diff --git a/trains/task.py b/trains/task.py
index 1bc8bd29..fe0e4412 100644
--- a/trains/task.py
+++ b/trains/task.py
@@ -272,8 +272,15 @@ class Task(_Task):
         # Make sure we start the logger, it will patch the main logging object and pipe all output
         # if we are running locally and using development mode worker, we will pipe all stdout to logger.
         # The logger will automatically take care of all patching (we just need to make sure to initialize it)
-        task.get_logger()
-
+        logger = task.get_logger()
+        # show the debug metrics page in the log, it is very convenient
+        logger.console(
+            'TRAINS results page: {}/projects/{}/experiments/{}/output/log'.format(
+                task._get_app_server(),
+                task.project if task.project is not None else '*',
+                task.id,
+            ),
+        )
         # Make sure we start the dev worker if required, otherwise it will only be started when we write
         # something to the log.
         task._dev_mode_task_start()
@@ -378,7 +385,7 @@ class Task(_Task):
                         task_id=default_task_id,
                         log_to_backend=True,
                     )
-                    if ((task.status in (tasks.TaskStatusEnum.published, tasks.TaskStatusEnum.closed))
+                    if ((str(task.status) in (str(tasks.TaskStatusEnum.published), str(tasks.TaskStatusEnum.closed)))
                             or (ARCHIVED_TAG in task.data.tags) or task.output_model_id):
                         # If the task is published or closed, we shouldn't reset it so we can't use it in dev mode
                         # If the task is archived, or already has an output model,
@@ -417,6 +424,8 @@ class Task(_Task):
             # update this session, for later use
             cls.__update_last_used_task_id(default_project_name, default_task_name, default_task_type.value, task.id)
 
+        # mark the task as started
+        task.started()
         # force update of base logger to this current task (this is the main logger task)
         task._setup_log(replace_existing=True)
         logger = task.get_logger()
@@ -436,14 +445,6 @@ class Task(_Task):
         else:
             task._update_repository()
 
-        # show the debug metrics page in the log, it is very convenient
-        logger.console(
-            'TRAINS results page: {}/projects/{}/experiments/{}/output/log'.format(
-                task._get_app_server(),
-                task.project if task.project is not None else '*',
-                task.id,
-            ),
-        )
         # make sure everything is in sync
         task.reload()
         # make sure we see something in the UI
@@ -470,6 +471,11 @@ class Task(_Task):
 
     @output_uri.setter
     def output_uri(self, value):
+        # check if we have the correct packages / configuration
+        if value and value != self.storage_uri:
+            from .storage.helper import StorageHelper
+            helper = StorageHelper.get(value)
+            helper.check_write_permissions()
         self.storage_uri = value
 
     @property
@@ -1358,15 +1364,15 @@ class Task(_Task):
             return False
 
         stopped_statuses = (
-            tasks.TaskStatusEnum.stopped,
-            tasks.TaskStatusEnum.published,
-            tasks.TaskStatusEnum.publishing,
-            tasks.TaskStatusEnum.closed,
-            tasks.TaskStatusEnum.failed,
-            tasks.TaskStatusEnum.completed,
+            str(tasks.TaskStatusEnum.stopped),
+            str(tasks.TaskStatusEnum.published),
+            str(tasks.TaskStatusEnum.publishing),
+            str(tasks.TaskStatusEnum.closed),
+            str(tasks.TaskStatusEnum.failed),
+            str(tasks.TaskStatusEnum.completed),
         )
 
-        if task.status not in stopped_statuses:
+        if str(task.status) not in stopped_statuses:
             cls._send(
                 cls._get_default_session(),
                 tasks.StoppedRequest(