Running programs while logged off

[Robert S]

I work in a medical practice. We use a separate practice management and
clinical package. There is a applet that runs in the system tray that
shifts data between the two packages when changes are made in the management
package. Unfortunately a user needs to be logged in for this to happen. As
we have an unattended server, it is very inconvenient to have to log in at
the start of the day to allow this to happen. If the server is rebooted it
would be easy for this not to be running.

I know it might be a long shot, but is there a utility that allows
applications to run in the background when users are logged off? I assume
it would need to run as a Windows service. It would have to do a sort of
"fake login".

I dabble around with Linux and there are certainly ways of doing this (eg.
Xvfb), even if the application is graphical. I was wondering if there was a
Windows equivalent.

Hope this isn't too far fetched.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I work in a medical practice. We use a separate practice management and
clinical package. There is a applet that runs in the system tray that
shifts data between the two packages when changes are made in the management
package. Unfortunately a user needs to be logged in for this to happen. As
we have an unattended server, it is very inconvenient to have to log in at
the start of the day to allow this to happen. If the server is rebooted it
would be easy for this not to be running.

I know it might be a long shot, but is there a utility that allows
applications to run in the background when users are logged off? I assume
it would need to run as a Windows service. It would have to do a sort of
"fake login".

I dabble around with Linux and there are certainly ways of doing this (eg.
Xvfb), even if the application is graphical. I was wondering if there was a
Windows equivalent.

Hope this isn't too far fetched.

Here are a couple of choices:
- Launch the application as a scheduled task.
- Use TweakUI to log on automatically, then launch the
application by placing its shortcut into the Start Menu folder.

 

[Robert S]

Here are a couple of choices:

- Launch the application as a scheduled task.
- Use TweakUI to log on automatically, then launch the
application by placing its shortcut into the Start Menu folder.

Thanks for the interesting suggestions. A couple of problems:

The program needs to run every ten seconds or so to continuously update
records. I don't know if it would actually run as a scheduled task.
Normally it runs in the background and updates records at user-defined
intervals (eg. every 10 seconds).

I don't want to be logged in because the desktop would be easy to access
remotely (we use RealVNC for remote access). I suppose I could set it up to
lock the screen after a period of inactivity so that the process would run
in the background, but I don't think this would be completely idiot-proof.
It might fall over if somebody logs on remotely and then logs out.

Any other suggestions?

 

[John7]

Hi Robert,


Check out

http://www.pcinspector.de/taskManager/uk/welcome.htm

Maybe it does the trick (and more).


HTH,
John7

 

[Bob I]

Thanks for the interesting suggestions. A couple of problems:

The program needs to run every ten seconds or so to continuously update
records. I don't know if it would actually run as a scheduled task.
Normally it runs in the background and updates records at user-defined
intervals (eg. every 10 seconds).

I don't want to be logged in because the desktop would be easy to access
remotely (we use RealVNC for remote access). I suppose I could set it up to
lock the screen after a period of inactivity so that the process would run
in the background, but I don't think this would be completely idiot-proof.
It might fall over if somebody logs on remotely and then logs out.

Any other suggestions?

Please review Pegasus' first suggestion, particularly the "When my
computer starts" option.

 

[Seahawk60B]

Do a google search for SrvAny - it's a resource kit utility that will
turn an application into a service. It sounds as though this is what
you need. If it's running as a service, it will not be necessary for
anyone to be logged in for it to run, and can be set to start
automatically following any reboots.

 

[Robert S]

Do a google search for SrvAny - it's a resource kit utility that will

turn an application into a service. It sounds as though this is what
you need. If it's running as a service, it will not be necessary for
anyone to be logged in for it to run, and can be set to start
automatically following any reboots.

I believe you can only get this toolkit for Win2003 server. Please correct
me if I'm wrong.

Despite my skepticism this seems to work on preliminary tests. I'll have to
wait till I get into the office on Monday to confirm this, but the app is
certainly present on the process list after I reboot and it seems to
perform normally when I run both packages. It is not visible on the system
tray, but seems to work nevertheless.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Charlie Tame]

I believe you can only get this toolkit for Win2003 server. Please
correct
me if I'm wrong.


Despite my skepticism this seems to work on preliminary tests. I'll have
to
wait till I get into the office on Monday to confirm this, but the app is
certainly present on the process list after I reboot and it seems to
perform normally when I run both packages. It is not visible on the
system
tray, but seems to work nevertheless.

Thanks for the suggestions.

It's been around for ages Robert - I think since W2000 so I suspect it
should work on 2000 XP Pro and 2003. I have not used it seriously myself but
I regard it as a credible piece of software.

 

[Robert S]

It's been around for ages Robert - I think since W2000 so I suspect it
should work on 2000 XP Pro and 2003. I have not used it seriously myself but
I regard it as a credible piece of software.

I'll try to get the NT version. I see that the info on the MS website
says that it applies to XP Pro.

I've just tested it out in the office and it works fine without this
however. Might come in useful in the future though.