SupportAssist for Home PCs User's Guide for Windows 10 in S Mode Feb 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. © 2019 – 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 of SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode.............................................................................................. 5 New features in this release.................................................................................................................................................
Send log files to Dell technical support.............................................................................................................................23 Chapter 8: Frequently asked questions...........................................................................................
1 Introduction SupportAssist automates support from Dell by proactively and predictively identifying hardware issues in your system. SupportAssist also automates the engagement process with Dell technical support. Depending on your Dell service plan, SupportAssist also automates support request creation for hardware issues that are detected. For information about the SupportAssist capabilities for different service plans, see SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode capabilities and Dell service plans.
Table 1. SupportAssist capabilities and Dell service plans SupportAssist capabilities Description Dell service plans Basic Premium Support ProSupport ProSupport Plus Premium Support Plus Schedule hardware Schedule the frequency in which scans SupportAssist must automatically scan your system to detect hardware issues. Self-dispatch parts If an issue is detected for in-warranty parts, for hardware you are prompted to confirm your shipping issues detected address for dispatching the replacement part.
2 Getting started with SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode SupportAssist is preinstalled on your system. You can open SupportAssist by browsing through your applications. Follow the instructions in this section to create a SupportAssist profile, and configure your SupportAssist settings.
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 a new Dell My Account Prerequisites You must have administrator rights on the system. Steps 1. In the Create an Account section of the Dell My Account Sign in page, enter the first name, last name, email address, and password in the appropriate fields. NOTE: The password must contain eight through 20 characters, and must include 1 uppercase letter, 1 lowercase letter, and 1 number. 2. Re-enter the password. 3. Click Create Account.
Use different SupportAssist profile Prerequisites You must have administrator rights on the system. About this task Deactivate your current profile and sign in to SupportAssist using a different profile. When you sign in using a different profile, you cannot access the contact and shipping address details of the previous profile. Steps 1. On the top-right corner of the SupportAssist user interface, click the username and click Use a different profile. 2. Click Continue.
Steps 1. On the top-right corner of the SupportAssist user interface, click the settings icon, click Settings, and then click Internet. 2. If you want SupportAssist to directly connect to the Internet, select Connect directly. 3. If you want SupportAssist to connect to the Internet using a proxy network, perform the following: a. Select Connect using proxy. The proxy settings fields are displayed. b. Enter the address, port number, username, and password details.
Table 4. Notifications on the SupportAssist window When the notification is displayed Action A SupportAssist profile has not been created • • • Dell technical support is working on a support request that is created for an issue that is detected on your system • • Click Complete Profile to create a SupportAssist profile. For instructions to create a profile, see Create a SupportAssist profile. Click Remind Me Later to view the notification when you reopen the SupportAssist window after 24 hours.
The following table describes the banners displayed on the home page: Table 6. Banners on SupportAssist home page When the banner is displayed Action 0 to 60 days before the service plan expires Click Renew to renew the service plan online. The service plan has expired and within the renewable period Click Renew to renew the service plan online. The service plan has expired and not within the renewable period Click Contact Dell to extend or upgrade the service plan.
3 Scanning system hardware Running a hardware scan enables you to detect hardware issues on your system. By default, SupportAssist scans your system once in a month to detect hardware issues. You can also manually perform 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.
Run quick hardware scan About this task Run a quick scan on your system to detect issues in hardware components, for example, hard drive, processor, memory module, and so on. NOTE: If you do not have administrator rights on the system, you cannot create a support request for issues detected during the scan. To create support request, you must sign in to your system as an administrator. For instructions to know your user account type, see the operating system documentation at Microsoft.com/support. Steps 1.
Table 7. Scan Hardware tile notifications Status icon System icon No icon is displayed. 16 Scanning system hardware Status Description Normal No hardware issues have been detected. Warning A hardware issue has been detected in some component, other than the system memory or hard drives. Critical A hardware issue has been detected in the system memory or hard drives.
4 Creating support request using SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode SupportAssist proactively monitors your system for hardware issues. If an issue is detected in your system, SupportAssist enables you to create a support request with Dell technical support. Depending on the service plan of your system, SupportAssist may also automatically create a support request for the issue. NOTE: The automatic support request creation capability is not available for systems with an expired warranty.
Manually create support request using SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode About this task Depending on the service plan of your system, you can manually create a support request for issues that are not detected by SupportAssist. For information on the SupportAssist capabilities for different service plans, see SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode capabilities and Dell service plans on page 5. Steps 1. Open SupportAssist and click the Get Support tab. 2. Click Open a Support Request.
Table 8. Issue details page (continued) Information Description I would like onsite support NOTE: This option is available only in certain regions and is displayed only for systems with an active Premium Support, Premium Support Plus, ProSupport, or ProSupport Plus service plan. Select this checkbox if you want a Dell support technician to visit your site to replace the part. Issue summary page The following table describes the information that is displayed on the issue summary page. Table 9.
5 Troubleshooting overview in SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode The Troubleshooting page provides you links to scan a specific hardware component or the entire system for hardware issues. It also provides links to video tutorials to troubleshoot issues in operating system, system hardware, software, and Internet connectivity. NOTE: If a hardware issue is detected or a support request is created for a hardware issue, the links scan your system hardware are disabled.
6 History overview in SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode The History page displays information about the SupportAssist activities and events that are performed in the last 90 days in a chronological order. The activities that are listed include notifications displayed, hardware scans performed, and support requests that were created using SupportAssist.. By default, the information of the events that were performed during the current week are displayed.
7 Getting support using SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode The Get Support page lists the available help and support options for your system. These options vary based on the service plan of your system and your region. See SupportAssist for Windows 10 in S mode capabilities and Dell service plans on page 5. NOTE: To access the available help and support options, your system must have an active Internet connection.
Send files to Dell technical support About this task Send files describing the issue on your system or any specific file requested by the support agent. The format of the files that you can send are as follows: .zip .rar .txt .jpg .jpeg .png .gif .docx .doc .odt .pdf .xls .xlsx NOTE: The maximum size of the file that you can send is 4 MB. NOTE: You can send only three files in a day. If you have multiple files, you can compress the files to the .zip format and send the .zip file. Steps 1.
8 Frequently asked questions 1. How can I check if SupportAssist is installed on my system? To verify if SupportAssist is installed, perform the following steps: a. Click Start to open the programs menu. b. Search and open the Apps & features page. c. In the list of programs, verify if SupportAssist is present. 2. How can I edit my contact and shipping information? For steps to update your contact and shipping information, see Update contact and shipping information on page 9. 3.
• If your system connects to the Internet through a proxy server, ensure that you have configured the proxy settings in SupportAssist. See Configure Internet settings on page 10. 10. I switched out from Windows 10 in S mode to Windows 10 Pro, should I install SupportAssist again? No, you need not install SupportAssist again.
