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Accepted
matt wilkie
Asked: 2021-04-08 13:04:32 +0800 CST

Windows Server: scheduled backup not visible in Scheduled Tasks?

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I have set Windows Server 2016 Standard to perform a local backup to a usb drive on a nightly basis at 9pm. The last several runs failed because the destination was disconnected. I've since reconnected it and want to test to make sure it will resume working tonight, as well just get a known-good backup as soon as possible. How do I manually trigger the scheduled backup? I can't find it Task Scheduler.

Under Computer Management >> Task Scheduler >> Task Status, Last 24 Hours I see an item called "Microsoft-Windows-WindowsBackup". Double-clicking on it and right-click context menu don't offer anything. I also can't find a similarily named item under "Active Tasks".

Digging further down in the expanding left hand navigation tree there is no "Windows Backup" or "Backup" or other similar word combination that I've been able to find.

wbadmin screenshot showing last failed and next scheduled backup for 9pm

Task Scheduler screenshot showing Windows Backup ran, but is not in Active Tasks

Backup not in table of contents

backup scheduled-task windows-server-2016

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    The Microsoft-Windows-WindowsBackup item you see in the Tack Scheduler's status log is, indeed, the thing you are looking for. That's the name of the task.

    I don't use Windows Backup, but I installed the feature on a test server to see where it records its scheduled tasks. They appear in the Task Scheduler, under Task Scheduler Library --> Microsoft --> Windows --> Backup.

    Task Scheduler

    Maybe it is in a different place for you. But I can't find a way to drill in to the task as listed in the status log to find out where it lives in the hierarchy.

    I'm wondering if somehow your Task Scheduler control panel got set to only show certain categories. But I can't find any option for not displaying all of the sub-items under Task Scheduler Library --> Microsoft --> Windows. In your screenshot, it would be right where you broke it up. Can you check again, and add a screenshot showing all the way from the A's to the C's?

    Also, I see it in the same place using both the Task Scheduler interface and the Task Scheduler section of the more general Computer Management interface. So that doesn't explain your not seeing it.

    If we can get it to appear in the Active Tasks list -- below the Task Status section -- that would give us the location in one of the fields of that list. But it doesn't appear for me in that list, even though it appears to meet the criteria -- enabled and not expired.

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