What is mmtask?

J. P. Gilliver · External Since: Aug 07, 2006 Posts: 73

Recently, I tried to load some software (image and video viewer, I think)
from an old (pre-98 I think) CD. It seemed to screw things up pretty well,
so I went back to an ERD which I had saved not long before. Now most things
work OK, but I get three or four errors during boot. They are quite an
old-fashioned error box: two buttons, labelled something like Ignore and
Cancel, and no title bar (so no close boxes). When I accept them (Ignore I
think), all is well.

They seem to be associated with sounds, though that could be incidental: the
Windows startup sound, and the EZdesk restore chorus. For the first two, the
accused task (the error box says what it thinks has done something naughty)
is mmtask, and the second two EZdesk.

The only file I can find called mmtask - which isn't a .exe, .bat., or
..com - has a date and version number that matchs a lot of the other files
that are part of my Windows installation: date 23rd April (1998 or '9 IIRR),
version (IIRR) ending in 2222. I've virus-checked with fairly up-to-date
data files (not that anything from that CD would be at all recent!), and
found nothing.

Any thoughts? (Constructive I mean of course - "don't load dodgy software"
is obvious!)

The only other symptom, which might be nothing to do with it but I mention
it as I think the rogue _was_ a pic/vid viewer, is that I have some movie
files from one of these solid-state camcorders (mp4 or Xvid format,
something like that - I think they're .avi file extension), and how these
play has changed. Usually, for pictures and video, I let IrfanView run, as
it seems to pick up whatever CoDecs are installed and use them, with a lot
less fuss than MediaPlayer. It used to play these, though rather jerkily;
now it doesn't, but Media Player does, and smoothly (I think that used to
play them jerkily too). Since I imagine that whatever CoDec I have installed
which WMP is using is far newer than the rogue software, this change may be
purely coincidental, but it does seem a coincidence.

According to its "Properties", the mmtask file is Microsoft and something to
do with scheduling media somethings.

Don Phillipson · External Since: Oct 10, 2006 Posts: 283

"J. P. Gilliver" <john.gilliver.DeleteThis@baesystems.com> wrote in message
news:461e4e30$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...

> Recently, I tried to load some software (image and video viewer, I think)
> from an old (pre-98 I think) CD. It seemed to screw things up pretty well,
> so I went back to an ERD which I had saved not long before. Now most
things
> work OK, but I get three or four errors during boot. . . .
> The only file I can find called mmtask - which isn't a .exe, .bat., or
> .com - has a date and version number that matchs a lot of the other files
> that are part of my Windows installation: date 23rd April (1998 or '9
IIRR),
> version (IIRR) ending in 2222.

Default installation creates a subfolder
C:\Windows\Tasks
which should have in it (at least) one icon named
"Add Scheduled Task"
which calls up the Wizard to execute specified
tasks at assigned times (formerly used by office
PCs to run DEFRAG overnight etc.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

J. P. Gilliver · External Since: Aug 07, 2006 Posts: 73

"J. P. Gilliver" <john.gilliver DeleteThis @baesystems.com> wrote in message
news:461e4e30$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
[]
> work OK, but I get three or four errors during boot. They are quite an
> old-fashioned error box: two buttons, labelled something like Ignore and
> Cancel, and no title bar (so no close boxes). When I accept them (Ignore I
> think), all is well.
[]
Ignore and Close, they are. (Someone gave the full wording in another post
near here - something like losing your work.)

Jeff Richards · External Since: Mar 14, 2004 Posts: 1333

MMTask.tsk is a process that manages background multimedia operations. You
can use the machine without it, although some multimedia stuff won't work
properly. Just rename it to something else, reboot, and see what the
effect is.

If it turns out to be the problem, the error probably isn't with mmtask but
with some multimedia component that mmtask is trying to manage.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"J. P. Gilliver" <john.gilliver.TakeThisOut@baesystems.com> wrote in message
news:461e4e30$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
> Recently, I tried to load some software (image and video viewer, I think)
> from an old (pre-98 I think) CD. It seemed to screw things up pretty well,
> so I went back to an ERD which I had saved not long before. Now most
> things work OK, but I get three or four errors during boot. They are quite
> an old-fashioned error box: two buttons, labelled something like Ignore
> and Cancel, and no title bar (so no close boxes). When I accept them
> (Ignore I think), all is well.
>
> They seem to be associated with sounds, though that could be incidental:
> the Windows startup sound, and the EZdesk restore chorus. For the first
> two, the accused task (the error box says what it thinks has done
> something naughty) is mmtask, and the second two EZdesk.
>
> The only file I can find called mmtask - which isn't a .exe, .bat., or
> .com - has a date and version number that matchs a lot of the other files
> that are part of my Windows installation: date 23rd April (1998 or '9
> IIRR), version (IIRR) ending in 2222. I've virus-checked with fairly
> up-to-date data files (not that anything from that CD would be at all
> recent!), and found nothing.
>
> Any thoughts? (Constructive I mean of course - "don't load dodgy software"
> is obvious!)
>
> The only other symptom, which might be nothing to do with it but I mention
> it as I think the rogue _was_ a pic/vid viewer, is that I have some movie
> files from one of these solid-state camcorders (mp4 or Xvid format,
> something like that - I think they're .avi file extension), and how these
> play has changed. Usually, for pictures and video, I let IrfanView run, as
> it seems to pick up whatever CoDecs are installed and use them, with a lot
> less fuss than MediaPlayer. It used to play these, though rather jerkily;
> now it doesn't, but Media Player does, and smoothly (I think that used to
> play them jerkily too). Since I imagine that whatever CoDec I have
> installed which WMP is using is far newer than the rogue software, this
> change may be purely coincidental, but it does seem a coincidence.
>
> According to its "Properties", the mmtask file is Microsoft and something
> to do with scheduling media somethings.
>

