no updates, an appropriate message is displayed on each tile. The amount of hard drive space that is saved, and the number of viruses or malware that is removed are displayed on the Home page.
9 Creating support request SupportAssist helps you proactively and periodically monitor your PC for hardware or software issues. If an issue is detected on your PC, SupportAssist enables you to create a support request with Dell technical support. Depending on the service plan of your PC, SupportAssist may also automatically create a support request for the issue. NOTE: The automatic support request creation capability is not available for PCs with an expired warranty.
Manually create a support request About this task Depending on the service plan of your PC, you can manually create a support request for issues that are not detected by SupportAssist. For information about the SupportAssist capabilities for different service plans, see SupportAssist capabilities and Dell service plans on page 6. Steps 1. Open SupportAssist and click the Get Support tab. 2. Click Open a Support Request.
Issue summary page The following table describes the information that is displayed on the issue summary page: Table 11. Issue summary page Information Description Service Tag The unique identifier of the PC. The Service Tag is an alphanumeric identifier. Warranty The service plan and its expiry date. Issue The details of the issue for which the support request is created. Support Request # The support request number for the issue.
10 Troubleshooting overview The Troubleshooting page enables you to troubleshoot issues with network connectivity and PC performance. It also enables you to scan a specific hardware component or the entire PC for hardware issues and provides links to video tutorials to troubleshoot issues with operating system, PC hardware, software, and Internet connectivity. The troubleshooting links enabled for you depends on your user account type.
11 History overview The History page displays information about the SupportAssist activities and events that were performed in the last 90 days in a chronological order. The activities that are listed include software optimizations, troubleshooting tasks, driver updates, hardware scans, and so on. By default, information about events and activities that are performed during the current week are displayed. You can view the details for a specific day or an entire month.
12 Getting support SupportAssist enables you to contact Dell technical support agents through phone, chat, or social media. The Get Support page lists the help and support options available for your PC. The help and support options that you can access vary based on the service plan of your PC and your region. For information about the help and support options available for various service plans, see SupportAssist capabilities and Dell service plans on page 6.
Table 12. Get Support page (continued) Feature Description Send files to Tech Support Send files to Dell technical support describing the issue on your PC or send files that a technical support agent requests for. NOTE: The maximum size of the file that you can send is 4 MB. For information about sending files to Dell technical support, see Send files to Dell technical support on page 42.
Results After the file is sent, and the File uploaded successfully message are displayed. Start Dell RemoteAssist session Prerequisites ● You must have administrator rights on the PC. ● A Dell RemoteAssist session must be initiated for your PC by the Dell technical support agent. About this task For certain issues, the technical support agent must remotely access your PC to troubleshoot the issue. You can allow the technical support agent to remotely access your PC using Dell RemoteAssist. Steps 1.
13 Frequently asked questions 1. How can I identify the build number of the operating system that is installed on my PC? Perform the following steps: a. Click Start to open the programs menu. b. Search and open the Run application. c. Enter winver and click OK. The operating system build number is displayed, for example, OS Build 15063.1266. 2. How can I check if SupportAssist is installed on my PC? To verify if SupportAssist is installed, perform the following steps: a.
b. c. d. e. f. Search and open the Services application. In the right pane, click Dell SupportAssist. In the left pane, click Stop. From the programs menu, search and open the Command Prompt application. Type netstat -a -v | findstr /C:"5700" and press Enter. ● If no application uses the 5700 port, no result is displayed. ● If any other application uses the 5700 port, the port number and LISTENING status are displayed. g. Restart the Dell SupportAssist service. 12.
If your service plan has expired, SupportAssist does not display notifications for driver updates available for your PC. You must renew your service plan to receive notifications about driver updates. 21. Can I update the BIOS on a BitLocker enabled PC? It is recommended to disable the BitLocker encryption on the PC before updating the BIOS. 22. When I perform a hardware scan, the scan result is displayed as Misconfigured on the History page.
14 Additional resources The following resources help you learn more about SupportAssist for Home PCs: ● For other documents available for SupportAssist, go to the SupportAssist for Home PCs support page. ● For video tutorials, go to the SupportAssist for Home PCs playlist on YouTube. ● For frequently asked questions from other users of this product, go to the Dell SupportAssist Community.
