Dell Command User Manual

Dell Command | Update Version 2.1 User's Guide

Notes, cautions, and warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.

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.

intellectual property laws. Dell™ and the Dell logo are trademarks of Dell Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

2015 - 06

Rev. A00

Contents

1 About This Document.......................................................................................... 5

What’s New............................................................................................................................................5

2 Setup....................................................................................................................... 6

Overview................................................................................................................................................6

Installing Dell Command | Update....................................................................................................... 6

Uninstalling Dell Command | Update................................................................................................... 7

Upgrading Dell Command | Update..................................................................................................... 7

Silent Installation....................................................................................................................................7

Activity Log.............................................................................................................................................7

Viewing And Exporting The Activity Log.........................................................................................8

3 Getting Started With Dell Command | Update................................................9

Heading Banner...................................................................................................................................10

Left Pane..............................................................................................................................................10

Content Area........................................................................................................................................ 11

Advanced Driver Restore............................................................................................................... 11

4 Using Dell Command | Update.........................................................................12

Downloading And Installing Driver Libraries...................................................................................... 12

Checking For And Installing Updates..................................................................................................12

Selecting Updates................................................................................................................................14

Customizing Updates.................................................................................................................... 14

Dependency Installation................................................................................................................15

Hidden Updates...................................................................................................................................16

Removing An Update From The List Of Available Updates..........................................................16

Restoring An Update To The List Of Available Updates...............................................................16

Update History.....................................................................................................................................16

System Restore.............................................................................................................................. 17

Viewing Update History................................................................................................................. 17

Viewing And Exporting System Information.......................................................................................17

Dell Command | Update Command Line Interface Options.............................................................17

CLI Reference................................................................................................................................ 18

Using CLI Switch Combinations...................................................................................................20

5 Dell Command | Update Settings.....................................................................21

Configuring General Settings..............................................................................................................21

Updating Source Location............................................................................................................ 22

Scheduling To Check For Updates.....................................................................................................22

Configuring Update Filter Settings..................................................................................................... 23

Importing Or Exporting Settings.........................................................................................................23

Policy File.............................................................................................................................................24

Creating A Policy File.................................................................................................................... 24

Sample Policy.xml File Data..........................................................................................................24

Adding Settings In A Policy File.....................................................................................................25

Removing Settings From A Policy File..........................................................................................26

Configuring Advanced Driver Restore Settings..................................................................................27

6 Accessing Documents From Dell Support Site............................................. 28

7 Contacting Dell................................................................................................... 29

About This Document

You can use Dell Command | Update to update the Dell system with the latest drivers, BIOS, firmware, and Dell software applications.

In addition to this guide, there are other product guides you should have for reference. You can find the following guide on the Dell Support website at dell.com/support/manuals

• Hardware Owner’s Manual provides information about the system, installing system components, and troubleshooting the system.

What’s New

Dell Command | Update provides the following features in this release.

• Support for Windows 10 operating system

• Support for providing feedback on Dell Command | Update

• Notification if BitLocker is enabled on your system

Setup

This section contains information on prerequisites and requirements needed to use Dell Command | Update. It also provides an overview of the tool, and lists installation and uninstallation steps.

Overview

Dell Command | Update is an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface (GUI) and Command Line Interface (CLI) tool that you can use to update Dell client systems with the latest drivers, BIOS, and firmware. It is a one-to-one standalone utility.

The advantages of using Dell Command | Update are:

• Simplifies system management and the update process for Dell client systems.

• The tool’s easy-to-use CLI can be used for automating driver installation and updates.

• Provides an easy-to-use GUI, which helps in identifying and applying appropriate drivers and updates for the system.

NOTE: To run Dell Command | Update, .NET 4.0 or a later version is required.

Installing Dell Command | Update

Before you proceed, ensure that you are logged in with administrator privileges on the client system on which you want to install

To download Dell Command | Update:

1. Go to dell.com/support.

2. Search for Dell Command | Update 2.1.

3. Download Systems-Management_Application_K82GG_WN32_2.1.0_A00.exe.

To install Dell Command | Update:

1. Double-click Systems-Management_Application_K82GG_WN32_2.1.0_A00.exe.

2. Click Install

3. On the Welcome screen, click Next

4. On the License Agreement screen, select I accept the terms in the license agreement, and then

click Next.

5. On the Begin Install screen, click Install

6. On the Installation Complete screen, click Finish.

Dell Command | Update.

7. Click OK.

Uninstalling Dell Command | Update

For information on uninstalling programs, see the operating system documentation.

