Windows XP includes powerful commandline admin utilities including schtasks which replaces Windows NT and Windows 2000
commandline scheduler AT.exe. Schtasks allows an
administrator to create, delete, query, change, run and end scheduled tasks on a
local or remote system.
Parameter List:
/Create : Creates a new scheduled task./Delete : Deletes the scheduled task(s).
/Query : Displays all scheduled tasks.
/Change : Changes the properties of scheduled task.
/Run : Runs the scheduled task immediately.
/End : Stops the currently running scheduled task.
/? Displays this help/usage.
Examples:
SCHTASKS
SCHTASKS /?
SCHTASKS /Run /?
SCHTASKS /End /?
SCHTASKS /Create /?
SCHTASKS /Delete /?
SCHTASKS /Query /?
SCHTASKS /Change /?
- SCHTASKS /Create /?
SCHTASKS /Create [/S system [/U username [/P password]]]
[/RU username [/RP password]] /SC schedule [/MO modifier] [/D day]
[/I idletime] /TN taskname /TR taskrun [/ST starttime] [/M months]
[/SD startdate] [/ED enddate]Description:
Enables an administrator to create scheduled tasks on a local or
remote systems.Parameter List:
/S system Specifies the remote system to
connect to. If omitted the system
parameter defaults to the local
system./U username Specifies the user context under
which the command should execute./P password Specifies the password for the given
user context./RU username Specifies the user account (user
context) under which the task runs.
For the system account, valid values
are “”, “NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM” or
“SYSTEM”./RP password Specifies the password for the user.
To prompt for the password, the value
must be either “*” or none.
Password will not effect for the
system account./SC schedule Specifies the schedule frequency.
Valid schedule types: MINUTE, HOURLY,
DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, ONCE,
ONSTART, ONLOGON, ONIDLE./MO modifier Refines the schedule type to allow
finer control over schedule
recurrence. Valid values are listed
in the “Modifiers” section below./D days Specifies the day of the week to run
the task. Valid values: MON, TUE,
WED, THU, FRI, SAT, SUN and for
MONTHLY schedules 1 – 31 (days of the
month)./M months Specifies month(s) of the year.
Defaults to the first day of the
month. Valid values: JAN, FEB, MAR,
APR, MAY, JUN, JUL, AUG, SEP, OCT,
NOV, DEC./I idletime Specifies the amount of idle time to
wait before running a scheduled
ONIDLE task.
Valid range: 1 – 999 minutes./TN taskname Specifies a name which uniquely
identifies this scheduled task./TR taskrun Specifies the path and file name of
the program to be run by this
scheduled task.
Example: C:\windows\system32\calc.exe/ST starttime Specifies the time to run the task.
The time format is HH:MM:SS (24 hour
time) for example, 14:30:00 for
2:30 PM./SD startdate Specifies the first date on which the
task runs. The format is
“mm/dd/yyyy”./ED enddate Specifies the last date when the task
should run. The format is
“mm/dd/yyyy”./? Displays this help/usage.
Modifiers: Valid values for the /MO switch per schedule type:
MINUTE: 1 – 1439 minutes.
HOURLY: 1 – 23 hours.
DAILY: 1 – 365 days.
WEEKLY: weeks 1 – 52.
ONCE: No modifiers.
ONSTART: No modifiers.
ONLOGON: No modifiers.
ONIDLE: No modifiers.
MONTHLY: 1 – 12, or
FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, LAST, LASTDAY.Examples:
SCHTASKS /Create /S system /U user /P password /RU runasuser
/RP runaspassword /SC HOURLY /TN rtest1 /TR notepad
SCHTASKS /Create /S system /U domain\user /P password /SC MINUTE
/MO 5 /TN rtest2 /TR calc.exe /ST 12:00:00
/SD 10/20/2001 /ED 10/20/2001 /RU runasuser /RP
SCHTASKS /Create /SC MONTHLY /MO first /D SUN /TN game
/TR c:\windows\system32\freecell
SCHTASKS /Create /S system /U user /P password /RU runasuser
/RP runaspassword /SC WEEKLY /TN test1 /TR notepad.exe
SCHTASKS /Create /S system /U domain\user /P password /SC MINUTE
/MO 5 /TN test2 /TR c:\windows\system32\notepad.exe
/ST 18:30:00 /RU runasuser /RP *
SCHTASKS /Create /SC MONTHLY /MO first /D SUN /TN cell
/TR c:\windows\system32\freecell /RU runasuser - SCHTASKS /delete /?
