TasksTools

Tasks Tools

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Scheduled Tasks

The Scheduled Tasks folder in Control Panel displays any tasks that have been scheduled to run on the system. New tasks are added to the folder using Add Scheduled Task, which starts the Scheduled Task Wizard. The Advanced menu on the Scheduled Tasks folder has several useful options:

Stop Using Task Scheduler

Stops Task Scheduler from running. The next time you start your computer, however, Task Scheduler will not automatically start again, and you will have to use Services in Computer Management to reconfigure its startup settings.

Pause Task Scheduler

Pauses the service and prevents any tasks from running. To resume the service, select Continue Task Scheduler.

Notify Me of Missed Tasks

Configures Task Scheduler to notify you by a pop-up message when a task can't be run.

AT Service Account

Specifies an account other than the System account as a security context within which scheduled tasks are run.

View Log

Opens the Task Scheduler log in Notepad. This log includes information on both tasks and the state of the service itself. The most recent data is at the bottom of the file. Note that this file is described incorrectly as SchedLog.txt in WS2003 Help (it is actually SchedLgU.txt and is in %SystemRoot% ). A quick way to check the status of a task is to make sure the Scheduled Tasks folder is set to Details view and scroll to the Status column.

Task Manager

Task Manager has been enhanced in WS2003 with two additional tabs, Network and Users. The tasks that can be performed on these tabs are:

Applications

Displays the foreground programs currently running on the computer and lets you switch to a program (bring it into the foreground), end a program, or find the process associated with the program. You can also launch a new program if you know its associated executable file.

Processes

Displays the processes currently running on the computer and lets you end a process, end the process tree of which this process is the root, or modify the priority of the process. Do not indiscriminately modify the priority of running processes or your system may stop responding. You can use the Options menu to hide or view 16 bit processes that are running and the View menu to change to display additional columns of information about running processes.

Performance

Graphically displays CPU and virtual-memory usage and gives various real-time statistics about processes and memory. Double-click on a graph to display CPU usage information only in expanded view. Use the View menu to change the update speed, display each CPU separately on multiprocessor machines, or display the activity of kernel processes.

Networking

Graphically displays network utilization for any local area connections on your machine. By default, only Bytes Total is displayed, but you can also display Bytes Sent and Bytes Received using the View menu. Double-click on a graph to display Task Manager in full screen mode.

Users

Displays users currently connected to the machine. Right-click on a user to disconnect or log off the user or send a console message to the user , including to remote users connected to the system using Remote Desktop.

You can use the View menu to change the speed at which the information displayed by Task Manager is updated.