Scheduled tasks not waking up the system and thus not executing...

[dareys]

Greetings,

I have a couple of tasks in the Scheduled Tasks Folder and even though the
configuration option to wake up the system does exist and has been selected,
all my tests fail. In other words, the tasks do not wake up the PC nor
execute.

The only things that I can thing of are:

1. Permission issues? The scheduled taks configuration sometimes requires a
user name and password. Are these absolutely necessary? I don´t believe it
as the processes I am trying to run can be run by any user on the box.

2. There has to be an internal scheduler in the MS Windows XP SP3 OS engine
on this machine, but do I have to do anything to configure it? Perhaps
it is not
running by default.

I would appreciate it if you could help. Thank you in advance.

Jean-Pierre

 

[DL]

See Scheduled Tasks in win help
a.. To view the security settings for a scheduled task, right-click the
task, click Properties, and then click the Security tab.
b.. To view or change advanced security settings, on the Security tab,
click Advanced.
Maybe also View Services (Administrative Tools)
'Task Scheduler' (usually set as; Started & Automatic)

 

[Jose]

Greetings,

I have a couple of tasks in the Scheduled Tasks Folder and even though the
configuration option to wake up the system does exist and has been selected,
all my tests fail. In other words, the tasks do not wake up the PC nor
execute.

The only things that I can thing of are:

1. Permission issues? The scheduled taks configuration sometimes requiresa
    user name and password. Are these absolutely necessary? I don´tbelieve it
    as the processes I am trying to run can be run by any user on thebox.

2. There has to be an internal scheduler in the MS Windows XP SP3 OS engine
    on this machine, but do I have to do anything to configure it? Perhaps
it is not
    running by default.

I would appreciate it if you could help. Thank you in advance.

Jean-Pierre

User name and password are required. You have to add a password to
the account that is going to run the task - even if you use
Administrator (which usually has no password). If you use the
Administrator account and change the password, you better remember
what it is, or use another account.

To get a good look at things, go to Control Panel, Administrative
Tools, Services. Stop the Task Scheduler.

Navigate to c:\windows. There is a log file called SchedLgU.Txt.
Look near the bottom around the current time for stuff like:

The attempt to log on to the account associated with the task failed,
therefore, the task did not run.
The specific error is:
0x8007052e: Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password.

Chances are the account name for the task has no password. It needs
one.

With the service stopped, you can delete the SchedLgU.Txt file to
start over. Restart the Task Scheduler Service and be sure it is set
to Automatic and Running. Look at the SchedLgu.Txt file now and there
is an appropriate message.

Navigate to c:\windows\tasks. There are all your tasks that you would
see in Control Panel. You can right click them and set up the
properties to have a valid user account and password, or you can do it
through Control Panel. When you Apply any changes, there should be no
errors. If you have an error, the task will get created but will not
run.

You can then right click the task and choose Run and it will run it
right now. Look in the SchedLgU.Txt file to see what happened. If
there is an error, we need to know what the error it is and figure it
out. If you see something like:

The specific error is:
0x80070005: Access is denied.

You have a permissions problem in the usr and/or password. So be
really, really sure the account and password are correct.

For practice, create a new task to run the Command Prompt, one time,
tomorrow. Use your known good account and password. Assuming there
are no errors in the creation, you should be able to right click the
task and Run it and a Command Prompt window should open immediately.
If that works, you now know how to set up a scheduled task
successfully You can delete that task when finished testing.

Troubleshoot errors from what you see in the SchedLgU.Txt file, or
look in there to see what things look like when it runs successfully.
If the log gets too cumbersome, delete it as above.

Please report back your results.

 

[Jose]

Greetings,

I have a couple of tasks in the Scheduled Tasks Folder and even though the
configuration option to wake up the system does exist and has been selected,
all my tests fail. In other words, the tasks do not wake up the PC nor
execute.

The only things that I can thing of are:

1. Permission issues? The scheduled taks configuration sometimes requiresa
    user name and password. Are these absolutely necessary? I don´tbelieve it
    as the processes I am trying to run can be run by any user on thebox.

