trying to disable windows task wake computer, get task scheduler service not available

06
2014-04
  • merk

    This is a windows 8.1 pc upgraded from 8.0

    I've been trying to stop my PC from waking up on it's own. Turns out there are some windows update tasks that are set to wake the pc to run the task (whoever made that decision at MS should be flogged).

    When i try to turn off the option to allow the task to wake the PC i get the error that the task scheduler service is not available.

    Pretty sure it is available since it's running in the services and i can restart it. Plus I can change the properties on other tasks. So i'm guessing this is some sort of permission issue trying to prevent me from making changes to the windows update tasks. Although if that is the case, it's a pretty weak security measure since I can disable those tasks without any problem.

    Can anyone tell me how to edit this task to prevent it from waking my PC?

    • Answers
  • and31415

    You're not supposed to edit the Automatic Maintenance tasks directly.

    1. Press Win+X, and choose Control Panel from the context menu.
    2. Click System and Security, then Action Center.
    3. Expand the Maintenance category, and click Change maintenance settings.
    4. Uncheck the Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time option.
    5. Optionally, change the scheduled time.
    6. When you're done, click OK to apply the changes.

    • Related Question

    Windows Task Scheduler broken: "service is not available"
  • 2371

    Problem

    I'm trying to run Windows Task Scheduler from the start menu (the command is %SystemRoot%\system32\taskschd.msc /s) but as of very recently, I'm getting an error:

    Task Scheduler service is not available. Verify that the service is running.

    The window then opens as usual except no tasks are displayed and the error "Reading Data Failed" is shown on a few of the panels.

    second screenshot

    Possible Causes

    • ran rpccfg -a 1 and netsh rpc add 127.0.0.1
    • changed PC name twice while computer was still loading
    • installed and used DeltaCopy
    • installed Adobe AIR
    • installed Warsow

    I can't think of any other system changes I've made.

    Things Tried

    • ran rpccfg with the parameter to reset to defaults
    • ran netsh with the parameter to reset to defaults
    • uninstalled DeltaCopy
    • forced the service to restart. The service and its dependencies appear started and looked normal before and after
    • connecting to "another computer" from inside the program and entering credentials for the current machine. This said access denied yesterday but today it says "Connecting as another user is only supported when connecting to a computer running Windows Vista™ or later." and partially works but doesn't show my tasks.

    third screenshot

    but I am on Vista!

    Please help!


    • Related Answers
  • Denja

    You can try a System Restore using a restore point dated far back enough when you think the task Scheduler service was there.

    Go to START> type rstrui - select a restore point

    If you try System Restore,but it says you have no restore points! That does not work for you you might try a repair install.

    Run a Windows System Restore from the Original Windows Vista DVD.

    HERE is a tutorial to do this:
    REPAIR INSTALL VISTA
    IF you do not have the CD/DVD RESTORE of your VISTA try to download this one:
    ALL VISTA RECOVERY CD/DVD

    Hope this can help you fix the problem.
    Den.