Error connecting to Local Tasks when starting the Task Administrator

Symptoms

When the Task Administrator is started, your tasks may not appear and one of the following messages may appear in Messages:

• "Connection to 127.0.0.1 could not be established. Is the Automate Task Service running on that machine?"

or

• "Connection to Local Tasks could not be established. Is the Automate Task Service running on that machine?"

Possible Reasons

The Automate Task Administrator uses TCP/IP to communicate with the Automate Task Service, which runs as a Win32 Service. This message appears if a TCP/IP connection cannot be established between the Task Administrator and the Task Service. Possible reasons for this are:

The Task Service is not running
This could happen if something is preventing the Automate Task Service from starting. To test this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start -> Control Panel
2. Double-click Administrative Tools
3. Double-click Services
4. Look for the service called Automate 6.
5. Check the Status column and verify it says "Running". If it does not, right-click on Automate 6/Automate 7 and select Start. If an error occurs:
   
   i) Double-click on Automate 6/Automate 7 to view the service's properties
   ii) Verify that the "Path to executable" is a valid path to AMTS.exe
   iii) Go to the "Log On" tab and verify that "Local system account" is selected and "Allow services to interact with desktop in unchecked"
   iv) Go back to the "General" tab, and click Start.
   v) If the error persists, contact Network Automation Technical Support

Another application is using the same TCP/IP port as Automate
By default, Automate 7 uses port 7877 and Automate 6 uses port 7677 for local and remote connections. If this port is in use by another application, Automate will be refused access to the port and the Task Administrator will not be able to connect. Try to change the port using the following instructions:

1. In the Task Administrator, choose the System menu and select Options
2. Go to the System tab
3. Change the Automate Server Port to any port other than the default, but greater than 1024
4. Restart Automate by closing the Task Administrator, selecting "Exit" from the right-click menu of the Automate 6 tray icon (located near the system clock), and then restarting the Task Administrator

There is a firewall blocking the Automate TCP/IP Port
There is a firewall actively blocking access to port 7677 or  7877 (or other port is the Automate Server port has been changed in the System Options). 

Automate requires access to this port to function properly. The solution to this problem depends on the firewall software running on the machine. Consult the documentation for your firewall software. If you are running Windows XP SP2 or above, ensure that the Automate Task Service is in the Windows Firewall's Exception list.

Applies To: Automate 5, Automate 6, Automate 7