2. There has to be an internal scheduler in the MS Windows XP SP3 OS engine
    on this machine, but do I have to do anything to configure it? Perhaps
it is not
    running by default.

I would appreciate it if you could help. Thank you in advance.

Jean-Pierre

Oh yeah (I always forget something) - if you navigate to c:\windows
\tasks there are other columns of interest, like Last Run Time and
Status. Check that out after your practice with the Command Prompt
and they should contain good news.

 

[Big_Al]

DL said this on 5/12/2009 2:57 PM:

See Scheduled Tasks in win help
a.. To view the security settings for a scheduled task, right-click the
task, click Properties, and then click the Security tab.
b.. To view or change advanced security settings, on the Security tab,
click Advanced.
Maybe also View Services (Administrative Tools)
'Task Scheduler' (usually set as; Started & Automatic)

IIRC, scheduled jobs will not *wake* a computer when its asleep or
hibernating. The power is off and XP & the scheduler program are not
running to even check the clock.

 

[dareys]

DL,

Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate it. I checked the online help, and
read about the security tab, but there was none to be found on this machine
for the scheduled tasks I am troubleshooting.

Perhaps because there is no password on the account I am attempting to run
this from? In any case, I found Jose ´s response very helpful. Please read my
remaining responses to him.

Regards,

Jean-Pierre

 

[dareys]

Big_Al,

Please explain IIRC... Anyway, Jose and DL seem to think that it is
possible. Please follow my responses to them.

Jean-Pierre

 

[Jose]

DL said this on 5/12/2009 2:57 PM:



IIRC, scheduled jobs will not *wake* a computer when its asleep or
hibernating.   The power is off and XP & the scheduler program are not
running to even check the clock.

I have not tested this, but there is an check box to 'Wake this
computer to run this task' which reads like it will run the task even
if the computer is in sleep or hibernate mode, but of course the
computer would have to finish waking up first.

The power is not off when sleeping or hibernating and Windows is still
running.

I might try that someday, or maybe Jean-Pierre will try it and let us
know.

 

[dareys]

Jose,

Many thanks for the insight. The account that I am running this from does
NOT have a password as you suspected. I followed the steps you indicated and
found out the following from the log file:

First, the following entry, although in Spanish, indicates that the job
completed with an exit code of (0), on 04/04/09 whatever that might mean:

"McAfeeQuickClean.job" (QcConsol.exe)
Finalizó el 04/04/2009 20:04:35
Resultado: La tarea se completó con un código de salida de (0).

Second, the last entry, corresponding to last nigh´s test, also in Spanish,
indicates a problem starting the session for the account associated with the
task (e.g. in this case a standard user account as I stated) and that the
tast was not executed.

Then, the specific error number 0x80041314 says that the task was configured
with an illegal combination of account settings and execution time options.
It asks you to check that the task name and password are valid.

Sounds like I need to add a password to the account. Here´s the message.
And, yes, I did not post this to the Spanish MS Expertzone area because,
although I have received excellent help there, there is a LOT less traffic...

"McAfeeQuickClean.job" (QcConsol.exe) 10/05/2009 20:00:00 ** ERROR **
Error al iniciar la sesión en la cuenta asociada con la tarea. No se
ejecutó la tarea.
El error específico es:
0x80041314: La tarea se ha configurado con una combinación no permitida de
valores de cuenta y opciones de tiempo de ejecución.
Compruebe que el nombre de ejecución de la tarea y la contraseña son
válidos y vuelva a intentarlo.

Thank you.

Jean-Pierre

P.S. The Scheduler or Task Manager Service was defined as started and
automatic.
Also, I may not have the time for another test today, but I appreciate the
help nonetheless

 

[Jose]

Jose,

Many thanks for the insight.  The account that I am running this from does
NOT have a password as you suspected. I followed the steps you indicated and
found out the following from the log file:

First, the following entry, although in Spanish, indicates that the job
completed with  an exit code of (0), on 04/04/09 whatever that might mean:

"McAfeeQuickClean.job" (QcConsol.exe)
        Finalizó el 04/04/2009 20:04:35
        Resultado: La tarea se completó con un código de salida de (0).

