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ERROR_INVALID_TASK_NAME
The task name is invalid for the subsystem that returned the code.
ERROR_INVALID_TASK_NAME is Win32 error 1550 (0x60E). Microsoft’s public system-error table defines the message but does not identify one universal public API contract for this value. Therefore it must not automatically be labeled a Task Scheduler error. The word “task” can refer to an internal unit of work in the originating component, and valid syntax, namespace, lifetime, and uniqueness rules come from that component’s API.
Likely classes of invalid input
- the name is empty, too long, malformed, or contains forbidden characters
- the caller passed a display label where a registered internal name is required
- the name belongs to another namespace, version, session, or owning object
- normalization or encoding changed the value before it reached the component
- a stale configuration references a task type removed by a newer build
What must be logged
Capture the exact API, library or service, component version, original task name and its encoded length, parent object or session, operation type, and any component-specific diagnostic returned before conversion to 1550. Redact secrets if the name embeds user input. Without the originating subsystem, the numeric value is too ambiguous for a useful root-cause conclusion.
Diagnostic procedure
Read the contract for the actual function that returned the error and compare the value with its documented naming grammar. Preserve Unicode code points and normalization form when invisible or non-ASCII characters are possible. Check whether a wrapper truncates, lowercases, prefixes, or converts the name to an enum before calling Windows.
Enumerate supported task names through the component’s own discovery API when one exists. Do not probe by repeatedly trying arbitrary names in production. If the code crossed an RPC, COM, or plug-in boundary, compare the client and server versions and generated interface definitions.
Developer response
Reject invalid names at the closest validated boundary, return the allowed format or supported set to the caller, and keep a stable machine-readable identifier separate from a localized display name. Preserve the original 1550 and subsystem identity in telemetry. Administrators should correct the product configuration rather than creating an unrelated Scheduled Task with the same label.
Do not confuse it with Task Scheduler HRESULTs
Task Scheduler exposes its own APIs and many SCHED_* HRESULT values. Error 1550 is a Win32 system code whose public description alone does not establish that Task Scheduler produced it. Attribution requires the actual call stack or component log.
Example
A driver-management service receives the string “maintenance/default” from an older client, while the new service accepts only registered task tokens such as “maintenance.scan”. It returns 1550. Logging the service API and supported tokens makes the problem actionable; calling Task Scheduler would be unrelated.
References
- Microsoft: System Error Codes (1300–1699)
- Microsoft: Win32 Error Codes reference
- Microsoft: Retrieving the last-error code
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