"the Scan Task Is Already Running"

Hello Oatmeal,

Could you tell us what task is it about?

And what exactly do you mean by "every morning"? Does it happen when you start up your computer, or your computer stays open at night and you notice those messages when you start using it in the morning?

Cris.

Hello Oatmeal,

Could you tell us what task is it about?

And what exactly do you mean by "every morning"? Does it happen when you start up your computer, or your computer stays open at night and you notice those messages when you start using it in the morning?

Cris.

I can't tell you what task caused this because all I see is a summary of the antivirus scan and an error message. I didn't change any of the installation defaults other than disabling Active Virus Control and excluding the Photoshop Elements 5 folder because BitDefender kills it.

The daily antivirus scan is scheduled to run at 5am. I leave my PC running overnight for backups, windows updates and virus scans. My screen saver locks the PC so that window in the attached image is already shown when I unlock the PC.

BitDefender's default setting to update Antivirus signatures is every hour (?) and that could be part of the issue. I can't find an antivirus log listing in BitDefender (is there one?) but I think the post-scan log stated it took a few hours to finish.

This morning I rescheduled the anti-virus updates to run once a day (But I can't specify the time it is run?) and I've excluded a couple of external drives to shorten the total time it takes to complete an antivirus scan.

I don't know BitDefender well enough to know if it gives me any tools to help you figure this out. Unless you have seen the problem before or know of a way I can see a log or a list of all scheduled tasks to see if there's a conflicting or duplicate scan task that's all I can do.

I can't tell you what task caused this because all I see is a summary of the antivirus scan and an error message.

The name of the scan task is written on the final scan window (marked with RED in the screenshot below).

Also, you can open the scan log (by pressing View log in that last scan window) and in the log it's written the task name.

I didn't change any of the installation defaults other than disabling Active Virus Control and excluding the Photoshop Elements 5 folder because BitDefender kills it.

Could you give a little more details about this? What do you mean that BitDefender kills Photoshop? Does it detect a virus in it, or Active Virus Control reacts to it?

BitDefender's default setting to update Antivirus signatures is every hour (?) and that could be part of the issue.

By default, BitDefender will not perform any updates during a system scan. So if you didn't change that option, it shouldn't cause any problems.

To check that option, go to BitDefender Security Center -> Update -> Settings and make sure the option Don't update if scan is in progress is checked.

I can't find an antivirus log listing in BitDefender (is there one?) but I think the post-scan log stated it took a few hours to finish.

There are multiple ways to see BitDefender scan logs.

First, you can go to BitDefender Security Center -> Antivirus -> Virus scan, right click on the desired scan task and select View logs. You will see a list of scan logs which you can open by double click.

Alternatively, on the BitDefender Security Center main window, at the lower right corner, there's a button named View logs, where you can see all logs related to BitDefender activity. Open it, select the Antivirus category, and you will see 2 lists: one for Realtime Protection, one for OnDemand scans. Scheduled scans will appear under OnDemand Scans. Double clicking an entry will show details. Details about an OnDemand scan also include a button to open the scan log.

This morning I rescheduled the anti-virus updates to run once a day (But I can't specify the time it is run?)

No, you can't schedule a specific time to update. Updates take place regularly, once every X hours (X being the number set in Update Settings).

However, there's no need for such changes since, as I told you, BitDefender can be set not to update during system scans.

Also, you can view/change scans schedule by going to BitDefender Security Center -> Antivirus -> Virus scan. There, any task that has a schedule has a clock icon:

Clicking on that icon opens the schedule settings for that task, where you can edit/remove the schedule.

Any other task can be scheduled by right-clicking on it and selecting Schedule.

Bottom line: please check what task is set to run, and check it's schedule settings. Also, check the logs to see if any error was registered.

Please post back the task settings and schedule settings to see if I can reproduce the problem.

Cris.

/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=5557" data-fileid="5557" rel="">BitDefender_Log_File.pdf

Thanks for your help Cris. How could I overlook so many things? Impatient.

Could you give a little more details about this? What do you mean that BitDefender kills Photoshop? Does it detect a virus in it, or Active Virus Control reacts to it?

That issue is covered here - http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=15247. When I tried to open Photoshop Elements 5 I get an "Attempt to access invalid address error." I tried to add an exception under Antivirus -> Shield -> Advanced Settings but that didn't work so I turned off 'Active Virus Control'. I'm sure a solution will be found eventually.

By default, BitDefender will not perform any updates during a system scan. So if you didn't change that option, it shouldn't cause any problems.

