Fix Windows Task Scheduler Error 0x1
The Windows Task Scheduler is a task scheduler in Windows that launches computer programs or scripts at pre-defined times or after specified time intervals. In this article, you will learn how to fix Windows Task Scheduler Error 0x1. Here are some related guides: Python Automation in Windows with Visual Studio Code, Run the Python Script via Task Scheduler, and How to Automate Windows Update with PowerShell and Task Scheduler.
The exit code 0x1 in the Task Scheduler means an Incorrect function called or an unknown function called. The error can be difficult to solve as it is ambiguous. Here are some possible reasons for the 0x1 Error Status.
But in my case, I went through all these steps to ensure these issues are eliminated.
- The message suggests that the Task Scheduler service was unable to save the file to the network share as it is in my case. This could be due to a permissions issue, network connectivity issue, or some other issue related to the Task Scheduler service.
- You could try running the task with a different user account that has the necessary permissions to access the network share. Or try saving the file to a local directory instead of the network share.
- Additionally, check the network connectivity and ensure that the network share is accessible from the computer where the task is running.
Note: Verify that the service account has been assigned 'Modify' permissions on the associated shared folder. If there is a script that is intended to execute first fails. Such as one designed to remove spaces from file, subsequent scripts may also fail. This is likely because they depend on the successful completion of the initial script. In my case, the script responsible for eliminating spaces did not run correctly due to permission issues. This caused the rest of the scripts to fail but not the main reason for this error code. Also, I would recommend running the python script from the terminal to see if there is any errors. One error I found on a new system was "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'matplotlib'". Installed and upgraded the matplotlib module and the task scheduler job also worked.See below for a troubleshooting scenario to fix dependencies.
Please, see the guide to Remote Desktop Connection Properties for Secure Access, and “RDP Configuration Settings: Connect automatically to RDP session”.
Task Scheduler (0x1)
The Task Scheduler (0x1) is associated with a system path issue. When you check the task history or event logs, the task does run successfully but the actual result will never be achieved. Please see how to fix Windows Task Scheduler 0x2 Error.
Event Viewer\Applications\Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler\Operational
Note: When you take a look at the event log, you will notice that the task was completed successfully. It becomes tricky when this is the case. But I will walk you through how to resolve this issue.
Here are some related topics: How to automate Windows Update with PowerShell and Task Scheduler, Task scheduler errors, and success code |What does code 0x41301 mean?, how to create, edit and delete a scheduled task via the Command Prompt, and Windows Admin Center Error: Scheduled task status prompts error 0x800710E0.
Why was this error prompted?
In my case, the issue had to do with the following parameters “Action, Program\script, Add arguments (optional), or the Start in(optional)“. In the resolution step, I will show you how t fix this task.
Resolution to 0x1 Exit Code
I will not be showing you the steps to launch the Windows Task Scheduler with images. Here is an article on it: Run Python Script via Windows Task Scheduler. Also, see how to fix Windows Task Scheduler 0x2 Error.
Open the task scheduler by clicking start and typing in “Task Scheduler”. Click to open it. Click task scheduler library, and then right-click on the required task and select the properties
On the Actions Tab, click on Edit as shown below. In the Start in (Optional) field type in the required path only. If this field is omitted, the following 0x1 Error Status will be prompted if not done correctly. Please specify the following parameters:
Action: Start a program
Program\script: [Paths o the Python executable]
Add arguments (optional): [Add command line argument if any]
Start in(optional): [Directory path where python script exist]. If omitted, 0x1 error will be prompted for a Pytho script.
Alternatively, you could specify the right path only in the Add arguments (optional) field as shown below. and this will be sufficient as well.
C:\techda\xxxx\PythonScripts\yourscript.pyYou could also determine the Python installation path via the Python interactive Shell as shown below or Command Prompt by using the Where Python command. In this case, Python was not installed from the Microsoft store. Please see this guide for an alternative step: How to run Python Script via Windows Task Scheduler“.
As you can see, the task is running. I highly recommend you see Task Scheduler Errors and Success Codes: What does the Error Code 0x41301 Mean? The Code 0x41301 simply means the task is currently running.
Re-run the scheduled task again. When this is done, the last run result is 0x0 which means the task ran successfully as shown below.
Logging and Error-Handling to Debug Task Scheduler Error 0x1
If none of these steps above works which I am pretty sure will. Kindly add an exception handler to the script to log the traceback. For example, you could use the logging module to write detailed logs to a file or add try/except blocks to catch and handle exceptions.
You can see this guide for more information “Python Automation in Windows with Visual Studio Code“. To troubleshoot this issue further. You could try the following steps:
Alternatively, consider using a different scheduling tool or method to execute the script, such as a third-party scheduling tool or a Windows service. One example of a third-party scheduling tool is called "Task Scheduler Pro"Let us run with the first option to add logging and error handling to the script. For example, you could use the logging module to write detailed logs to a file or add try/except blocks to catch and handle exceptions.