J. P. Gilliver · External Since: Aug 07, 2006 Posts: 73

"Jeff Richards" <JRichards DeleteThis @msn.com.au> wrote in message
news:e9WjgxafHHA.4872@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> MMTask.tsk is a process that manages background multimedia operations.
> You can use the machine without it, although some multimedia stuff won't
> work properly. Just rename it to something else, reboot, and see what
> the effect is.
>
> If it turns out to be the problem, the error probably isn't with mmtask
> but with some multimedia component that mmtask is trying to manage.

Thanks: I'd got the impression it was something like that. (I have the
computer set to play "ding" twice and "tadaa" once at points between 7:30
and 7:50 or so, which I used once when staying somewhere where I didn't have
an alarm clock. I've left these in, as they provide a useful reminder that
time is passing! Will they still work if I rename mmtask.tsk?)

Any idea why it's gone wrong though? The "alarm clock" was working fine for
months. Obviously it seems likely it has something to do with the ancient
software I tried to install, but how can I fix it, which I'd like to do,
rather than just commenting disabling some functionality, which sems like
admitting defeat. I've tried ERD-ing to a set I'd saved before that, but it
didn't cure it this time.

It may or may not have anything to do with it, but AVG keeps finding a
trojan in a file called CCsomething which is in a subdirectory of
\windows\temp (but isn't there when I look for it); I _think_ it's
regenerated by a screensaver starting up, especially if it's one that has
sound. (I select the "clean" option in AVG, and it so far has always
reported success in cleaning the file.)

> --
> Jeff Richards
> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
> "J. P. Gilliver" <john.gilliver DeleteThis @baesystems.com> wrote in message
> news:461e4e30$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
>> Recently, I tried to load some software (image and video viewer, I think)
>> from an old (pre-98 I think) CD. It seemed to screw things up pretty
>> well, so I went back to an ERD which I had saved not long before. Now
>> most things work OK, but I get three or four errors during boot. They are
>> quite an old-fashioned error box: two buttons, labelled something like
>> Ignore and Cancel, and no title bar (so no close boxes). When I accept
>> them (Ignore I think), all is well.
>>
>> They seem to be associated with sounds, though that could be incidental:
>> the Windows startup sound, and the EZdesk restore chorus. For the first
>> two, the accused task (the error box says what it thinks has done
>> something naughty) is mmtask, and the second two EZdesk.
>>
>> The only file I can find called mmtask - which isn't a .exe, .bat., or
>> .com - has a date and version number that matchs a lot of the other files
>> that are part of my Windows installation: date 23rd April (1998 or '9
>> IIRR), version (IIRR) ending in 2222. I've virus-checked with fairly
>> up-to-date data files (not that anything from that CD would be at all
>> recent!), and found nothing.
>>
>> Any thoughts? (Constructive I mean of course - "don't load dodgy
>> software" is obvious!)
>>
>> The only other symptom, which might be nothing to do with it but I
>> mention it as I think the rogue _was_ a pic/vid viewer, is that I have
>> some movie files from one of these solid-state camcorders (mp4 or Xvid
>> format, something like that - I think they're .avi file extension), and
>> how these play has changed. Usually, for pictures and video, I let
>> IrfanView run, as it seems to pick up whatever CoDecs are installed and
>> use them, with a lot less fuss than MediaPlayer. It used to play these,
>> though rather jerkily; now it doesn't, but Media Player does, and
>> smoothly (I think that used to play them jerkily too). Since I imagine
>> that whatever CoDec I have installed which WMP is using is far newer than
>> the rogue software, this change may be purely coincidental, but it does
>> seem a coincidence.
>>
>> According to its "Properties", the mmtask file is Microsoft and something
>> to do with scheduling media somethings.
>>
>
>

Jeff Richards · External Since: Mar 14, 2004 Posts: 1333

The connection to the trojan is difficult to ignore. If it's trying to
exploit something in a MM component then the error you are seeing is very
likely if your AV has deleted or removed or renamed files as part of the
cleaning process.