To check that option, go to BitDefender Security Center -> Update -> Settings and make sure the option Don't update if scan is in progress is checked.

This option is checked, one possible cause eliminated.

Bottom line: please check what task is set to run, and check it's schedule settings. Also, check the logs to see if any error was registered.

Please post back the task settings and schedule settings to see if I can reproduce the problem.

I've attached a bunch of screenshots. The scan is set to run daily at 5am. The only errors I see are 12 input/output errors in the scan log (Locked files? see the attached pdf) and errors in the update log because a scan was running.

BitDefender_Log_File.pdf

Everything looks perfectly normal in your screenshots and in the attached PDF. So since it doesn't appear to be a configuration problem, the only thing that's left to try is to see exactly when that message appears.

For this, you should reschedule that task sometime when you are in front of your computer, to see exactly how it reacts. You can set it to run at low priority so it won't use too many system resources (Antivirus -> Virus scan, right click on the task and you will find there an option called Run the task with low priority).

Also, before doing any schedule changes, please find this file:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\BitDefender\Desktop\Profiles\tasks_system.xml

(this is the Windows XP path, but if you copy it in Explorer Address Bar in Vista, it should redirect you to the correct path)

Attach that file to your next post so I can take a look at it.

Cris.

/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=5560" data-fileid="5560" rel="">tasks_system.xml

Would it be the same if I clicked 'Scan Now' under Antivirus -> Shield?

tasks_system.xml

You can try to see if it happens when you manually start a task.

But it also might be a glitch of the scheduler, so you should also test with scheduled scans.

The file you attached also looks OK.

Cris.

I decided that a manual scan might not trigger the same problem so I scheduled a scan this afternoon. The "scan task is already running" warning did not appear. I'll post in the morning with the result of the regular nightly scan.

/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=5564" data-fileid="5564" rel="">BitDefender_Log_File.pdf

Same result this morning. Here's a screenshot and the log file

BitDefender_Log_File.pdf

cstaicu

Do you have a tool that automatically updates your "Date & Time" ?

Do you have a tool that automatically updates your "Date & Time" ?

only the one built into vista. That happens daily at 5:21pm

cstaicu

I see. I was thinking that you may have a tool that updates your clock around 5 AM. So the task starts at 5, then the tool changes the clock for a few seconds, so the clock is set before 5 AM and then the task tries to run again, but it's already started so the message is displayed.

I scheduled a scan this afternoon. The "scan task is already running" warning did not appear.

When you made this test, did you re-schedule the System Scan task, or you made a new schedule for a different scan task?

If you scheduled a different task, try to re-schedule the System scan task (remove the schedule, reboot your system, and make the schedule again), maybe it will work this way.

Cris.

When you made this test, did you re-schedule the System Scan task, or you made a new schedule for a different scan task?

If you scheduled a different task, try to re-schedule the System scan task (remove the schedule, reboot your system, and make the schedule again), maybe it will work this way.

Cris.

I rescheduled the existing task and it continued to pop up. I did not delete the task, reboot and add it again as you suggested here.

Even though the problem is not solved you can lock this thread. I was checking out the trial to see how BitDefender would work and it had too many problems. I have since uninstalled BitDefender.

The problems were:

1) This problem

2) Outlook 2003 not closing, probably because of the BitDefender add-in.

3) incompatibility with Photoshop Elements 5

4) unable to update the past few days

5) rare greyed out system tray icon saying BitDefender was not available

wgillett

I have been seeing some of the same problems since upgrading to BitDefender AntiVirus 2010: (1) just about every day I get the message about "The scan task is already running. Please wait for it to finish...", (2) occasional grey system tray icon saying BitDefender not available and asking me to fill out a trouble report.

Any more information on what's causing this and how to fix it?

WEG

I rescheduled the existing task and it continued to pop up. I did not delete the task, reboot and add it again as you suggested here.

Even though the problem is not solved you can lock this thread. I was checking out the trial to see how BitDefender would work and it had too many problems. I have since uninstalled BitDefender.

The problems were:

1) This problem

2) Outlook 2003 not closing, probably because of the BitDefender add-in.

3) incompatibility with Photoshop Elements 5

4) unable to update the past few days

5) rare greyed out system tray icon saying BitDefender was not available

I have been seeing some of the same problems since upgrading to BitDefender AntiVirus 2010: (1) just about every day I get the message about "The scan task is already running. Please wait for it to finish...", (2) occasional grey system tray icon saying BitDefender not available and asking me to fill out a trouble report.