Second, the last entry, corresponding to last nigh´s  test, also in Spanish,
indicates a problem starting the session for the account associated with the
task (e.g. in this case a standard user account as I stated) and that the
tast was not executed.

Then, the specific error number 0x80041314 says that the task was configured
with an illegal combination of account settings and execution time options.
It asks you to check that the task name and password are valid.

Sounds like I need to add a password to the account. Here´s the message..
And, yes, I did not post this to the Spanish MS Expertzone area because,
although I have received excellent help there, there is a LOT less traffic...

"McAfeeQuickClean.job" (QcConsol.exe) 10/05/2009 20:00:00 ** ERROR **
        Error al iniciar la sesión en la cuenta asociada con latarea. No se
ejecutó la tarea.
        El error específico es:
        0x80041314: La tarea se ha configurado con una combinación no permitida de
valores de cuenta y opciones de tiempo de ejecución.
        Compruebe que el nombre de ejecución de la tarea y la contraseña son
válidos y vuelva a intentarlo.

Thank you.

Jean-Pierre

P.S. The Scheduler or Task Manager Service was defined as started and
automatic.
Also, I may not have the time for another test today, but I appreciate the
help nonetheless

Good. Be sure an easy task like Command Prompt works. Schedule it
out 5 minutes in advance and wait...

Once you get your McAfee task configured with no errors during that
process, just try to Run it manually and troubleshoot that if it does
not work until you get it working. You don't have to wait for it to
happen!

There are lots of other complicated hints people may suggest and you
may need to apply them, but that error you got also indicates a
permissions problem.

Try the easy stuff first, then dump McAffee

 

[Leythos]

You should format your hard drive and start fresh

 

[DL]

I have a couple of overnight tasks set, they all wake the PC and run
The user they are run under has no password set, the admin account does have
a password
You have checked the Task Service in Adminastrative Tools > Services?

 

[Leythos]

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You should format your hard drive and start fresh

Abuse complained sent to Teranews.com

 

[dareys]

Jose,

I usually respond to all messages, unless they state something obvious, or
that I am already responding to the person. Yes, I do ignore the ones that
are either negative or don´t make sense.

I am pretty sure that this is an issue with the password, as everything else
checks out. You have also given me all the elements to debug this so I think
I will start with the actual task that I want to schedule. But, yes,
simplifying is an excellent option.

It may be a week or so before I let you know though. Many thanks for your
help.

Jean-Pierre

 

[Jose]

Jose,

I usually respond to all messages, unless they state something obvious, or
that I am already responding to the person. Yes, I do ignore the ones that
are either negative or don´t make sense.

I am pretty sure that this is an issue with the password, as everything else
checks out. You have also given me all the elements to debug this so I think
I will start with the actual task that I want to schedule. But, yes,
simplifying is an excellent option.

It may be a week or so before I let you know though. Many thanks for your
help.

Jean-Pierre

I think you are on the right track and are now smarter than the
average bear.

Keep an eye on that log and maybe do some Google searches on any
errors.

Jose

 

[dareys]

Jose,

Again, I thank you for your help and for following the thread. I don´t know
who you are or what you do, but you embody all that is best in the spirit of
cooperation and free information exchange between IT people worldwide.

No wonder I love this field and the people therein. In spite of the
problems, and believe me, I have had my share... LOL

Anyway, I have conducted a few tests. Yes, the password for the account was
an issue. So I set one. Then the owner of the task was an issue. So I created
a maintenance account, deleted all scheduled tasks and started from scratch.

The results where strange. The job seems to wake up the machine (althought I
did not see it boot) and execute successfully with an exit status of 0x00.
So, no errors. However the machine does not stay up as I expect for the next
job...

Then when I looked at the log file you indicated, well, there was
information about an apparent successful execution, but not at the end of the
file as I would have expected, but in the midddle. How odd....

