PowerShell Scheduled task failed with error code: 0xFFFD0000 and 4294770688

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After creating a new PowerShell task and copying some parameters from my “old” task i get this strange error code.

How to Run PowerShell scripts from Task Scheduler:

Create new task.
Give it a name.
Run whether user is logged on or not.
Run with highest privileges
Configure for: Highest OS Available
Give it a trigger.
Actions, start a program:

  • Program: powershell.exe
  • Arguments: -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -FILE “C:\PathToPSFile.ps1”
Create PowerShell Task Windows Task Scheduler

As you can see in the Picture below i get both error codes 0xFFFD0000 and 4294770688.

Error code: 4294770688

After troubleshooting a lot with rights, execution policies and other stuff i figured out that Windows did not copied my command very well.
When i copied my arguments to a Command Prompt i saw the strange non-utf character like the picture below.

Removing that character did the trick.

5 comments

  1. I assume it’s a general syntax error as it also happened to me when I forgot to enclose a filepath with quotes. eg. -file c:\some file with spaces in path.ps1

  2. Thank you very much posting about this issue. I had the exact same issue that could only be seen when the text was copied into CMD/PS or you moved the cursor one character at a time.

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