Any more information on what's causing this and how to fix it?

WEG

I was running the trial to see if there were going to be issues. I didn't find a solution in time so I opted for a different product.

tritechits

I also have the same problem on several client computers, including my own, since upgrading to Bitdefender Antivirus 2010. On some, but not all computers, I get the follwoing message displayed on the screen every morning after the daily 2:00am virus scan.

"The scan task is already running. Please wait for it to finish"

In addition, the BD 2010 system tray icon is greyed out.

Has anyone found a solution?

jlenz

I also have the same problem on several client computers, including my own, since upgrading to Bitdefender Antivirus 2010. On some, but not all computers, I get the follwoing message displayed on the screen every morning after the daily 2:00am virus scan.

"The scan task is already running. Please wait for it to finish"

In addition, the BD 2010 system tray icon is greyed out.

Has anyone found a solution?

Having same issue, except it pops up like EVERY MINUTE! Running 2010 on Windows 7. There are no scheduled tasks in bitdefender, i checked thoroughly. oh, and forget about using game mode, has no effect what so ever.

Alex Stanciu

Hello jlenz,

In order to be able to further investigate this sittuation please follow the steps bellow :

1. Open My Computer.

2. Browse to

C:\Program Files\BitDefender\BitDefender 2010

- considering that BitDefender was installed on the default C partition

3. Doubleclick on the supporttool.exe file .(in case you have Windows Vista or Windows 7, right click on the the supporttool.exe file and choose "Run as administrator" )

4. Click on Next, wait a few minutes for the progress bar to complete and then click on Finish .

5. Go to the desktop, upload the report on http://www.sendspace.com/ then send me a PM with the download link or reply to our email with the report attached .

Thank you.

/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=5979" data-fileid="5979" rel="">bitdefenderscreenshot.pdf

almost always when a scheduled deep system scan starts, a small box pops up which says "Scan task is already running. Please wait for it to finish or cancel it before attempting to run it again." (screenshot uploaded I hope!) The only time of day that this doesn't happen is 930am (I have been experimenting with scheduled start times!!)...there is no evidence that any other scan is running...and I don't think there could be any other scan running because the scan that starts continues to run and is not stopped. I have contacted bitdefender support about this, but haven't had any response about a fix...has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know why this happens? and what if anything can be done to stop it? Thanks.

bitdefenderscreenshot.pdf

Alex Stanciu

Hello rmrubin,

In order to further investigate this sittuation please follow the steps described in my email and reply back with the file that we have aksed you.

Thank you.

Hello rmrubin,

In order to further investigate this sittuation please follow the steps described in my email and reply back with the file that we have aksed you.

Thank you.

I have replied to your email and I am replying here...the file you asked for is attached...here is the text of the email:

Will tell me what the two commands you indicated do?? I did as you said at a command prompt, but it didn't appear that anything happened. I have attached the file you asked for. I don't know what you mean by "If you have the same issues"...am I suppose to wait until the next scheduled scan to see what happens before I send the file? Were the commands performed at the command prompt suppose to correct the problem? It would be helpful if you gave me some more information...am I suppose to post a reply on the forum you moved my question to?? By the by, I have Windows vista and I accessed the command prompt thru Accessories on the All Programs menu...

/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=5982" data-fileid="5982" rel="">tasks_system.xml

tasks_system.xml

altair

Hi, I also have the same problem.

My system is set to be automatically scanned every 3 days.

When I come back to the computer sometime after the scan, there is this message:

"This scan task is already running. Please wait for it to finish, or cancel it before attempting to run it again."

So something is trying to start a second scan job while the first is running.

My computer:

Win XP pro

Intel 8500 dual core

4 G RAM

Aurelian Neagu

Hello Guy.S,

We have sent you an e-mail with some steps you need to take in order to provide us with more information.

Please reply to our e-mail so that we can further investigate this issue.

Thank you.

chavoshi

Hello Guy.S,

We have sent you an e-mail with some steps you need to take in order to provide us with more information.

Please reply to our e-mail so that we can further investigate this issue.

Thank you.

I'm having the same issue originally raised in this given thread. Please advise.

Thanks.

I see that many people are having this problem...I note for all of you that almost always when a scheduled scan starts this box comes up immediately...no other scan is ever running when this happens. I don't think it is affecting the scans...it seems to me it is a software glitch that hopefully BD will eventually fix.

scottg

This same issue is happening for me, and has been for several months (pretty close to the time I upgraded from 2009 to 2010). A few days ago I used the uninstall tool to completely remove any trace of previous BD products, and installed BDTS 2010 again, which was supposed to fix some of the lingering problems users have been experiencing as of late.

