Manage Scheduled Tasks on a Computer

Problem

You want to schedule a task on a computer.

Solution

To manage scheduled tasks, use the schtasks.exe application. To view the list of scheduled tasks:

PS >schtasks

TaskName Next Run Time Status ==================================== ======================== ============= Defrag C 03:00:00, 5/21/2007 User_Feed_Synchronization{CA4D6D9C 18:34:00, 5/20/2007 User_Feed_Synchronization{CA4D6D9C 18:34:00, 5/20/2007

To schedule a task to defragment C: every day at 3:00 a.m.:

schtasks /create /tn "Defrag C" /sc DAILY ` /st 03:00:00 /tr "defrag c:" /ru Administrator

To remove a scheduled task by name:

schtasks /delete /tn "Defrag C"

Discussion

The example in the solution tells the system to defragment C: every day at 3:00 a.m.. It runs this command under the Administrator account, since the defrag.exe command requires administrative privileges. In addition to scheduling tasks on the local computer, the schtasks.exe application also allows you to schedule tasks on remote computers.

On Windows Vista, the schtasks.exe application has been enhanced to support event triggers, conditions, and additional settings.

For more information about the schtasks.exe application, type schtasks /?.