SCHTASKS /Delete [/S system [/U username [/P password]]] /TN taskname
[/F]Description:
Deletes one or more scheduled tasks.Parameter List:
/S system Specifies the remote system to connect to./U username Specifies the user context under
which the command should execute./P password Specifies the password for the given
user context./TN taskname Specifies the name of the scheduled task to
delete. Wildcard “*” may be used to delete
all tasks./F (Force) Deletes the task and suppresses
warnings if the specified task is currently
running./? Displays this help/usage.
Examples:
SCHTASKS /Delete /TN * /F
SCHTASKS /Delete /TN “Backup and Restore”
SCHTASKS /Delete /S system /U user /P password /TN “Start Restore”
SCHTASKS /Delete /S system /U user /P password /TN “Start Backup” /F - SCHTASKS /query /?
SCHTASKS /Query [/S system [/U username [/P password]]] [/FO format]
[/NH] [/V] [/?]Description:
Enables an administrator to display the scheduled tasks on the
local or remote system.Parameter List:
/S system Specifies the remote system to connect to./U username Specifies the user context under
which the command should execute./P password Specifies the password for the given
user context./FO format Specifies the output format to be
displayed. Valid values: TABLE, LIST, CSV./NH Specifies that the column header should not
be displayed in the output.
Valid only for TABLE and CSV formats./V Specifies additional output to be
displayed./? Displays this help/usage.
Examples:
SCHTASKS /Query
SCHTASKS /Query /?
SCHTASKS /Query /S system /U user /P password
SCHTASKS /Query /FO LIST /V /S system /U user /P password
SCHTASKS /Query /FO TABLE /NH /V - SCHTASKS /change /?
SCHTASKS /Change [/S system [/U username [/P password]]] {[/RU runasuser]
[/RP runaspassword] [/TR taskrun]} /TN tasknameDescription:
Changes the program to run, or user account and password used
by a scheduled task.Parameter List:
/S system Specifies the remote system to connect to./U username Specifies the user context under
which the command should execute./P password Specifies the password for the given
user context./RU username Changes the user name (user context) under
which the scheduled task has to run.
For the system account, valid values are
“”, “NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM” or “SYSTEM”./RP password Specifies a new password for the existing
user context or the password for a new
user account. Password will not effect for
the system account./TR taskrun Specifies a new program that the scheduled
task runs. Type the path and file name of
the program./TN taskname Specifies which scheduled task to change.
/? Displays this help/usage.
Examples:
SCHTASKS /Change /RP password /TN “Backup and Restore”
SCHTASKS /Change /TR restore.exe /TN “Start Restore”
SCHTASKS /Change /S system /U user /P password /RU newuser
/TN “Start Backup” - SCHTASKS /Run /?
SCHTASKS /Run [/S system [/U username [/P password]]] /TN taskname
Description:
Runs a scheduled task immediately.Parameter List:
/S system Specifies the remote system to connect
to./U username Specifies the user context under
which the command should execute./P password Specifies the password for the given
user context./TN taskname Identifies the scheduled task to run.
/? Displays this help/usage.
Examples:
SCHTASKS /Run /?
SCHTASKS /Run /TN “Start Backup”
SCHTASKS /Run /S system /U user /P password /TN “Backup and Restore” - SCHTASKS /End /?
SCHTASKS /End [/S system [/U username [/P password]]] /TN taskname
Description:
Stops a running scheduled task.Parameter List:
/S system Specifies the remote system to connect
to./U username Specifies the user context under
which the command should execute./P password Specifies the password for the given
user context./TN taskname Specifies the scheduled task to
terminate./? Displays this help/usage.
Examples:
SCHTASKS /End /?
SCHTASKS /End /TN “Start Backup”
SCHTASKS /End /S system /U user /P password /TN “Backup and Restore”
