Error messege: the selected task "{0}" no longer exists. to see the current task, click refresh

Anonymous
2009-07-07T16:17:02+00:00

When I go to start the task scheduler, I get this messege "the selected task "{0}" no longer exists. to see the current task, click refresh" So I go ahead and click refresh, and get the same error messege. How can I resolve this issue? Any help and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2009-09-21T19:15:00+00:00

I spent a few minutes and tracked down the problem and a solution. The issue is a result of task files which exist in the Tasks folders which have no entry in (presumably) in the registry. Here's how I worked through the issue - will take some time, but it has cleared up the issue completely for me:

  1. Open Task Scheduler and click OK when prompted with the error. It may seem like you are receiving the same error over and over, but this is really due to the number of tasks which are broken. Make a note of the number of times you are prompted with the the selected task "{0}" error. This is the number of task files that are out of sync with the registry.
  2. Start with the first folder under Windows tasks (Task Scheduler(Local)\Task Scheduler Library\Microsoft\Windows) and select each folder in turn until you receive the the selected task "{0}" error. This folder contains files that are not in sync with the task scheduler.
  3. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the tasks file folder (%SystemFolder%\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows) and find the folder which corresponds to the folder in which you received the error.
  4. For some tasks you will be able to determine which files need to be deleted by comparing the list in the Task Scheduler with the list of files in Explorer. Some tasks will only have a single file in explorer, or, in one case I had 2 and the first was missing. Once Task Scheduler encounters this error it will no longer display tasks so it makes the job of getting the two in sync a little more difficult. Once you have determined which files exist in the File Folder but do not exist in the Task Scheduler folder, delete those files.
  5. IMPORTANT - Close and Re-open Task Scheduler. Once the error is encountered, Task Scheduler no longer displays the tasks so you need to close it and restart in order to continue your synchronization effort.
  6. Continue to select folders in Task Scheduler under Windows tasks until you encounter the error again and repeat the process of determining which file exists on the file system, but not in Task Scheduler.

I had 6 files that were out of sync with what was displayed in Task Scheduler. Once I deleted all of the offending files, Task Scheduler fired up without issue.

Good luck.

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2009-08-28T12:19:13+00:00

Hi,

I had the same issue and here is what I did to solve my problem and hope it helps someone else in the future.  If you disabled the Disk Defrag Schedule, then go back and enable it.  It solved my problem and i've reported this bug to the Windows 7 team.

Was this answer helpful?

90+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

131 additional answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2011-03-06T03:45:26+00:00

    Definitely try the Registry edit (delete key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache) before proceeding.

    Otherwise:

    Deleting Task Scheduler's underlying XML files, found in the subfolders of path …\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows, definitely does the trick!  However, to streamline the discovery process, use Task Scheduler's Operational log in Event Viewer to locate any "Task loading at service startup failed" errors, easily identifiable in the Level column.  The log's entries are displayed by selecting file Operational in folder Event Viewer (local)\Applications and Services logs\Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler from the navigation pane.  Perfect!  But what about restoring those tasks, and preferably not by hand?  Since they won't open in Task Scheduler anymore, open them in WordPad to check out their XML (don't forget to type * in the Filename textbox + Enter to display a non-WordPad file in its Open dialog) to decide whether it's worth the effort to manually recreate the task after deleting the file.  Wow!  That sounds like an awful lot of work, especially if there is more than one task "(0)".  Other than the subfolders, where is a list of all the prefabricated tasks, and better yet, where oh where can the XML files that constitute them be remotely copied from?  Oh, the humanity!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2011-03-14T15:30:49+00:00

    If you disabled the Disk Defrag Schedule, then go back and enable it.  It solved my problem and i've reported this bug to the Windows 7 team.

    Unfortunately, defraging a SSD drive is a big no-no, so this is not an option for those having these types of drives. Incidentaly, I did not disable it, I deleted it (I think, I can't see it any more).

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2011-03-23T15:30:36+00:00

    If Event Viewer lists more than one faulting task (see below), definitely try the Registry edit first (always launch the Registry after selecting Run as administrator).  Then, delete key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache).  If wary, export the key (right click and choose Export) to a registration file named TaskCache.reg beforehand and if dissatisfied afterwards, merely double click it to restore the database to its former state.

    Otherwise:

    Deleting Task Scheduler's underlying XML files, found in the subfolders of path …\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows, definitely does the trick!  However, to streamline the discovery process, use Task Scheduler's Operational log in Event Viewer to locate any "Task loading at service startup failed" errors, easily identifiable in the Level column.  The log's entries are displayed by selecting file Operational in folder Event Viewer (local)\Applications and Services logs\Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler from the navigation pane.  Don't forget to sort the list by clicking on the Level column header.  Perfect!  But what about restoring those tasks, and preferably not by hand?  Since they won't open in Task Scheduler anymore, open them in WordPad to check out their XML (don't forget to type * in the Filename textbox, then Enter, to display a non-WordPad file in its Open dialog; or use All Docs (*.*) in the dropdown list) to decide whether it's worth the effort to manually recreate the task after deleting the file.  Wow!  That sounds like an awful lot of work, especially if there is more than one task "(0)".  Other than the subfolders, where is a list of all the prefabricated tasks, and better yet, where oh where can the XML files that constitute them be found to download?  Oh, the humanity!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments