TasksTools |
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.