Can't schedule tasks to run in future, in Vista Home Premium

[David Walker]

Well, I have read all of the search-engine hits I can find, and they all
seem to point to the fact that you can't run scheduled tasks in Vista
Home Premium using a regular username even when you supply the correct
password.

Vista forgets the password and gives the error "2147943726 (Logon
failure: unknown user name or bad password)" whenever it tries to run a
scheduled task (scheduled at the same time every day) after the computer
is rebooted.

I have read http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931711 but I don't know
exactly what it means -- does it mean that users with Vista Home Premium
can't schedule tasks to run in the future? The title is "Windows Vista
Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, and Windows Vista Starter save
user credentials only for the current session". This article doesn't
have much context.

For my task -- a backup program to a network disk -- I can't use the "Do
not store password. The task will only have access to local computer
resources" checkbox, since the task needs access to the network disk.

And the "run with highest privileges" checkbox doesn't have any effect.
I still get the "Logon failure" message when the task tries to run after
I reboot.

I have read the articles at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/appcompat/aa906020.aspx and at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/bb756979.aspx, which both say that the Vista task scheduler is
wonderful and will do everything for you. Apparently this isn't the case
in Vista Home Premium if you want to use a regular user logon ID.

None of the discussions I have found by searching the 'net actually have
a solution. (Many of the answers are people making guesses like "make
sure the password is correct" or "set the task to run at startup" (which
is not what I want) or to use the "run only when user is logged on"
checkbox (which doesn't solve the issue of how to run a task when you're
NOT logged on), or to go to the Group Policy editor and change some
settings... of course, Vista Home Premium doesn't even have the group
policy editor! Not to be ungrateful, but none of those actually address
the problem that Vista Home Premium can't seem to run scheduled tasks
after a reboot.)

Questions: Is this a known issue? Is this "Working as designed", in
spite of the technet article and the MSDN article? I have installed all
current Microsoft updates to Vista Home Premium, as of 5/25/2009.

Thanks for any pointers.

David Walker

 

[H Brown]

Hi David
I want you to digest all the information from the linked page I will provide
below. Be sure and read carefully to keep from missing the "only if", "must
be", "You will have to", "You cannot", "you must", etc, etc. Wording that we
some times miss when reading to fast. You will have to read it right in
order for things to go right. Be sure and read the other information that is
linked to other pages and other sites from that page..
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/132903-task-scheduler-create-task.html
Task Scheduler - Create Task
How to Create a Task in Vista Task Scheduler
Published by Brink
02-21-2008

Snips from the above linked page
"You can also set a condition that tells the task to wake the computer
from sleep mode to run the task when the trigger is activated. Before you
set the condition to wake the computer to run the task, ensure that the task
will not cause the computer to wake at inconvenient times".

"C) Under the Network section -
NOTE: You can set a condition to run the task only if a specific named
network connection is available or if any network connection is available
when the task's trigger is activated. If your task action requires a network
connection to execute, then set this condition".
NOTE: By default, a task runs within the security context of the user who
scheduled the task and only runs if that user is logged on when the task is
triggered.

I snipped one tread from the discussion from the below link.
http://www.vistax64.com/general-discussion/111674-task-scheduler-problem.html
"Symptom:
Event ID: 101
OP Code: 6619136
Error Value: 2147943726

Possible Solution:
If RUN Whether User is Logged on or not option is used
Check the box on Do Not Store Password
Check Run at Highest Privileges
Make sure you got sufficient Admin rights for what your tasking.

I came across this solution on one of the backup
vista forums.
I'll post it if I can find it again. I am sure you can research on the
consequences of selecting Do Not Store Password on your own, but my
understanding is YOU CAN'T Task Schedule network CPUs if this option IS
selected."
end snip

Hope it helps

H Brown

 

[David Walker]

Hi David
I want you to digest all the information from the linked page I will
provide below. Be sure and read carefully to keep from missing the
"only if", "must be", "You will have to", "You cannot", "you must",
etc, etc. Wording that we some times miss when reading to fast. You
will have to read it right in order for things to go right. Be sure
and read the other information that is linked to other pages and other
sites from that page..
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/132903-task-scheduler-create-task.htm
l Task Scheduler - Create Task
How to Create a Task in Vista Task Scheduler
Published by Brink
02-21-2008

Snips from the above linked page
"You can also set a condition that tells the task to wake the
computer
from sleep mode to run the task when the trigger is activated. Before
you set the condition to wake the computer to run the task, ensure
that the task will not cause the computer to wake at inconvenient
times".

"C) Under the Network section -
NOTE: You can set a condition to run the task only if a specific
named
network connection is available or if any network connection is
available when the task's trigger is activated. If your task action
requires a network connection to execute, then set this condition".
NOTE: By default, a task runs within the security context of the
user who
scheduled the task and only runs if that user is logged on when the
task is triggered.

I snipped one tread from the discussion from the below link.
http://www.vistax64.com/general-discussion/111674-task-scheduler-prob
lem.html "Symptom:
Event ID: 101
OP Code: 6619136
Error Value: 2147943726

Possible Solution:
If RUN Whether User is Logged on or not option is used
Check the box on Do Not Store Password
Check Run at Highest Privileges
Make sure you got sufficient Admin rights for what your tasking.

I came across this solution on one of the backup
vista forums.
I'll post it if I can find it again. I am sure you can research on
the
consequences of selecting Do Not Store Password on your own, but my
understanding is YOU CAN'T Task Schedule network CPUs if this option
IS selected."
end snip

Hope it helps

H Brown

Thanks for the info.

