Server 2012 Essentials Client Backup Cleanup Not Running

Windows Server 2012 Essentials is raising the following warning every 30 minutes:

Warning Alert: CleanupOverdue is raised at SVR2012E. <Title> A scheduled cleanup task for Client Computer Backup did not finish successfully. <Description> A scheduled cleanup task for Client Computer Backup did not succeed on 3/9/2013 11:59:02 PM. The task has not succeeded in 15 days.. <AdditionalInfo> .

In Task Scheduler, under Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Windows Server, there is a weekly scheduled task named “Cleanup.” According to its description, “This task applies the backup retention policy to clean up the client computer backup database.” Sounds promising, but according to its History tab, it looks like it has never run:

2012E Client Backup Cleanup 1

Other tasks in the same section have history entries, so task scheduler history is enabled. Checking the Event Viewer, the TaskScheduler > Operational log goes back 9 days, so it should definitely include a weekly task.

Run Manually

I decided to try running the task manually. It completed in about 7 minutes with Exit Code 0, and wrote the history as expected:

2012E Client Backup Cleanup 2

What Happened?

I don’t know. The original message said that the cleanup failed on 3/9 11:59pm. But no issues were reported in my 3/10 server report.

I’ll just have to check this next week to see if the scheduled task is running as scheduled.

Update June 10, 2013

Still no clear understanding of what happened here. Possibly something about a task trigger not being registered properly. There are two easy workarounds. Open the Properties of the missed task. On the Triggers tab, either:

  • Change the Start date of the existing trigger. You can leave the time as is. Suggested in a Microsoft TechNet forum thread.
  • Disable or delete the failing trigger. Create a new weekly trigger.

Remember to do this both both weekly tasks, Cleanup and ConsistencyChecker. The 2012 Essentials Health Report only complains about the missing Cleanup job, but ConsistencyChecker is supposed to run weekly as well.

17 thoughts on “Server 2012 Essentials Client Backup Cleanup Not Running

  1. Haje Korth

    Hi,
    I was wondering if you have solved this issue. I have the same problem, the task is scheduled and enabled but has not executed since 3/9/13. The history is empty. manual execution of the task seems to work just fine.

  2. Mark Berry Post author

    No I haven’t solved it. Just checked again this morning because the task was supposed to run overnight: no history. Looking at other “Windows Server” tasks, it seems that tasks that run daily store history, but those that run weekly do not. Post back here if you find any solution / explanation and I’ll do the same.

  3. Haje Korth

    Ok, will do. I am wondering whether the task is executing and failing or whether it does not even start executing in the first place. Need to do some digging…

  4. Haje Korth

    Are you by any chance running the Drivebender or Light Out addin?

  5. Mark Berry Post author

    Nope, not unless those are standard to the 2012E install. I’ve got GFI MAX monitoring on there, SQL Express, not much else…

  6. Mark Berry Post author

    Thanks. I voted and added a comment. Is that Connect site still monitored? It says it’s for “Server 2012 Essentials Pre-Release.”

  7. Jorn

    Same problem here, couldn’t open the link to vote on Connect though, says page not found :(

    Manual running of the task also works fine …

  8. Mark Berry Post author

    Thanks Paul. I’ve also been able to work around this by updating the triggers. I’ve added the workarounds to the article above.

  9. Gabe

    Thank you for the workaround. I have been experiencing this issue with WSE 2012 as well.

  10. gwright

    Well mine has a different problem…all my Windows Server Essentials tasks have somehow had the “action details” changed to “%windir%system32cmd.exe”. They just run and never do anything, never end… Anyone know where I can find the task details to recreate them?

  11. Mark Berry Post author

    gwright: I’ve upgraded to 2012 R2 Essentials so the tasks are a bit different. However, it’s possible that the cmd.exe is the correct program. In Task Scheduler, double-click to open the task, click on the Actions tab, then click on Edit. You should see the Program/script (probably cmd.exe) _and_ optional arguments (which specify which action the cmd processor is to perform).

  12. Sony Antony

    Try running backup repair and run this manually again from scheduler.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.