7 Brand new computers all intermittently blue screening, I'm at a loss here.

[thecomputerguy]

Trying this via reported success from the Dell Forums.

Fix problems that block programs from being installed or removed - Microsoft Support

The Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter helps you automatically repair issues when you're blocked from installing or removing programs.

support.microsoft.com

 

[thecomputerguy]

After using the MS uninstall tool it does successfully uninstall SupportAssist and all of the services that are present on computers where SupportAssist has not been removed ARE removed after using the MS uninstall tool.




I'm just going to uninstall everything referring to SupportAssist after I remove it.

 

[thecomputerguy]

3 of them are still blue screening while trying uninstall via the MS uninstall tool ... I will just keep trying to rip it out

 

[thecomputerguy]

3 of them are still blue screening while trying uninstall via the MS uninstall tool ... I will just keep trying to rip it out

SUPPORTASSIST GONE ON ALL!

I think what might have been happening is since I was able to reproduce the SAME EXACT BLUESCREEN while trying to uninstall SupportAssist through control panel is that SupportAssist may have been updating itself in the background and attempting to do a SILENT uninstall which triggered this blue screen.

FINGERS CROSSED

Looks like the RAM is going back in.

 

[GTP]

After using the MS uninstall tool it does successfully uninstall SupportAssist and all of the services that are present on computers where SupportAssist has not been removed ARE removed after using the MS uninstall tool.

View attachment 14230


I'm just going to uninstall everything referring to SupportAssist after I remove it.

View attachment 14231

Always confuses, bemuses and annoys me why they install so much bloatware garbage on systems.
Any brand new laptop/ or propriety desktop I sell gets reformatted and a fresh reinstall of Windows.
I blow it all away, recovery partitions that take up SSD space; all of it.
Done it this way since day one and have 100% less issues by doing it.

 

[trevm999]

In case you are ready to start learning how to debug dumps

 

[GTP]

In case you are ready to start learning how to debug dumps

Thanks for posting. It's an enlightening and edifying video.
I guess in one sense "knowledge is power" but running a business has time and cost constraints - time is money - and pouring over dump files, logs, etc to try to find a reason why an application goes rogue as opposed to Fab's NP and reinstall is, imho, a no brainer.
Will clients pay for your time to figure it out?
The resounding answer is...No.

 

[NETWizz]

Well that sucks that it is crashing the kernel itself. Usually I run that tool to check what was on the stack and there is typically something obvious like NVRAID or some random device driver made by a third party... I update that and am good.

I don't want to troubleshoot an issue like this one. If it continues to BSOD, just make Dell replace all seven computers.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Always confuses, bemuses and annoys me why they install so much bloatware garbage on systems.
Any brand new laptop/ or propriety desktop I sell gets reformatted and a fresh reinstall of Windows.
I blow it all away, recovery partitions that take up SSD space; all of it.
Done it this way since day one and have 100% less issues by doing it.

I'd love to agree with you here as I used to do the same but doing that is such a waste of time.

I'd rather be billing the client to unbox it than unbox it on my time, not to mention the time to fresh install every computer.

The time I've saved by not unboxing and reformatting every single system I sell (as my volume has increased) has far exceeded the time I've spent on this issue.

The only time I do a reformat is if the client requests a larger SSD than what comes from factory.

 

[nlinecomputers]

The only time I do a reformat is if the client requests a larger SSD than what comes from factory.

I wouldn't even do it then. Cloning software exists for a reason and is usually faster than fresh installs. If you are committed to using the shipped image then a clone is faster, I would think.

If you are committed to the wipe every computer then I would have an image ready to go. Properly syspreped it will NOT be assigned to any user until you first power it on.

 

[thecomputerguy]

I wouldn't even do it then. Cloning software exists for a reason and is usually faster than fresh installs. If you are committed to using the shipped image then a clone is faster, I would think.

If you are committed to the wipe every computer then I would have an image ready to go. Properly syspreped it will NOT be assigned to any user until you first power it on.