Removing or renaming MMTask was simply to confirm it as the source of the
error.

I would take out all MM components from startup, including screen savers and
similar until the system operates properly with MMTask running, then add
them back one by one to see at what point the error re-appears.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"J. P. Gilliver" <john.gilliver RemoveThis @baesystems.com> wrote in message
news:4627a4eb$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
> "Jeff Richards" <JRichards RemoveThis @msn.com.au> wrote in message
> news:e9WjgxafHHA.4872@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> MMTask.tsk is a process that manages background multimedia operations.
>> You can use the machine without it, although some multimedia stuff won't
>> work properly. Just rename it to something else, reboot, and see what
>> the effect is.
>>
>> If it turns out to be the problem, the error probably isn't with mmtask
>> but with some multimedia component that mmtask is trying to manage.
>
> Thanks: I'd got the impression it was something like that. (I have the
> computer set to play "ding" twice and "tadaa" once at points between 7:30
> and 7:50 or so, which I used once when staying somewhere where I didn't
> have an alarm clock. I've left these in, as they provide a useful reminder
> that time is passing! Will they still work if I rename mmtask.tsk?)
>
> Any idea why it's gone wrong though? The "alarm clock" was working fine
> for months. Obviously it seems likely it has something to do with the
> ancient software I tried to install, but how can I fix it, which I'd like
> to do, rather than just commenting disabling some functionality, which
> sems like admitting defeat. I've tried ERD-ing to a set I'd saved before
> that, but it didn't cure it this time.
>
> It may or may not have anything to do with it, but AVG keeps finding a
> trojan in a file called CCsomething which is in a subdirectory of
> \windows\temp (but isn't there when I look for it); I _think_ it's
> regenerated by a screensaver starting up, especially if it's one that has
> sound. (I select the "clean" option in AVG, and it so far has always
> reported success in cleaning the file.)
>
>> --
>> Jeff Richards
>> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
>> "J. P. Gilliver" <john.gilliver RemoveThis @baesystems.com> wrote in message
>> news:461e4e30$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
>>> Recently, I tried to load some software (image and video viewer, I
>>> think) from an old (pre-98 I think) CD. It seemed to screw things up
>>> pretty well, so I went back to an ERD which I had saved not long before.
>>> Now most things work OK, but I get three or four errors during boot.
>>> They are quite an old-fashioned error box: two buttons, labelled
>>> something like Ignore and Cancel, and no title bar (so no close boxes).
>>> When I accept them (Ignore I think), all is well.
>>>
>>> They seem to be associated with sounds, though that could be incidental:
>>> the Windows startup sound, and the EZdesk restore chorus. For the first
>>> two, the accused task (the error box says what it thinks has done
>>> something naughty) is mmtask, and the second two EZdesk.
>>>
>>> The only file I can find called mmtask - which isn't a .exe, .bat., or
>>> .com - has a date and version number that matchs a lot of the other
>>> files that are part of my Windows installation: date 23rd April (1998 or
>>> '9 IIRR), version (IIRR) ending in 2222. I've virus-checked with fairly
>>> up-to-date data files (not that anything from that CD would be at all
>>> recent!), and found nothing.
>>>
>>> Any thoughts? (Constructive I mean of course - "don't load dodgy
>>> software" is obvious!)
>>>
>>> The only other symptom, which might be nothing to do with it but I
>>> mention it as I think the rogue _was_ a pic/vid viewer, is that I have
>>> some movie files from one of these solid-state camcorders (mp4 or Xvid
>>> format, something like that - I think they're .avi file extension), and
>>> how these play has changed. Usually, for pictures and video, I let
>>> IrfanView run, as it seems to pick up whatever CoDecs are installed and
>>> use them, with a lot less fuss than MediaPlayer. It used to play these,
>>> though rather jerkily; now it doesn't, but Media Player does, and
>>> smoothly (I think that used to play them jerkily too). Since I imagine
>>> that whatever CoDec I have installed which WMP is using is far newer
>>> than the rogue software, this change may be purely coincidental, but it
>>> does seem a coincidence.
>>>
>>> According to its "Properties", the mmtask file is Microsoft and
>>> something to do with scheduling media somethings.
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

J. P. Gilliver · External Since: Aug 07, 2006 Posts: 73

"Jeff Richards" <JRichards.RemoveThis@msn.com.au> wrote in message
news:OOJjSuygHHA.1292@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> The connection to the trojan is difficult to ignore. If it's trying to
> exploit something in a MM component then the error you are seeing is very
> likely if your AV has deleted or removed or renamed files as part of the
> cleaning process.
>
> Removing or renaming MMTask was simply to confirm it as the source of the
> error.
>
> I would take out all MM components from startup, including screen savers
> and similar until the system operates properly with MMTask running, then
> add them back one by one to see at what point the error re-appears.

