Almost All Scheduled Tasks Fail: The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002)

In Windows 7 x64 I am attempting to create a scheduled task that runs a PowerShell script, but no matter what I try, it fails with the error: "The system cannot find the file specified."

And then I noticed that many other scheduled tasks (Google updater, MS Office stuff, etc) were all failing with the same error.

So I simplified things, and created a straightforward task that does nothing more than run notepad:

• General Tab

• Triggers Tab = No triggers.

• Actions Tab

• Conditions Tab

• Settings Tab

When I run this task, I get the same error, "The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002)"

I have confirmed that notepad.exe exists in the c:\windows\system32 location, and that it is a working executable. In fact, all of the tasks that are failing with that error appear to have legit paths and executables.

This makes me think there is something bigger at work here, like a hosed task scheduler, maybe a Windows Update patch that mucked about with the task scheduler workings.

What could cause this, and/or what are my next troubleshooting steps?

Since there is no answer at all, I answer how I would break it down:

• create the task with a uniqe name
• run procmon.exe
• search for the name of the task (you will find a svchost.exe)
• rightcklick PID (process ID) and choose include ...
• disable Show registry activity in the menubar
• choose Tools \ count occurances
• Select result in Column and klick count
• There should be NAME NOT FOUND value, doublecklick it to filter only this result
• Check the filtered events