Unwanted Tasks Added to Schedule

DERoss

Member
When I erase a file via the Windows Explorer context menu, a task is automatically added to Eraser's schedule. Sometimes, this results in duplicate tasks. I only want those tasks that I explicitly create during a drag-and-drop operation. How do I prevent automatic creation of tasks?
 
Do you stiull have this issue? Eraser creates a task for each job and should delete any ad-hoc tasks once completed.
 
Under Settings, I have checked the checkbox for "Automatically remove tasks which run immediately and completed successfully". I still have this problem.
 
Have released a new version here - this version targets Win10 and fixes your issue plus a few other items.
Let me know how it goes.
 
The link to Eraser 6.2.0.2987 is for a stub installer. How can I get a full installer. It is my practice -- based on 30+ years of doing configuration management on software -- to disable my Internet connection when installing new or updated software.
 
Aha! I jumped to a conclusion (about the only exercise I get) based on the size of the installer file. Apparently, prior versions of Eraser included .NET and were thus much larger. I installed .NET 4.7.2 on 30 July 2018 installed all updates through 5 February 2020 (my installation date, not Microsoft's issuing date). Thus, I was able to install Eraser 6.2.0.2987 with my Internet connection disabled and without further installing .NET 4.7.2.

However, the problem still exists. I copied a 195 KB file onto my Windows desktop. I right-clicked on the file and selected [Eraser > Erase] from the pull-down context menu. On the resulting Erase Items dialogue, I selected the Yes button. When the file was erased, I terminated and relaunched Eraser. A task to erase that file had been created.
 
YES!! It worked. Thank you. I think this issue is now closed. HOWEVER, version 6.2.0.2988 is not yet available to the general public. The old configuration manager in me (30+ years) thinks this problem should be held open until that version becomes available.
 
Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64
Eraser 6.2.0.2989

I selected a file, right-click, and select Eraser from the pull-down context menu. When I was done, I terminated Eraser. When I launched Eraser again, it had a new task for the file that I erased. This seems to be a regression but with a difference, the difference being the status is now "Queued for execution" instead of "Not queued".
 
Are we sure this file was not in use at the time and the task got queued for the scheduler?
Will the same happen for a text document?
 
I copied a plain-text file (extension .txt) and pasted it on my Windows desktop as erase-test.txt. Using Notepad, I added several lines of random text. Then I waited several minutes.

I selected the file erase-test.txt, right-clicked, and selected [Eraser > Erase] from the pull-down context menu. On the Erase Items popup dialogue, I selected the Yes button. The file erase-text.txt disappeared almost immediately from my desktop. Afterwards , the Eraser window contained test-erase.txt with its complete path under Task Name along with "Queued for execution" as the Next Run. Terminating Eraser (confirmed with Task Manager) and then launching it again did not remove that task.

Selecting that unwanted task, right-clicking, and selecting Run Now from the pull-down context menu caused the task to disappear. There was no error indicated.

After all that, I repeated this test. This time, I used Task Manager to verify that Notepad was not running and that Windows Explorer was quiescent. That was to determine that the erase-test.txt file was not in use. The results were the same as above.

NOTE WELL: I was a software test engineer for 30+ years before I retired. I tested very complex software systems used by the U.S. military to fly its space satellites. During that time, no satellite failed from a software problem if the organization in which I worked had tested that software.
 
I believe you on your bug report.

After some investigation it seems the AV app (ESET) in my case was locking the file and it then got queued for erase on reboot.
Could you turn off the AV protection, re-run your test and let me know what happens.

I can repeat your bug but not all the time

update: download the latest from here eraser – Eraser 6.2.0.2990.exe -> I've made some smal changes which might have fixed the issue
 
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Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64
AVG AntiVirus Free 20.5.3130
Eraser 6.2.0.2990

I installed Eraser 6.2.0.2990 without terminating anything. Instead, I rebooted after the installation. During the installation, the installer could not write one item; I selected Ignore. Eraser is NOT installed in the default location. Instead, it is installed directly under C; that is, it is at [C:\Eraser\Eraser.exe].

I ran three tests with AVG enabled and repeated them with AVG disabled. For safety, my Internet connection was disabled during all of the tests. All tests were on files located on my Windows desktop. I selected the target file, right-clicked, and selected [Eraser > Erase] from the pull-down context menu.

Test #1 involved a .txt file. Eraser erased it without creating a "Queued for execution" task with AVG either enabled or disabled.

Test #2 involved a .xlsx file. Eraser erased it without creating a "Queued for execution" task with AVG either enabled or disabled.

Test #3 involved a .exe file. Eraser erased it without creating a "Queued for execution" task with AVG disabled. Eraser failed to erase it with AVG enabled, reported an error, and created a "Queued for execution" task. Note that I had no problem merely deleting the .exe file with AVG enabled.
 
I just now repeated my tests and got different results. NOTE: In both the prior set of tests and the tests reported below, the target file was pasted on my Windows desktop AFTER AVG was either enabled or disabled.

In Test #1, Eraser erased the .txt but created a "Queued for execution" task with both AVG enabled and disabled.

Test #2 with the .xlsx file had the same results as before. That is, no a "Queued for execution" task was created with AVG either enabled or disabled.

The 67.3 MB .exe file in Test #3 was erased successfully without any error and without creating a "Queued for execution" task with AVG either enabled or disabled.

The problem is thus transient.
 
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