Why do I receive errors when using the local scheduler in the Parallel Computing Toolbox?

I am trying to use the Parallel Computing Toolbox and it fails with the following errors:

ERROR: >> pmode start 2
stopped.
??? Error using ==> distcomp.interactiveclient.start at 60
Failed to locate and destroy old interactive jobs.
This is caused by:
Undefined function or method 'distcompserialize' for input arguments of type 'double'.

Error in ==> pmode at 83
        client.start('pmode', nlabs, config, 'opengui');
 
>> matlabpool open
stopped.
??? Error using ==> matlabpool at 104
Failed to locate and destroy old interactive jobs.
This is caused by:
Undefined function or method 'distcompserialize' for input arguments of type 'double'.

How can I resolve this error to use the local scheduler?

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

See the information below in order to resolve issues with the local scheduler:

1) If you are using MATLAB R2008a with a standalone license of Parallel Computing Toolbox, see the bug report here:

http://www.mathworks.com/support/bugreports/details.html?rp=454732

2) Try resetting your MATLAB path to the default. To do so:

1. Go to the "File" menu to "Set Path"

2. Click on "Default", press "OK" to change, then click "Save" and finally "Close".

(If you have added any custom paths to MATLAB, you will need to restore those later)

3. Restart MATLAB.

3) Try creating a new local configuration. To do so:

1. Go to MATLAB's Parallel menu to Manage Configurations

2. Go to the File menu to New

3. Select Local as the type of configuration

4. Name the configuration as desired.

5. To use the configuration, right click on it and select the option to set it to the default.

Once created, try submitting jobs using the new configuration.

4) Try clearing out the local scheduler files. To do so:

For Windows:

Go to the Start Menu and select Run. Type in %APPDATA% and press Enter. For Microsoft Windows Vista, type in %APPDATA% in the "Start Search" field above the Start menu and press Enter.

From the Application Data folder, go to MathWorks to MATLAB. Rename or delete the folder "local_scheduler_data" (when working with MATLAB versions prior to R2012a) or "local_cluster_jobs" (when working with MATLAB R2012a and newer).

Once cleared, try restarting MATLAB.

For Linux\Unix\Mac:

Open a terminal window. For Mac OS X Terminal can be launched from Applications/Utilities. In the Terminal, run the following command if working with MATLAB versions prior to R2012a:

rm -rf ~/.matlab/local_scheduler_data

Or the following if working with MATLAB R2012a or newer:

rm -rf ~/.matlab/local_cluster_jobs

Once removed, restart MATLAB and try again.

If you are still unable to perform jobs using the local scheduler, contact the Installation and Licensing support team here:

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html