System Tools

Scheduling Tasks

Filename (Actually a Class ID)

Explorer.exe ,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} \::{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

File location

\windows

Inf file associated?

No

How to launch - My Computer or...

Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Scheduled Tasks
or... Windows Tune Up Wizard or... icon in the Systray.

The Scheduled Tasks Wizard enables you to run important utilities such as ScanDisk, Disk Defragmenter and ScanRegW at regular intervals.

Once you have a task scheduled, an icon appears in the Taskbar tray.

Note: -A common question from this lesson is, "Can you schedule MSBackup as a scheduled task?" Yes, you can, however it will only bring up MSBackup. You cannot automate the backup process through Scheduled Tasks.

Configuring the Scheduled Tasks Wizard

The information below describes three tabs that are available from the properties of each scheduled task.

The Task tab provides the source location of the program, adding settings specific to running the task and comments you can add about the task (such as why it is running at a particular time or who created the task.

The Schedule tab provides options to configure the frequency, date, and time that the program should be run. You can also configure a task to run each time the computer starts.

From the Schedule tab you can also configure when the task runs based on day, month and so forth.

The Settings tab provides options to configure such as when to delete, or stop the program, how to run the program if the computer is idle, is in use, or has Power Management options enabled.

Hidden "System" Tasks

"Will the Windows 98 Scheduler inherit and run hidden "system" tasks that were present in the Windows 95 System Agent? In Windows 95, there was a way to add a key to the registry that would allow you to see these hidden tasks. (An example of a system task would be converting from Doublespace to Drivespace.) Are there still two types of tasks in Windows 98, "system" and "user"?

Yes, and Task Scheduler actually "unhides" the task. There are no more hidden tasks. As for the example of converting Doublespace to Drivespace, this 'task' is removed during the upgrade.

Everything is now a system task. The Tasks are stored as .JOB files in the Windows\Tasks directory and there is no way to customize them for individual users.

Points to Remember:

The Scheduled Tasks Wizard enables you to run important utilities such as ScanDisk, Disk Defragmenter and Backup at regular intervals
If you are upgrading a Windows 95 installation in which System Agent is installed, the System Agent tasks are inherited by the Scheduled Task
Run Scheduled Tasks from My Computer