You can add logging to your Python script using the built-in logging module. For example, you can add try/except blocks to catch exceptions and log them to a file. Here is an example of how to do this:
import logging
# Configure logging
logging.basicConfig(filename='script.log', level=logging.DEBUG)
# Use logging to write messages to the log file
logging.debug('Starting script')
try:
# Your script code here (Copy and paste here and indent correctly)
except Exception as e:
# Handle exceptions and log the error
logging.error(str(e))In this example, logging is configured to write messages at the DEBUG level and above to a file named script.log. You can use different logging levels to control the verbosity of the logs, such as INFO, WARNING, ERROR, and CRITICAL.
Inside the try block, you can write your script code as usual. If an exception occurs, it will be caught by the except block, where you can handle the exception and log the error message using the logging.error() function.
Please see these related articles: Run or Edit and Delete Tasks via Windows Task Scheduler, Ansible: No python interpreters found for the host, how to fix “The action cannot be completed because the folder or file is open in another program: How to determine where a file is open in windows, and how to fix Windows Task Scheduler Service Greyed Out in Services MMC.
View the log output
This will write any exceptions to a file called “script.log” in the same directory as the script. You can choose to specify a different directory if you wish.
This can help you diagnose any issues that may be occurring when trying to access or write to the UNC folder. Below is the output of the logging and error handling we added to the Python script.
Note: This error occurs when Python does not detect the matplotlib library in your current environment. But with the steps above, this error was eliminated. Scenario based troubleshooting – Service Account requires local admin rights but fails without elevated rights
Running Python scripts does not require the account to have local administrator rights on the PC or in Task Scheduler. If issues occur, they are caused by problems with the Python installation, Matplotlib, or its dependencies.
As you can see below, Matlpotlib is “System-Wide” installed as this is recommended for shared usage. Therefore, there is a need to install Matplotlip as an Administrator, else it will default to user context install. Here, all users including services accounts should have read access to it.
PS C:\windows\system32> python -c "import matplotlib; print(matplotlib.__file__)"
C:\Program Files\Python313\Lib\site-packages\matplotlib\__init__.pyNote: it is not possible to install Matplotlib specifically for service account’s in user Context for non-interactive account (non-login accounts) because, it is not possible to login interactively or via RDP, or use runas with this account.
Next, verify if matplotlib is installed system-wide
PS C:\windows\system32> & "C:\Program Files\Python313\python.exe" -m pip install matplotlib
Requirement already satisfied: matplotlib in c:\program files\python313\lib\site-packages (3.10.3) ---> as shown above with a different command
Requirement already satisfied: contourpy>=1.0.1 in c:\users\matthew\appdata\roaming\python\python313\site-packages (from matplotlib) (1.3.2)As you can see above, contourpy dependency is missing for the system wide installation. But, let me verify if matplotlib works system wide and and accessible to that Python interpreter. It also shows Matplotlib and its dependencies are correctly installed for that Python environment. But this is not exactly true in my case as shown above already.
PS C:\windows\system32> & "C:\Program Files\Python313\python.exe" -c "import matplotlib; print(matplotlib.__version__)"
3.10.3
PS C:\windows\system32>Determine where Python is installed
This command python -m site displays the locations where Python looks for packages and modules, including user-specific and system-wide site-packages directories.
PS C:\windows\system32> python -m site
sys.path = [
'C:\\windows\\system32',
'C:\\Program Files\\Python313\\python313.zip',
'C:\\Program Files\\Python313\\DLLs',
'C:\\Program Files\\Python313\\Lib',
'C:\\Program Files\\Python313',
'C:\\Users\\matthew\\AppData\\Roaming\\Python\\Python313\\site-packages',
'C:\\Program Files\\Python313\\Lib\\site-packages',
]
USER_BASE: 'C:\\Users\\matthew\\AppData\\Roaming\\Python' (exists)
USER_SITE: 'C:\\Users\\matthew\\AppData\\Roaming\\Python\\Python313\\site-packages' (exists)
ENABLE_USER_SITE: True
PS C:\windows\system32>As you can see above, the USER_BASE refers to the base directory for user-specific installations of Python packages. Here is where “pip install –user” installs packages for just the current user without requiring admin rights.
The fix to resolving Matplotlib dependencies
To fix this issue, launch PowerShell as an Admin and run the following command below to fix your issue. This command ensures any corrupted or partial installation is replaced with a clean, complete one.
& "C:\Program Files\Python313\python.exe" -m pip install --upgrade --force-reinstall matplotlib
The below command did not resolve the dependencies in my case but the above.
& "C:\Program Files\Python313\python.exe" -m pip install matplotlib".In summary, I can say Matplotlib is installed system-wide, and that its dependencies (contourpy) is not installed as system wide but installed only for user current user. This is why the local admin rights is required. The fix, is to reinstall or ensure all dependencies of Matplotlib are installed system-wide.
This will reinstall matplotlib and all its dependencies (like contourpy), and ensure they go into C:\Program Files\Python313\Lib\site-packages, not user folders
I hope you found this blog post helpful on how to fix Windows Task Scheduler Error 0x1. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.
