Task Scheduler Service

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	Windows 2000 Scheduling Service
Microsoft's Scheduler Service allows administrators to automate common tasks or start a task at a specific day or time, without having to be present on the network. This allows a number of mundane and common maintenance tasks to run automatically without consuming precious staffing resources.

Where to Start...

Task Scheduler Service on Windows NT/2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 235536 - The installation of the Offline Browsing Pack, a component of Internet Explorer 5, on a computer running Windows NT 4.0 replaces the Schedule service with the Task Scheduler service. This article explains the differences between the two services.

Where It's AT
Over the past month, I've learned some new tricks in Windows NT's Schedule service. To use the Schedule service, you have to turn it on: Open Services in the Control Panel, select Schedule, and click Start. To set the Schedule service to start automatically every time you turn on your computer, double-click Schedule and select Automatic. Source: Windows & .NET Magazine (March 1998)

A Better AT
I use the Command Scheduler (winat.exe) more than any other resource kit tool. The Command Scheduler lets you use a GUI to implement the Schedule service. Like the Schedule service, the Command Scheduler can control schedules for every NT machine on your network. Source: Windows 2000 Magazine (April 1998)

How to...

How to Limit the Maximum Size of the Scheduled Tasks Log File
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 169443 - This article describes how to limit the size of the Schedlog.txt file (Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition) or the SchedLgU.Txt file (Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003) for readability purposes. You may want to do this because the file can grow quite large

How to Modify a Scheduled Task to Repeat By Minutes or Hours
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 226795 - The Task Scheduler tool in Control Panel does not have an option to schedule a task every n minutes or n hours.

HOW TO: Prevent Users from Scheduling Tasks
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 310208 - The Windows 2000 Task Scheduler enables you to configure Windows to automatically open a document, start a program, or run a script at a preconfigured time. This functionality is convenient for administrators, who can force these tasks to occur at specified times on users' computers. The Task Scheduler starts by default when you start Windows 2000 and runs in the background. In a high-security environment, Task Scheduler can pose a security threat. Users can create new tasks or delete those that are set to run by the administrator. If you are an administrator, you can control this behavior to provide greater security and ensure that only the tasks that you configure run at the proper time. This article describes how you can prevent users from scheduling tasks.

HOW TO: Schedule a Server Process in Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 300160 - This step-by-step article describes how to schedule a program to automatically start at a pre-determined interval.

Network Connections Made with the AT Command are Persistent
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 103650 - Network connections made using the AT command are persistent for all users on a system. The AT command runs using the System account and Schedule service. Creating network connections under the System account makes the connections persistent

Scheduling a RAS Connection Using the AT Command
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 174769 - This article discusses a method for automatically dialing a Remote Access Service (RAS) phonebook entry at a scheduled time.

Scheduling Windows 2000’s Disk Defragmenter
Scheduling Windows 2000’s Disk Defragmenter Contrary to what you might have heard, NTFS partitions in Windows 2000 (Win2K) and Windows NT do fragment over time. Disk defragmentation is the process of reassembling files and folders in one location on a volume. The Win2K Disk Defragmenter Win2K includes a limited version of Executive Software's Disk Defragmenter. Source: Windows & .NET Magazine (March 2000)

Troubleshooting: Know Bugs and Issues

A Task That Is Scheduled with the AT Command May Stop After 72 Hours
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 304288 - Jobs that you schedule by using the at command are converted to Task Scheduler tasks. By default, these tasks are set to stop after 72 hours.

Access Denied When Attempting to Start the Task Scheduler
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 259907 - When you attempt to start the Task Scheduler using the Services program under Administrative Tools, you may receive an "Access denied" error message.

Access Denied Connecting to Novell Server Under AT Scheduler
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 149408 - When the AT Scheduler is used to run a job under the System account that connects to a Novell server, the following error message appears:

Applications Started with AT Are Not Interactive
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 121562 - The Windows NT AT command does not load applications interactively even though the System Account Allow Service to Interact with Desktop check box is selected for the Scheduler service. The AT command does load the application in the background, but you are not able to see or interact with the application in any way.

AT Tasks Cannot Be Viewed Using the Task Scheduler Tool
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 220149 - When you schedule a task using the AT tool at a command prompt, the task appears as being scheduled in the Task Scheduler tool. When you schedule a task using the Task Scheduler tool, the task does not appear when you run the the AT tool at a command prompt.

Mstask.exe Does Not Run Scheduled Jobs
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 272022 - Intermittently, the Mstask.exe process may stop running scheduled jobs. To cause Mstask.exe to run the jobs again, you must stop and restart the Task Scheduler service. Additionally, a job status may be displayed as "Running" even though the job is not run again.

"Service Is Not Responding to the Control Function" Starting the Scheduler Service
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 227404 - If the Task Scheduler service is stopped and you later attempt to start it, you may receive the following error message:

Task Scheduler Service Must Be Started with System Account
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 223170 - When you attempt to start Task Scheduler, you may receive the one of the following error messages:

Task Scheduler and AT Command Display Inaccurate Information for Pending Jobs
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 268902 - After you schedule a job by using the at command, the list of pending jobs displays inaccurate information

Task Scheduler Service Starts Automatically After Upgrade
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 234632 - After you upgrade your Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-based computer to Windows 2000, the Task Scheduler service starts automatically, and this occurs even if you previously disabled this feature.

Troubleshooting AT Command Using /k Switch
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 142040 - One way to troubleshoot a batch job that is scheduled to run using the AT command is to type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt:

Using the SCOPY Command with AT or WinAT scheduler
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 140972 - The SCOPY command from Windows NT Resource Kit is used to copy files and folders to and from Windows NT File System (NTFS) partitions with the security of the folders and files intact. The format for the command is: scopy <Source> <Destination> [/o] [/a] [/s]

Windows 2000 Does Not Have Any Default Tasks in the Scheduled Tasks Folder
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 226262 - After you install Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server, you do not have any default tasks in the Scheduled Tasks folder.

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Windows 2000 Scheduling Service