From my xp prof, Start>all prog>accessories>system tools>schedule task, I
cannot see the defragmentation program to set it to run at a schedule time.
Is there a way to do it? Thanks
The answer to your question is yes and Microsoft tells you how to do
exactly that:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/tips/gehrke1.mspx
Setting up STs takes some knowledge, practice and patience until you
get the hang of it and MS recommends you set up any STs using an
account that has a password. You can read about that here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308569
It is not required to have a PW for STs, but it is recommended so that
you do not circumvent built in security measures just to set up a ST
(but it can be done).
Either assign a PW to your account (even if you automatically log in),
or create a new account with a PW just for STs.
There is no need to use the Administrator account for STs.
Only you can decide if there is any benefit (real of perceived)
associated with the effort.
Here is some notes I have for when your STs do not work:
Not so popular advice from me to troubleshoot STs:
It is strongly suggested that the task be assigned to a user that has
a password (not the Administrator), so create a new user with a
password just for tasks or add a password to your account if needed.
You can temporarily assign yourself a PW to test and worry about this
later.
If you don't use an account with a password, you will get an error
trying to create the task. It will still be created, but will not
run
properly.
There is a way around this, but get this working first to be sure
your
mechanism is not afflicted.
Stop the Task Scheduler service.
Delete or rename the probably cluttered ST log file:
c:\windows\schedlgu.txt
Restart the Task Scheduler service to create a new log.
Browse to the c:\windows\tasks folder to see all your tasks.
The Next Run Time, Last Run Time, Status and Last Results columns
are of interest. You can also click Advanced and view the log.
Choose to Add Scheduled Task. Create a new task to run Command
Prompt
once, now. If you don't have a PW, you will get an error trying to
create it (more on that later). It will still be created, but will
never run.
Right click the new Command Prompt task and choose Run and a command
window should open immediately. If not, something is wrong. If yes,
your mechanism is sound. Look in the log file to see your results.
You know how to remove the log now, so that is up to you. Be sure
the
Task Scheduler service is running again.
Try to Run your new or troublesome task, observe the columns, and the
log.
If your task fails to run manually, the errors in the log file are
the
clues to what to do next.