Odd problem ... Windows Task Scheduler hangs and crashes Explorer

[Carol Haynes]

I have been scouring the web for a solution but nothing has popped up ...

Windows XP SP2

Control Panel > Scheduled Tasks > Add New Task

when I click Next to strt through the scheduler wizard the wizard hangs, eventually has "not responding"  in the Task Manager and remains that way for as long as you leave it.

Clicking close crashes Windows Explorer.

Can't figure out how to get this working properly again

Anyone any ideas what might be going on?

[m_s]

I can't help, but I can confirm the same thing happens for me.  I never use the task scheduler, so wouldn't have noticed without your prompting (and I'm not much bothered either).  I do notice that NOD is hogging the processor while the scheduler tries to run, so I wonder if it's got anything to do with that?

[Carol Haynes]

Disabled NOD and it still doesn't work ...

[f0dder]

You could try finding the scheduler process in sysinternals' Process Explorer, and use the thread view to see where it hangs... might not help a lot, and will be really annoying if the scheduler runs as a svchost process (which it probably does >_<)

[m_s]

I notice it was the NOD kernel process that was hogging, not the AV gui, and I've yet to find a way to turn that off - did you manage it?  Usually, you can disable NOD, but the kernel process keeps running...

[Carol Haynes]

Discovered that if I leave it alone long enough NOD32 service allows the scheduler to start up.

I will write to ESET to ask for advice ...

Also found that the latest Virus update for NOD32 deletes IzyMail - which is a pain (if anyone doesn't know IzyMail is a really good POP client interface to Hotmail - I've been using it for years).