Scheduled Tasks not running

[Willy]

For the past few weeks, my Scheduled Tasks have not been running. I did
troubleshooting of the Task Manager per a KB I found, all settings were
appropriate.
Could a Windows XP Update have done something?

 

[Swifty]

Could a Windows XP Update have done something?

Anything is possible, but did you change your password? That will stop
scheduled tasks set to run as your userid.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Is the Task Scheduler service set to Automatic and running?

Open Services...
Start | Run | Type: services.msc | Click OK |
Scroll down to and double click Task Scheduler |
Make sure that it's set to Automatic under Startup type |
Click the Start button | When it starts, close Services

Open the SchedLgU.txt and see what you can see.

Start | Run | Type: SchedLgU.txt | Click OK

C:\WINDOWS\SchedLgU.txt

Or, Open Scheduled Tasks.
On the Advanced menu, click View Log.

From XP HELP:

Troubleshooting Scheduled Tasks
[[If a scheduled task does not run when you expect it to, right-click the
task, and then click Properties. On the Task tab, verify that the Enabled
check box is selected. On the Schedule tab, verify that the schedule is set
correctly.

If a task program does not run correctly, you might need to add command-line
options to the path of the program. For more information about a particular
program and its command-line options, try one of the following:

* If available, view Help for the program.
* At a command prompt, type the following (where program is the name of the
task program you are trying to run): program /?

You can also check the Status column in the Scheduled Tasks window. The
following table describes the status types.

Status Description
Blank The task is not running, or it ran and was successful.
Running The task is currently being run.
Missed One or more attempts to run this task was missed.
Could not start The most recent attempt to start the task failed.

For more information about the status of a scheduled task, you can check the
SchedLgU.txt log file. This log file for Scheduled Tasks is stored in the
Windows folder, where it is used to record the activity of scheduled tasks.
You can use the log file to determine why a task might have stopped, or to
check on the status of a task.

Notes
* If you cannot run any scheduled tasks on your computer, and your computer
is connected to a domain, see your system administrator to make sure that
the Scheduled Tasks service is turned on.
* If a user is not logged on at the time the task is scheduled to run, the
task runs, but it will not be visible.
* To check the status of a scheduled task, on the View menu, click Details,
and then scroll to view the Status column.]]

The Task Scheduler service can also be stopped from the Scheduled Tasks
window.

"The Task Scheduler service must be running and properly configured to run
tasks. If you had stopped scheduled tasks manually from the Scheduled Tasks
window, the service stops and does not initialize the next time you start
the computer."

"Check your task scheduler - change the security on the job so it matches
your account name and password."
Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]

"The accounts database may be corrupt. Try deleting all tasks then after
restart add them back in."
Dave Patrick MS-MVP

How to troubleshoot scheduled tasks in Windows XP and in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308558

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Willy]

No password change as they were se up not using passwords. Did change my
hard drive name recently but forgot if all occurred at same time.

 

[Willy]

Wes,
All is set as you described & I checked that KB,
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308558 before submitting this post. They
were set up over a year ago without using passwords & worked fine until a
few weeks ago. I believe it was about that time that I installed IE7.

Also, even though I can view Properties of each task, >Start>Control
Panel>Scheduled Tasks, right click a task, I do not see an Advance Tab nor
can I get to a Scheduled Task Window to view status. I did find
schedLGU.txt and basically just see this or similar back for about 2 weeks:
"Task Scheduler Service"
Started at 5/17/2007 1:51:12 PM
"Task Scheduler Service"
Exited at 5/17/2007 2:15:08 PM

Guess I can delete them & start over but I've forgot how to set them up
without passwords. I'm the only user and vaguely remember some one on this
NG giving me instructions about year ago on not using passwords.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Check the setting of limitblankpassworduse, if set to 0, no password needed
for Scheduled Tasks.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa
Value name: limitblankpassworduse
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value Data: 0 (disabled) 1 (enabled)

limitblankpassworduse is Enabled, set to 1, by default.

In Windows XP Professional only.
Group Policy Editor (Start | Run | gpedit.msc)
Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\
Local Policies\Security Options\
Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only
If Enabled here, limitblankpassworduse value of 1.

Or Local Security Policy (Start | Run | secpol.msc)
Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options\
Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only
If Enabled here, limitblankpassworduse value of 1.

Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/636.mspx?mfr=true

A word or two about...
Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only

From David Candy...
<snip>
It does far more than just allow tasks to run without a password.

It should not be used.
<snip>
http://groups.google.co.in/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a5b06a7efd79050f?hl=en&lr

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Willy]

Wes, I have XP Home and that value is set at "0".
So guess I need to delete them and recreate the Tasks.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

That sounds like a plan. ;-)

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Willy]

I'll let you know tomorrow, have some set for morning.

 

[Swifty]

I'll let you know tomorrow, have some set for morning.

If they don't run, then over on the right of the list of tasks list is
the return code - it's often out of sight. That might give us a clue why
they're not running, but I don't know how to interpret the codes.

 

[Willy]

Steve,
Right side of what Task Lists? I can't see it as it used to be in WIN98 or
ME.
The codes are in one of KBs Wes posted earlier.

 

[Swifty]

Right side of what Task Lists?

For me (XP Professional) I go to "Control Panel" "Scheduled tasks" and I
get a folder with headings "Name", "Schedule", "Next Run Time", "Last
Run Time", "Status" and "Last Result".
It's the "Last Result" that we might be able to work with. You might
have to right-click the header to select the columns you see.

 

[Willy]

I've got XP Home so had to just right click Scheduled Tasks then click Open
to see Task List. Deleting old ones and resetting must have corrected it
cause all ran this morning as scheduled.