Dell Laptop Message

Hello,

Not sure if this belongs in this category but it was the closest that I could think of. I recently started to get a message on my Dell laptop whenever I open Chrome that says: How do you want to open this and then give a list of Dell specific options. This never used to come up and I can't think of what may have changed to start it but if someone can tell me how to disable it, I will be very grateful.

Thank you.

Tammy

 

Hi, Please see a screenshot above of the message that I get. I was already inside of a banking website when this came up, I wasn't trying to open anything. Thanks!

 

Ok, thanks. I will do this next time this comes up. I have tried looking in TaskManager for some kind of Dell process but didn't recognize anything but you would have a better knowledge of this than I. Thanks.

I have Malware bytes, Super AntiSpyware and AVG Free running. Not sure if I also have the Windows defender though.

 

This kind of comes close.. https://www.dell.com/community/en/c...er-file-associations/647fa2fbf4ccf8a8de8b10e0
Look at your file associations and see what "Dell" is tied to.
It's really nice that Windows doesn't tell you what is opening..

 

Does this always occur on opening Chrome? If so, your PC manufacturer Dell may well have installed a Chrome browser extension to check for updates - go to the chrome browser menu and look at what extensions are installed.

Does a similar pop-up dialog occur whn using other browsers?

The "How do you want to open this file?" dialog doesn't state which file it is trying to open. One way to determine this is to uncheck "Always use this app in the Store" and select "Look for an app in the Store" and use "Windows Notepad" to open the file. Notepad will show you in it banner what the file name it is (or when you select "File/Save As...") and you will see rubbish in the text edit area if it is a binary file.

This Dell video may be useful in understanding the Dell update process: https://www.dell.com/support/conten...rted-update-windows-and-drivers/6342090406112

Which Dell laptop do you have?

 

Hi, I don't know how to look at my "file associations"?

 

Hi, Everytime I try and get my tasks in task manager by right clicking the notification immediately disappears. Also there are pages and pages of them so it would be difficult to post them all.

 

I have a Dell Inspiron (pretty old)

 

Like the article in the link says.. "go to Settings | Apps | Default Apps,..."

 

If I know what file type it is, I can tell you which program it's associated with but there are probably over a hundred file types in Default Apps but the only 2 "Dell" programs is something called "Power Media Player for Dell" and "PowerDirector for Dell".

 

See my post earlier to identify the file that is trying to be opened, where I say:

The "How do you want to open this file?" dialog doesn't state which file it is trying to open. One way to determine this is to uncheck "Always use this app in the Store" and select "Look for an app in the Store" and use "Windows Notepad" to open the file. Notepad will show you in it banner what the file name it is (or when you select "File/Save As...") and you will see rubbish in the text edit area if it is a binary file.​

Also, does this occur with other browsers on your system?

 

This is what I got when I tried that:

 

That's a little odd since it's a standard Microsoft application:


Also, did you try other browsers?

 

No, I only use Chrome so I'm not going to go looking for issues with other browsers, just want this to go away on this browser.

 

The issue with Chrome might be caused by an add-on, a start-up page, or an extension that is related to Dell downloads.

To check this, please follow these steps:

1. Go to chrome://settings/onStartup/ and see what pages are set to open when you launch Chrome. If you see any Dell update sites, remove them or change the start-up option to “Open the New Tab page”.
2. Go to chrome://extensions/ and see what extensions are installed and enabled. If you see any that you don’t recognize or don’t need, disable or remove them.
3. Go to chrome://settings/ and review the other settings, such as “Autofill and passwords”, “Privacy and security”, and “Downloads”. Make sure they are not using any third-party software or pointing to any Dell or suspicious locations.

If the issue still persists, try using a different browser and see if it happens there as well. This will help determine if the problem is with Chrome or with the Dell operating system. It is understood that Chrome is the preferred browser, but this is a necessary step to troubleshoot the issue. Otherwise, we can only guess what the cause might be.

Lastly, did you find out what file Chrome was trying to open? Is it one of the files in the Downloads folder?

 

It's not a file, this usually happens when I try to open a webpage, like my banking which I do right from the address bar or a website from my favorites (but its not consistent to just one).

I haven't seen it happen for a few days, when it does next, I'l try to post step by step how it happened.

Thanks for everyones' effort.

 

Ok, didn't think I would be posting again so soon but I was just typing a comment on a facebook page and it popped up so definitely not trying to open any files whatsoever there.

 

It is not yet convincing that it is Chrome related (since no additional diagnostics havee been provided) and it is strongly indicative that a Dell update service is running in the background. In other words it is a coincidence that opening Chrome and going to a website triggers the Dell Update file open issue that is observed - because it has detected an internet connection for the background Dell Update service to use.

Please try another browser temporarily for diagnosis of this situation. The responses so far have not yet entirely ruled out that Chrome is a culprit nor have any provided diagnostics been shown from examining the Chrome configuration, but trying another browser would eliminate all that that despite the preference to persevere with Chrome.

However, in the meantime, take a look at: ‎How to stop Dell Command | Update from auto-running in background | DELL Technologies

It should be noted that you would want Dell updates as these are likely to improve the performance and security of your system at the detriment of interference with your productivity whilst an update takes place, downloads and installs.

Other Dell resources that may be useful include:
What Is Dell Update Utility? How to Download It for Windows? - MiniTool
How to use and troubleshoot Dell Command | Update to update all drivers BIOS and firmware for your computer | Dell US
‎What Dell Software Can I Remove? | DELL Technologies
and so on.