OS: Windows XP SP3

BD Product: Total Security 2010

Message: "This scan task is already running. Please wait for it to finish, or cancel it before attempting to run it again."

BD is currently scheduled to run Periodically, every 1 days, at 2:00:00 AM.

I can see under Antivirus->Virus Scan that the last deep system scan completed 2/16/2010 3:56:51PM, and the last system scan completed 2/20/2010 2:30:40 AM (early this morning).

I logged into my computer via remote desktop several times from work today and never saw the message. Then when I got home I logged in around 2/20/2010 6:30 PM, and the dialogue box was up again. So using the uninstall tool and installing 2010 fresh did nothing to correct this issue (one of many I've been experiencing).

I have not manually tried to start a scan, and obviously this wasn't a scheduled scan attempting to run because it starts at 2 AM. Yesterday at 2 AM it completed just fine and did not generate this dialogue box.

BitDefender Support, please assist us in determining root cause for this (and many others) issue, and ultimately providing us with a fix.

Thank you.

Hello all,

As rmrubin said, this issue is not affecting the BitDefender scanning process. The error message appears due to the fact that the same scanning task starts twice at the scheduled time.

This has been acknowledged by our team and is currently being worked on for a fix. The fix will be done by means of automatic update and won't require any additional action from your part.

At this moment please be so kind as to follow the steps bellow and send us the diagnostic reports:

1. Save this file on your computer, extract it and run it;

2. Please go to Start -> run (Search for Windows Vista and 7);

3. Type

cd %programfiles%/bitdefender/bitdefender 2010

and hit Enter;

4. Type

supporttool.exe /vsservtrace on

and hit Enter;

5. A popup should appear asking you to reboot the PC. Reboot the PC;

6. After you are receiving the Scan task is already running message please run the supporttool as follows:

A. Open My Computer

B. Browse to

C:\Program Files\BitDefender\BitDefender 2010

- considering that BitDefender was installed on the default C partition

C. Double click on the supporttool.exe file (in case you have Windows Vista or Windows 7, right click on the the supporttool.exe file and choose "Run as administrator")

D. Click on Next, wait a few minutes for the progress bar to complete and then click on Finish

E. Go to the desktop, upload the report on http://www.sendspace.com/ then send me a PM with the download link;

7. Please also specify the task you scheduled and the start hour for it.

We are looking forward to your reply.

Thank you.

scottg

At this moment please be so kind as to follow the steps bellow and send us the diagnostic reports:

Hi Carmen

This problem was happening to me regularly, about every 1-3 days. Incidentally, after you posted these instructions to capture data, the problem stopped for over 1 month. I thought maybe a silent update was put out that resolved it. I setup the uiscan stuff on 2/23 per your post, and today on 3/27 is the first time this error has popped back up for me.

I captured the support tool output and have PM'd it to you. If any other information would be helpful in isolating or troubleshooting this error, please let me know.

Thanks!

Hello scottg,

We have sent the files to the Testing Team for further investigation and we will let you know if we need anything else. We appreciate that you took the time to follow the steps and send us the diagnostic reports and logs we need.

Thank you.

xxxmagic

Hi guys.

I'm also having this "the Scan Task Is Already Running" issue.

Did any of you had a luck and solve that problem?

Please let me know.

I'm also having this "the Scan Task Is Already Running" issue.

I tried to follow you advice above but the file has been removed.

Is there a fix today?

Hello all,

@xxxmagic:

@evilgiraf:

Please follow the steps presented here

When you have the reports upload them to http://www.sendspace.com/ then send me a PM with the download link along with the task you scheduled and the start hour for it.

Thank you!

Hello all,

@xxxmagic:

@evilgiraf:

Please follow the steps presented here

When you have the reports upload them to http://www.sendspace.com/ then send me a PM with the download link along with the task you scheduled and the start hour for it.

Thank you!

Could you re-read my post fully?

Thanks

I'm also having this "the Scan Task Is Already Running" issue.

I tried to follow you advice above but the file has been removed.

Is there a fix today?

Hello,

Please tell me what advise have you tried to follow (a link to the forum post or a ticket ID) and what is the name of the file removed. Last but not least please explain what you mean by 'file has been removed'.