Anyway, I will keep trying and let you know. Addtional help would be
appreciated. Man, I have never had such a hard time scheduling something this
simple. In any case, thank you for your positive comments on my behalf.

Jean-Pierre

 

[Jose]

Jose,

Again, I thank you for your help and for following the thread. I don´t know
who you are or what you do, but you embody all that is best in the spiritof
cooperation and free information exchange between IT people worldwide.

No wonder I love this field and the people therein. In spite of the
problems, and believe me, I have had my share... LOL

Anyway, I have conducted a few tests. Yes, the password for the account was
an issue. So I set one. Then the owner of the task was an issue. So I created
a maintenance account, deleted all scheduled tasks and started from scratch.

The results where strange. The job seems to wake up the machine (althought I
did not see it boot) and execute successfully with an exit status of 0x00..  
So, no errors. However the machine does not stay up as I expect for the next
job...

Then when I looked at the log file you indicated, well, there was
information about an apparent successful execution, but not at the end ofthe
file as I would have expected, but in the midddle. How odd....

Anyway, I will keep trying and let you know. Addtional help would be
appreciated. Man, I have never had such a hard time scheduling something this
simple. In any case, thank you for your positive comments on my behalf.

Jean-Pierre

No problemo. It is good to know what is happening behind the scenes
and understand everything. Sometimes I get quite caught up in it, but
then I can explain it so it may be easy to understand.

I can remember that log file before looking strange on one system
which is why I needed to know how to delete it, etc.

It sounds like you are on the right track now and can troubleshoot
your issues more efficiently. There is plenty of reading from Google
searches and the links about scheduled tasks and how to get them to do
what you want. Whatever you are trying to do, somebody has probably
already done something similar and figured it out.

I would be pretty sure it is not an XP issue, or someone would really
be screaming about that. There are probably just some tips and tricks
you have not discovered yet, but you will!

Jose

 

[dareys]

Jose,

Well, I think I have always been pretty good at troubleshooting, but nobody
knows it all, and when you are dealing with things that are not your
specialty, or in this case, dealing with interaction between the OS and third
party software, it is not easy.

I reach out for help with the specifics that I don´t know, and so I came to
the MS ExpertZone groups for additional information regarding scheduling and
how to debug that in this OS. Thank you for that.

You do not comment about finding last exection messages in the middle of the
log file? Sonds pretty spooky to me. Anyway, at this point, I blew away the
file, and we shall see.

If anyone out there can help debug further, that would be nice, assuming
anyone else is following the thread. If things keep failing, I will just
repost.

Regards,

Jean-Pierre

P.S. Oh, yes, there was a configuration issue with the third party trying to
access
the internet. It could not, so I fixed that and perhaps that will be
it.
Thanks.

 

[Jose]

Jose,

Well, I think I have always been pretty good at troubleshooting, but nobody
knows it all, and when you are dealing with things that are not your
specialty, or in this case, dealing with interaction between the OS and third
party software, it is not easy.

I reach out for help with the specifics that I don´t know, and so I came to
the MS ExpertZone groups for additional information regarding scheduling and
how to debug that in this OS. Thank you for that.

You do not comment about finding last exection messages in the middle of the
log file? Sonds pretty spooky to me. Anyway, at this point, I blew away the
file, and we shall see.

If anyone out there can help debug further, that would be nice, assuming
anyone else is following  the thread. If things keep failing, I will just
repost.

Regards,

Jean-Pierre

P.S. Oh, yes, there was a configuration issue with the third party tryingto
access
       the internet. It could not, so I fixed that and perhaps that will be
it.
       Thanks.



...

read more »

I had forgotten how to troubleshoot Scheduled Tasks to this level
until I looked at your problem and also picked up a few tidbits of
knowledge along the way.

I will ponder your log file stuff. Maybe it is an undocumented XP
"feature".

If I find something interesting, I will post back here.

Jose

 

[Barry Schwarz]

You should format your hard drive and start fresh

For the archives, this is a forged post and the advice is bogus.