SupportAssist for Business PCs Frequently Asked Questions

Manage PCs

• Why are the PCs not displayed on the Inventory page after deploying SupportAssist?

  After you deploy SupportAssist, the PCs are automatically displayed on the Inventory page in TechDirect within 30 minutes after they connect to the Internet and Dell.

  If you do not see the PCs within 30 minutes, run the self-diagnosis test to ensure connectivity to Dell. See the Run the SupportAssist self-diagnosis test section in the SupportAssist for Business PCs Deployment Guide available on the SupportAssist for Business PCs documentation page.

• How can I remove PCs from the Inventory page in TechDirect?

  You can remove the PCs from the Inventory page using one of the following methods:

  • Uninstall SupportAssist for Business PCs from the PC.
  • On the Inventory page, select Disconnected PCs from the list, select the PCs that you want to remove, and then click Remove PCs.

• How do I assign multiple administrators to manage my PC fleet?

  You can assign ownership of sites to Connect and manage administrators or technicians from the Define roles & permissions page. See the Define roles and permissions section SupportAssist for Business PCs Administrator Guide available on the SupportAssist for Business PCs documentation page.

• Does SupportAssist require an active Internet connection to monitor the PCs?

  Yes, an active Internet connection is required. For the list of other prerequisites that a target PC must meet, see the Prerequisites for deploying SupportAssist section in the SupportAssist for Business PCs Deployment Guide available on the SupportAssist for Business PCs documentation page.

• When can I see the PC utilization data on the Overview page in TechDirect?

  The PC utilization data is displayed on the Overview page if one or more criteria is met:

  • More than one operating system crash has occurred on the PC.
  • Memory utilization is greater than 75%.
  • CPU usage is high.
  • Installed memory is less than or equal to 4 GB.
  • Battery runtime is less than 2 hours.
  • Storage remaining is less than 10%.
  • Application failures are greater than 5.
  • Battery health is less than 30%.
  NOTE:The performance and utilization data are only available for PCs with an active ProSupport, ProSupport Plus, or ProSupport Flex for Client service plan.

• What replacement parts are dispatched when a hardware failure occurs on your PC?

  When SupportAssist detects an issue on your PC, a replacement part may be automatically dispatched to you depending on your PC service plan and region.

  Depending on the Dell Business policies, the following parts may be dispatched automatically:

  • Hard drive
  • Memory module
  • Keyboard
  • Mouse
  • Battery
  • Video card

  For information about how dispatches are handled, see How are dispatch alerts handled when an alert is generated by SupportAssist?

• Is there an option to download and view the PC information?

  Yes, you can download the data that is displayed on a specific page as a CSV file and view the data offline. See the Data exports section in the SupportAssist for Business PCs Administrator Guide available on the SupportAssist for Business PCs documentation page.

• When can I see details about the external devices connected to a PC?

  You can view details about the Dell monitor and Dell docking station connected to your PC on the PC overview page after the SupportAssist telemetry is sent to Dell. For more information, see the PC overview section in the SupportAssist for Business PCs Administrator Guide available on the SupportAssist for Business PCs documentation page.

• The System BIOS version is not displayed for certain PCs in my fleet. What could be the reason?

  The System BIOS version is available on the Inventory page only when a driver scan is performed on the PC. Ensure that you perform a driver scan on the PCs to see the BIOS version.

  If you are using custom catalogs, ensure that you deploy at least one catalog to the managed site and groups.

• Why do I only see the health status of certain PCs and not other telemetry data?

  You can only view the health status for PCs on the Basic service plan. To access additional telemetry data, upgrade to a higher service plan such as ProSupport, ProSupport Plus, or ProSupport Flex for Client.

• Can end-users troubleshoot common hardware issues in their PCs by themselves?

  Yes, they can, provided they have access to the user interface and have been granted permissions if they are non-administrators.

• Why are my users reporting that their PCs are occasionally slow or non-responsive?

  When SupportAssist is running diagnostic tests, CPU and memory utilization increase until the tests are complete. This could make the PC slow or unresponsive momentarily until the tests are complete.

• How does the SafeBIOS check script function in Dell library remediation?

  When the script runs, it installs the Dell Trusted Device agent and verifies if the BIOS signature on the PC matches the known Dell BIOS signature to detect any signs of tampering.

• How often is the data on the Performance indicators (KPIs) page refreshed?

  The data is refreshed once every day.

• When does SupportAssist collect telemetry data depending on the end-user PC state?

  The following table describes the PC state requirements for SupportAssist to collect various telemetries from your PC fleet:

  Table 1. PC state requirements for data collectionThe following table describes the PC state requirements for SupportAssist to collect various telemetries from your PC fleet:

  SupportAssist actions	Active mode	Sleep mode	Locked	Hibernate mode	Power save mode	Inactive mode	Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
  Scheduled scans with end user interaction	Supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Supported	Not supported	Supported
  Scheduled scans without end user interaction	Supported	Not supported	Supported	Not supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
  Remote actions with end user interaction	Supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Supported but BIOS updates are not installed	Not supported	Supported but PC updates are not installed
  Remote actions without end user interaction	Supported	Not supported	Supported	Not supported	Supported but BIOS updates are not installed	Supported	Supported
  Collection and upload of PC insights telemetry such as PC health, application experience, and security data	Supported	Not supported	Supported but collections are not uploaded	Not supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
  Alerts detection and case creation	Supported	Not supported	Supported	Not supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
  Auto update of SupportAssist to the latest version	Supported	Not supported	Supported	Not supported	Supported	Supported	Supported