Upgrading Dell Command | Update

You can upgrade Dell Command | Update (formerly Dell Client System Update) 2.1 from Dell Client System Update 2.0 or 1.x using the following methods.

1. Self-update: Use the Check feature on the Welcome screen to check for updates. For more

information, see Checking and Installing Updates.

2. Manual update: Download and install Dell Command | Update 2.1 from dell.com/support and

installing it.

If any newer versions of Dell Command | Update are available, then the latest version of Dell Command | Update is listed under Recommended updates. Select the update and install the newer version of the application.

In case of minor upgrades, all the preference settings and polices are retained. In case of major upgrades, the application is uninstalled and the settings and data are removed.

Silent Installation

You can perform a silent installation of Dell Command | Update by using the following methods:

• For silent installation using the installation command line, use the command — DCU_Setup_2_1_0.exe /s /v”/qn”.

• For silent installation using Dell Update Packages (DUPs), use the executable file — SysMan_Application_xxxxx_WN_y.y.y_A00.exe /s, where ‘x’ is the software build and ‘y’ is the version number.

Activity Log

The activity log feature helps you view the updates installed on the system and track any failures or issues. The activity log generated in Dell Command | Update is classified as follows:

• Normal — Normal messages are created in the log file when the Normal mode setting in Dell Command | Update is enabled. These messages provide high-level details about the updates.

• Debug — Debug messages are created in the log file when the Debug mode setting in Dell Command | Update is enabled. These messages provide detailed information about the updates or errors.

The ActivityLog.xml, is stored as an XML formatted text file at the following locations on the system:

• For systems with Microsoft Windows Vista and later operating systems — C:\ProgramData\Dell \CommandUpdate

The root element of the log contains the name of the product and the version installed on the system. The child elements under the root element are listed as follows:

Element Name Description

<level> Activity log level.

<timestamp> Timestamp when the log was created.

<source> Application operations.

<message> Detailed information for the log entry.

<data> Indicates additional information for the log entry.

NOTE: The format and content of the above elements are based on the operating system and can be modified by the user.

Viewing And Exporting The Activity Log

Perform the following steps to view and export the activity log:

1. On the Welcome screen, click Activity Log.

The Activity Log screen is displayed. By default, the list of activities performed during the last 7 days, 15 days, 30 days, 90 days, or the last

year, is displayed. You can configure the period from the drop-down list.

2. From the drop-down list, select the number of days for which you want to view the update activities

that Dell Command | Update has performed on the system. For example, if you select Last 15 Days, you can view the update activities that Dell Command | Update has performed during the last 15 days.

3. NOTE: You cannot undo this action.

(Optional) Click Clear to clear the log.

4. (Optional) Click to view more information about the message log entry, such as application error

messages. This information is also available in the exported log file.

5. (Optional) Click Caution next to error or failure log entries to view information on how to avoid any

potential damage or problem.

6. NOTE: The inventory.xml file is updated from dell.com/support if a newer version is available.

(Optional) Click Export to export the activity log in XML format into a zip file. The inventory.xml file is also included in the zip file.

7. To reorder or sort the columns according to the date or message type, click next to Date or

Message.

8. Click Save to save changes, or click Cancel to revert to the last saved settings.

9. Click Close to go back to the Welcome screen.

Getting Started With Dell Command | Update

When the Dell Command | Update launches for the first time, either manually or automatically, the Dell Command | Update – Setup screen displays the following setup options to discover, review, and install the updates:

Table 1. Setup Options

Option Description

Yes, run automatically with the default settings (Recommended)

Automatically checks for updates on a regular basis using the default settings. To view the list of

default settings, click the Settings icon and view the default settings under Automatically

check for updates

in the Schedule tab.

Yes, run automatically, but allow me to review/ edit my settings now

No, I do not wish Dell Command | Update to check for updates automatically at this time

If you have just received your system from the Dell factory, Dell Command | Update auto-launches after the system boots the fourth time and scans for any available updates. In this case, the Welcome screen will not offer Check for Updates functionality, but will instead display a list of available updates and allow you install them.

NOTE: Dell Command | Update auto-launches only if,

• Dell Command | Update is factory installed

• Dell Command | Update is not launched manually before it launches automatically

The Dell Command | Update Welcome screen contains the following:

1. Heading Banner

2. Left Pane

3. Content Area

Automatically checks for updates on a regular basis. Based on your requirements, you can change the default settings. When you select this option, the Settings screen is displayed. In the Schedule tab, you can configure the automatically check for updates option.

Dell Command | Update does not automatically check for updates.

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