Windows Tasks for Remote Sites
Reference Number: AA-00420 Views: 5063 Created: 2014-09-25 12:45 Last Updated: 2014-09-25 12:57 0 Rating/ Voters


Setting Up Windows Tasks With Administrator Privileges

When setting up remote sites and its respective Windows Tasks to perform the merging process every night, we at CerTek have found out that there are a couple of settings that should be correctly configured to make this tasks run more efficiently and with less vulnerability to break, thus allowing clients to always keep their data up to date for each site and also free up CerTek support staff of doing manual merges repeatedly for customers that have tasks failure.


Computer Must Have a Password

In order for Windows to allow us to create the task the way we want it with admin privileges and run as scheduled whether there is an user logged on or not, Windows requires an administrator user with a password to create this task. If you only have and administrator user with no password, you will not be able to set it up even though it may allow you to save the tasks. You must have a password; otherwise, it won't work.

  • Set up the password or ask for if the computer already has one. The client must know this and if they don't, preferably let them set one so CerTek is not responsible if the password is forgotten.



Create The Windows Task

Create the Basic Task as normally done and when you get prompted to "Finish" make sure you check the "Open the properties dialog box when I click finish" option on the bottom. See image below.





Configure Tasks 

Now we just need to adjust some options to make it work better with Artisan's merging process. Follow along with the images below.

  • On the General Tab:
    • Set "Run whether user is logged on or not"
    • Check "Run with highest privileges"




  • On the Conditions Tab:
    • Uncheck all options
    • Nothing should be set to "Yes"




  • On the Settings Tab:
    • Check "Allow task to be run on demand
    • Uncheck "Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed"
    • Check " If the task fails, restart every:"
      • 15 minutes
      • Attempt to restart up to: 2 times (If if fails 2 times there is something else wrong, no point on keep trying)
    • Check "Stop the task if it runs longer than:"
      • 1 hour or 2 hours ( Just make sure it stops before another Artisan task runs since only one Artisan task can be ran at a time)
    • Check "If the running task does not end when requested, force it to stop"
    • Uncheck "If the task is not scheduled to run again, delete it after:"
    • If the task is already running, then the following rule applies:
      • Set to: "Do not start a new instance"




Finish Creating The Task

Go back to General tab and click OK

  • It should ask you to enter the password if you have followed the steps correctly.
  • If it does not ask you for the password, then it is not set correctly.
  • NOTE: Windows XP lets you create the task by clicking OK when prompted for the password even if the Administrator user does not have a password set. This won't work, there has to be a password defined. Always check the Windows User Accounts in Control Panel to check if they have set a password.








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