As for starting the task ONLY if the network connection is available, I
know that network disks sometimes go away and come back. Windows will
atuomatically reconnect the network disk when the user tries to use it
(assuming the correct permissions, which are there). So, I didn't really
consider that the availability of the network disk should be considered in
the stage of checking whether to start the task. It sure sounds like, if
the network connection is temporarily missing, the task won't be started.
That's not what I want. I want the task to be started anyway, and then
Windows should re-establish the network connection when it is referenced.

Besides, the task is failing with "unknown user name or bad password". So,
it sounds like the task isn't properly getting started.

As for the "solution": If RUN Whether User is Logged on or not option is
used, then Check the box on Do Not Store Password, well, that's no solution
at all! That means that Vista Home Premium is NOT CAPABLE of running a
task if the user is not logged on, IF the task needs any network resources.
That doesn't sound like what the TechNet or MSDN articles say -- they claim
that the user can be logged on by the Vista Task Scheduler and the task
should run. I have supplied the user's logon password to Task Manager,
after all.

I can't check the "Do No Store Pasword" checkbox becase, as the screen
says, and I have verified this, the user will not be able to get to the
network disks then.

I have read everything in the linked tutorial -- much of it does NOT apply,
but I read it all anyway. I want the task to start at a given time every
day, and that is not happening: After I reboot, Vista says the user name
or password is unknown.

What is weird is, the user name and password are not "unknown" until after
the reboot. That sure sounds like something is broken in Vista, or in the
Task Manager, rather than pointing to ME setting up something wrong when I
create the task.

If it works correctly before a reboot, why should it fail with "Unknown
user name or bad password" after a reboot?

David Walker

 

[H Brown]

Hi David
I am cross posting your issue to microsoft.public.windows.vista.general I
feel that some of the experts there can give much better help.
In the mean time read the below information.

Manage or Create a Task on a Remote Computer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766266.aspx

Troubleshooting Task Scheduler
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc721846.aspx

For what your wanting to do ,you will have to do from *within* an
Administrator account.

H Brown

Well, I have read all of the search-engine hits I can find, and they all
seem to point to the fact that you can't run scheduled tasks in Vista
Home Premium using a regular username even when you supply the correct
password.

Vista forgets the password and gives the error "2147943726 (Logon
failure: unknown user name or bad password)" whenever it tries to run a
scheduled task (scheduled at the same time every day) after the computer
is rebooted.

I have read http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931711 but I don't know
exactly what it means -- does it mean that users with Vista Home Premium
can't schedule tasks to run in the future? The title is "Windows Vista
Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, and Windows Vista Starter save
user credentials only for the current session". This article doesn't
have much context.

For my task -- a backup program to a network disk -- I can't use the "Do
not store password. The task will only have access to local computer
resources" checkbox, since the task needs access to the network disk.

And the "run with highest privileges" checkbox doesn't have any effect.
I still get the "Logon failure" message when the task tries to run after
I reboot.

I have read the articles at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/appcompat/aa906020.aspx and at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/bb756979.aspx, which both say that the Vista task scheduler is
wonderful and will do everything for you. Apparently this isn't the case
in Vista Home Premium if you want to use a regular user logon ID.

None of the discussions I have found by searching the 'net actually have
a solution. (Many of the answers are people making guesses like "make
sure the password is correct" or "set the task to run at startup" (which
is not what I want) or to use the "run only when user is logged on"
checkbox (which doesn't solve the issue of how to run a task when you're
NOT logged on), or to go to the Group Policy editor and change some
settings... of course, Vista Home Premium doesn't even have the group
policy editor! Not to be ungrateful, but none of those actually address
the problem that Vista Home Premium can't seem to run scheduled tasks
after a reboot.)

Questions: Is this a known issue? Is this "Working as designed", in
spite of the technet article and the MSDN article? I have installed all
current Microsoft updates to Vista Home Premium, as of 5/25/2009.

Thanks for any pointers.

David Walker

 

[David Walker]

Hi David
I am cross posting your issue to
microsoft.public.windows.vista.general I feel that some of the experts
there can give much better help. In the mean time read the below
information.

Manage or Create a Task on a Remote Computer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766266.aspx

Troubleshooting Task Scheduler
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc721846.aspx

For what your wanting to do ,you will have to do from *within* an
Administrator account.

H Brown

Thanks. Yes, I am running within an Administrator account.

Let's hope someone can help. I posted it here because it seemed like a
"forgetting password" issue. I am also confused how this issue has
caused so many people confusion for so long (as evidenced by the number
of posts all over the 'net, complaining about it).

I'm not trying to manage or create a task on a remote computer, so the
first link doesn't help much. The second one has a link to the topic
"Task Security Context" at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/cc722152.aspx which looks more useful, so I will check that
one carefully.

Thanks for the help.


David Walker

 

[H Brown]

Maybe it would be a good idea to post and spell out what it is exactly you
are trying/wanting to accomplish.
What you have been doing to try and accomplish it. I feel its some setting
you are missing or over looking.
Have you tried to set other task up that are working correctly? Have you
disabled any task that are set as defaults in Vista? Changed any other
settings.
In other words if setting up task has worked before what has been changed
since then.

Give everybody here some information on your setup along with which edition
of Vista you use. Example: ((Vista Home Premium Sp1), up to date with all
important /critical patches etc.))

H Brown