Sorry to be so slow in providing followup. My system is now back behaving OK
(including MM functions); unfortunately I can't remember what I did to make
it so! (_Might_ have something to do with some codec I loaded or reloaded,
as it plays certain kinds of movie files better than it did when things were
bad.)

Thanks again all!
> --
> Jeff Richards
> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
> "J. P. Gilliver" <john.gilliver.RemoveThis@baesystems.com> wrote in message
> news:4627a4eb$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
>> "Jeff Richards" <JRichards.RemoveThis@msn.com.au> wrote in message
>> news:e9WjgxafHHA.4872@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>> MMTask.tsk is a process that manages background multimedia operations.
>>> You can use the machine without it, although some multimedia stuff won't
>>> work properly. Just rename it to something else, reboot, and see what
>>> the effect is.
>>>
>>> If it turns out to be the problem, the error probably isn't with mmtask
>>> but with some multimedia component that mmtask is trying to manage.
>>
>> Thanks: I'd got the impression it was something like that. (I have the
>> computer set to play "ding" twice and "tadaa" once at points between 7:30
>> and 7:50 or so, which I used once when staying somewhere where I didn't
>> have an alarm clock. I've left these in, as they provide a useful
>> reminder that time is passing! Will they still work if I rename
>> mmtask.tsk?)
>>
>> Any idea why it's gone wrong though? The "alarm clock" was working fine
>> for months. Obviously it seems likely it has something to do with the
>> ancient software I tried to install, but how can I fix it, which I'd like
>> to do, rather than just commenting disabling some functionality, which
>> sems like admitting defeat. I've tried ERD-ing to a set I'd saved before
>> that, but it didn't cure it this time.
>>
>> It may or may not have anything to do with it, but AVG keeps finding a
>> trojan in a file called CCsomething which is in a subdirectory of
>> \windows\temp (but isn't there when I look for it); I _think_ it's
>> regenerated by a screensaver starting up, especially if it's one that has
>> sound. (I select the "clean" option in AVG, and it so far has always
>> reported success in cleaning the file.)
>>
>>> --
>>> Jeff Richards
>>> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
>>> "J. P. Gilliver" <john.gilliver.RemoveThis@baesystems.com> wrote in message
>>> news:461e4e30$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
>>>> Recently, I tried to load some software (image and video viewer, I
>>>> think) from an old (pre-98 I think) CD. It seemed to screw things up
>>>> pretty well, so I went back to an ERD which I had saved not long
>>>> before. Now most things work OK, but I get three or four errors during
>>>> boot. They are quite an old-fashioned error box: two buttons, labelled
>>>> something like Ignore and Cancel, and no title bar (so no close boxes).
>>>> When I accept them (Ignore I think), all is well.
>>>>
>>>> They seem to be associated with sounds, though that could be
>>>> incidental: the Windows startup sound, and the EZdesk restore chorus.
>>>> For the first two, the accused task (the error box says what it thinks
>>>> has done something naughty) is mmtask, and the second two EZdesk.
>>>>
>>>> The only file I can find called mmtask - which isn't a .exe, .bat., or
>>>> .com - has a date and version number that matchs a lot of the other
>>>> files that are part of my Windows installation: date 23rd April (1998
>>>> or '9 IIRR), version (IIRR) ending in 2222. I've virus-checked with
>>>> fairly up-to-date data files (not that anything from that CD would be
>>>> at all recent!), and found nothing.
>>>>
>>>> Any thoughts? (Constructive I mean of course - "don't load dodgy
>>>> software" is obvious!)
>>>>
>>>> The only other symptom, which might be nothing to do with it but I
>>>> mention it as I think the rogue _was_ a pic/vid viewer, is that I have
>>>> some movie files from one of these solid-state camcorders (mp4 or Xvid
>>>> format, something like that - I think they're .avi file extension), and
>>>> how these play has changed. Usually, for pictures and video, I let
>>>> IrfanView run, as it seems to pick up whatever CoDecs are installed and
>>>> use them, with a lot less fuss than MediaPlayer. It used to play these,
>>>> though rather jerkily; now it doesn't, but Media Player does, and
>>>> smoothly (I think that used to play them jerkily too). Since I imagine
>>>> that whatever CoDec I have installed which WMP is using is far newer
>>>> than the rogue software, this change may be purely coincidental, but it
>>>> does seem a coincidence.
>>>>
>>>> According to its "Properties", the mmtask file is Microsoft and
>>>> something to do with scheduling media somethings.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>