Task scheduler doesn't wake computer

[Dave T.]

Vista Home Premium x86...
I've set Task Scheduler to wake up my computer at a specified time, but
it fails to do so. I checked out the following kb article, and adhered
to it as well as possible;

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929463/en-us

The log reports state that it failed and timed out. It terminates the
task with an error code 329 (Timed out) when I wake the computer in the
morning. When I run the task manually by clicking the run option in task
scheduler it runs the task fine. It just won't wake the computer. Any
advice on how to trouble-shoot this?

 

[Dave T.]

Hi Dave,

See if this tutorial can help you. Make sure that you have step 8
checked.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/166809-task-scheduler-wake-up-computer.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Vista Home Premium x86...
I've set Task Scheduler to wake up my computer at a specified time, but
it fails to do so. I checked out the following kb article, and adhered
to it as well as possible;

'The Task Scheduler does not wake the computer to run a scheduled task
in Windows Vista' (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929463/en-us)

The log reports state that it failed and timed out. It terminates the
task with an error code 329 (Timed out) when I wake the computer in the
morning. When I run the task manually by clicking the run option in
task
scheduler it runs the task fine. It just won't wake the computer. Any
advice on how to trouble-shoot this?

Thanks for the reply Shawn.

As near as I can tell, I have the settings as your tutorial suggests and
I have studied suggestions from other sources but the problem remains.
Task scheduler just won't wake up the computer.

 

[Dave T.]

Dave,

Under step 16 in that tutorial, you might see if checking "If the task
fails, restart every" and setting how often and the number of attempts
to try will help.

Brink,

I had it set it to retry every minute for 20 minutes. Any other ideas?

 

[Dave T.]

Dave,

I'm not sure why it is not waking up you computer with these settings
set. What is the program or action that you are trying use in the task
to wake up the computer?

Brink,

I am trying to devise a work-around for my backup software. My software,
Retrospect HD, does not have an .exe that I can place in the task
scheduler to start a backup at night. Therefore, I am trying to schedule
a simple task to wake up the computer and display a simple message on
the desktop, and then use the internal scheduler in Retrospect to start
a backup while the computer is awake. I guess the point is that it
doesn't really matter what I want to do, it all has to start with waking
the computer, which isn't happening. Retrospect support says I should
upgrade my backup software to a version that can work with task
scheduler, but there is no point to that if task scheduler won't wake
the computer.

I should add that *ALL* of the hidden tasks that came pre-loaded in the
computer such as windows defender scans, etc., are all scheduled to run
at night, but none of them are set up to wake the computer. I'm thinking
that something about the HP OEM setup won't allow a wake-up. I hear some
things on the net about Nvidia drivers messing with sleep, but no
solutions. It shouldn't be this hard. Waking up from sleep through task
scheduler is supported by Vista. I guess my next step is to go to HP
with this, but my experience with them says that they are going to want
me to do something incredibly stupid with my machine.

The only other relevant piece of info that I can think of is that I am
using a wireless keyboard and mouse.

 

[Dave T.]

Dave,

You might do a test by have Windows Defender set to wake the computer
up to run, then have your back up program scheduled to run a minute
after the time Windows Defender is sceduled to wake up the computer.
This tutorial will show you how to for Windows Defender. I have a
wireless mouse & keyboard to, and Windows Defender will wake the
computer up for me.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/135388-windows-defender-automatic-scanning.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Brink,

Actually I did this a little while ago. The only change I had to make
was to check the option to wake the computer in task scheduler. I will
report back tomorrow evening as to whether or not it worked.

Let me ask, I have been working from within my user log-on. Would all of
this be restricted to an elevated admin?

BTW, is there a typo in the tutorial? Step 1, paragraph 6, sub-paragraph
A), should that read "Check" instead of "Uncheck" to turn on automatic
scanning?

 

[Dave T.]

Dave,

Yes, you should be doing this from within an administrator account. The
tasks also need to have the "Run with highest privileges" checked to.

Brink,

I opened Windows defender with elevated privilege and modified the run
time, then opened task scheduler elevated and verified that everything
was as I wanted, then put the computer to sleep. The set time came...and
went... and nuttin'.

It's irritating because I am one of those who likes Vista better than
XP. This is one of VERY FEW glitches I have experienced.

 

[Dave T.]

Brink,

After working on this all afternoon, I just opened the "History" tab in
the task scheduler and discovered that every time I modified the Windows
Defender task, it was deleted by "NT Authority/System". Is this from
policy settings?

 

[Dave T.]

Dave,

I must admit that I'm stumped to why it is not working for you.

Shawn

Me too. Not sure at this point if it's worth any further effort. Thanks
a million for your help! Really appreciate it.

 

[Dave T.]

Your welcome Dave,

I just wish we could have got it working.

Shawn

Shawn, I found the answer! Aren't I wonderful? d8) No, actually, a
wonderful gal names Cheryl on the HP forum set me straight. The problem
is that Vistas task scheduler gets a headache if it has to deal with an
account that is password protected. There is an option to run the task
whether the user is logged on or not, but that doesn't work well. I
removed my password and ran a test, and it succeeded.

So, many thanks to her, and you for your fine effort. Please keep up the
good work. You are a valuable asset to these NG's.