BackupNonMaintenance
This task belongs to the Windows app-list backup component.
since 0.9.8.11
Purpose
Identifier: \Microsoft\Windows\AppListBackup\BackupNonMaintenance
Setup Foundry disables this scheduled task; the task remains registered, but its triggers no longer start it.
This task belongs to the Windows app-list backup component. The corresponding Windows Backup feature is controlled by the “Remember my apps” setting. It records the list of installed apps so that Windows can associate it with a backup profile and offer the apps for restoration when a new or reset PC is set up.
BackupNonMaintenance provides an execution path intended to operate outside Automatic Maintenance. Microsoft does not publicly document the task’s individual triggers or its internal processing.
The feature backs up information about installed apps, not the installed program files themselves. During restoration, Windows restores app pins. Microsoft Store apps can then be installed again, while supported apps obtained outside the Store may be represented by links to their installer sources.
Notes
Additional effects
The task helps keep the app list used by Windows Backup current. It is not responsible for starting, running, or updating installed apps. OneDrive folder backup and the other Windows settings backup categories are separate functions.
Privacy and security
When app backup is enabled, Windows stores the list of installed apps with the Microsoft account in use. Microsoft states that this feature is intended for personal Microsoft accounts and does not remember apps through this mechanism for work or school accounts.
Disabling the task prevents its triggers from initiating further app-list updates. It does not delete backup data already stored with the Microsoft account. Other Windows backup or synchronization components can continue to transfer data.
Effects of the change
The task remains present in Task Scheduler, but a disabled task cannot run. Installed apps, their shortcuts, and their local operation are not changed.
If Windows does not use another execution path to update the app list, the backup profile can become incomplete or outdated over time. Apps installed later might therefore be absent during a future restoration, while apps removed from the PC might still be offered. This affects only restoration of the app list; the task neither backs up nor removes the app binaries themselves.
Microsoft does not document whether Windows Backup immediately displays an outdated status or an error when this individual task is disabled. Disabling it does not automatically turn off the visible “Remember my apps” setting or erase an existing backup.
Notes
Microsoft does not provide a dedicated public reference for BackupNonMaintenance. Its association with app-list backup is established by its Windows component path and Microsoft’s documented “Remember my apps” functionality. It therefore cannot be stated reliably that disabling this task prevents every possible update of the backed-up app list.
Microsoft documentation
Microsoft Support: Windows Backup Settings Catalog
Microsoft Support: Back up and restore with Windows Backup
Microsoft Learn: Enabled element for scheduled tasks