Nah

M.2's make cloning funky if the computer only has one m.2 slot and cloning to a USB m.2 adapter has its own challenges. If I'm unboxing and upgrading the OEM drive I'm just going to do a fresh install.

Windows 11 takes like 3 minutes to install and pretty much picks up the NIC 100% of the time and the rest of the drivers funnel into windows update save for the odd driver I have have to grab from the OEM.

 

[HCHTech]

Honestly, I think I would (even temporarily) eat the cost of a new workstation for them to get one of these back on your bench where you can do better, more-extensive testing.

 

[fincoder]

I think it's most likely to be related to the Windows 11 upgrade. They were shipped with Windows 10 (presumably under 11 Pro downgrade rights), so maybe they haven't done as much testing of their own support tool on that model with Windows 11.

Also, just from my experience of ex-lease PCs for refurbishing, Dell Vostros have given me lots of grief with weird driver issues and incompatibilities with Windows 10 (upgrade from 7/8) over the years. So much so that I no longer touch Vostro machines. I only deal with Optiplex when getting Dell.

This experience is mainly with laptops, and older refurbs because I haven't done much with them in recent years. Maybe Dell have improved the Vostro range to be true commercial grade? In the past they were similar to consumer grade.

 

[nlinecomputers]

So much so that I no longer touch Vostro machines.

 

[thecomputerguy]

I think it's most likely to be related to the Windows 11 upgrade. They were shipped with Windows 10 (presumably under 11 Pro downgrade rights), so maybe they haven't done as much testing of their own support tool on that model with Windows 11.

Also, just from my experience of ex-lease PCs for refurbishing, Dell Vostros have given me lots of grief with weird driver issues and incompatibilities with Windows 10 (upgrade from 7/8) over the years. So much so that I no longer touch Vostro machines. I only deal with Optiplex when getting Dell.

This experience is mainly with laptops, and older refurbs because I haven't done much with them in recent years. Maybe Dell have improved the Vostro range to be true commercial grade? In the past they were similar to consumer grade.

I agree that the Vostro lineup is hit and miss but the Optiplex lineup leaves so little for margin. It's hard to make any margin when you are buying an Optiplex with an i5 8/4gb of ram and 256gb hard drive for $850

But the Vostro lineup isn't the Inspiron lineup, and of course it isn't the Optiplex lineup but somewhere in the middle allows for at least some margin.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Also by the way, the issue is fixed. It was Dell Support Assist causing the blue screens.

 

[Metanis]

Also by the way, the issue is fixed. It was Dell Support Assist causing the blue screens.

Thanks for letting us know! I'll continue my normal practice of removing all that manufacturer bloatware.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Also by the way, the issue is fixed. It was Dell Support Assist causing the blue screens.

Well now you jinxed it. That’s what we thought when you pulled the RAM. *runs away*

 

[hiddenpcmaster]

Also by the way, the issue is fixed. It was Dell Support Assist causing the blue screens.

Send Dell a bill for your time and effort fighting their buggy bloatware.

 

[SAFCasper]

We deal a lot of Dell equipment and I wouldn’t consider Vostro commercial grade. They sit somewhere in-between consumer and entry-level business.

One one side they have some business grade features:
- Supported for longer than your average consumer device with updates to BIOS, Firmware etc.
- Options for extended and on-site warranties.
- Come with Windows 10/11 Pro

But on the other side Vostro laptops often have flimsy plastic casing, weak hinges that can snap, components glued in place making repairs difficult, those horrible over-sensitive touchpads that are practically unusable... basically, all the lovely things we come to expect from consumer grade devices.

I also don't believe tools like Dell Command | Configure work on the Vostro range, although I could be wrong here.



EDIT:
As with most things the more you pay the more you get. Most of the things I described above are in the Vostro 3000 range of laptops (eg. Vostro 3520, Vostro 3420).
The 5000 series from what I've seen are quite nice however the price is very close to a similar Latitude 3000 series so I rarely make that choice unless stock/delays forces me.