Thanks,

In your post you suggest following the advice in Post #29 however, when I try to do step 1 [1: Save this file on your computer, extract it and run it], I get the following message: "Sorry, the file you requested is not available"

As I can't get past step one, I can't do as you ask.

Hi Evilgiraf,

Please accept my apologies for the missing file, I have sent you an email containing instructions on how to generate the requested log files for further analysis.

Thank you!

emoas

Hi Evilgiraf,

Please accept my apologies for the missing file, I have sent you an email containing instructions on how to generate the requested log files for further analysis.

Thank you!

I'm experiencing the same issue, please email me required files to help diagnose the problem. A couple of things I'll add to what's already been posted. When I check out BD settings, it shows two scans are running, a deep system scan and system scan (tried to upload screen capture but I don't seem to have permissions to do that). When I right click on either scan and try to use the commands (show scan path, view log, etc.), I don't get any response on those commands. I see two instances of uiscan.exe running in my task manager, not sure if those are the scan tasks or not. Log shows last deep system scan was completed on 5/18/2010, which I started manually.

The downside to all this is that scheduled scans are not running at all. I would appreciate any help, since I really don't have effective AV protection at this point. I've been using BD for over a year and this is first major issue I've experienced, which seems to coincide with the 2010 upgrade.

The file created is >170Mb in size! I cannot email this to you.

Hello,

@evilgiraf: please upload it HERE then send me a PM with the Ticket ID and the download link.

@DC_Guy: an email with the instructions on how to resolve the issue you are facing has been sent to your email address associated with your forum account. Please note that even if you can't start a scan that does not mean your computer is not protected. The real time protection is working with or without having a scheduled/manual scan working.

Regards,

emoas

Quick update on this. I was not able to terminate the two instances of uiscan.exe that I noted in my post yesterday. So I rebooted my machine and those two instances of uiscan.exe disappeared. My system scan ran normally at scheduled time overnight, and I only saw one record of scan in the log file. So for now this problem seems to have been corrected by a reboot that terminated two instances of uiscan.exe that seemed to be hanging somehow. I don't normally reboot my machine very often, so these could have be hung for some time.

Hi DC_Guy,

Glad to see that the issue was resolved. I would recommend you to keep the option 'Wait for reboot instead of prompting' NOT checked as you will be notified when a major update has been installed and your computer needs to be restarted considering that you do not reboot your PC that often.

Offtopic, If I may ask, what does DC stand for ? District of Columbia ?

Cheers!

I see nothing has happened since my last post in February...and I still get the same message each morning when I look at scan results...perhaps BD should go back to the 2009 version which didn't have this problem and start over with whatever upgrades were put in for the 2010 version...as before, the error still does not seem to affect scanning...

Hello RmRubin,

I have sent you an email with instructions on how to further investigate and resolve the scanning issue you encounter. Please check the email address associated with your forum account. Send me the requested log files and you will have my answer back as soon as possible.

Regards,

Figment

Hello RmRubin,

I have sent you an email with instructions on how to further investigate and resolve the scanning issue you encounter. Please check the email address associated with your forum account. Send me the requested log files and you will have my answer back as soon as possible.

Regards,

I guess I better request that email too. I bought BDAV2010 a few months back. But I didn't start getting this problem until a few weeks ago. What worries me is I don't think it's completing a scan due to this message popping up.

I was watching a movie just now (My AV is set to scan at 5AM) and noticed BD fired up. Within a few seconds, the Scan Task is already running window popped up. I clicked ok, and that was all she wrote. No scan or anything.

This bothers me as this means that for the last couple weeks, BitDefender hasn't been protecting my system like it's supposed to.

So if you don't mind, shoot me that email so I can get this problem fixed.

System specs:

AMD 2.6 Phenom

4 Gig RAM

1 Gig nVidia Graphics Card

Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit

Figment

Hello RmRubin,

I have sent you an email with instructions on how to further investigate and resolve the scanning issue you encounter. Please check the email address associated with your forum account. Send me the requested log files and you will have my answer back as soon as possible.

Regards,

...Nearly 24 Hours later...No email, no reply to my forum post.

I'm starting to get worried about this purchase.

Figment

...Nearly 24 Hours later...No email, no reply to my forum post.

I'm starting to get worried about this purchase.

Ok so a new update. I changed my scheduled scan time. Same error. And now BD has found a trojan and can't get rid of it.

I'm starting to consider a refund on this, since it doesn't appear that the software is doing what it's supposed to. Some tech support would be nice about now