Why doesn't my scheduled task run?

When you schedule a task which requires networking, i.e. copying files from another server, you may find that the service does not run when scheduled. This is to do with the fact that the Scheduler service default account - the system account, does not have networking privileges. The fix for this is shown below.

In Windows NT there are two ways to schedule a task depending on your installation. If you have Internet Explorers offline browsing pack installed then you will discover a scheduled task icon appears in My Computer. Otherwise you use the "at" command (or winat) to schedule your job.

AT COMMAND
> Goto "Start" - "Settings" - "Control Panel" - "Services"
> Scroll down to the "Schedule" service, select it and click startup
> Under "log on as" choose "This Account" and enter a valid user id and password, which has the appropriate rights.
> Click OK

SCHEDULED TASKS
> Goto "My Computer" and then "Scheduled Tasks"
> Goto the properties of the task that you want to change
> Under properties goto the "Task" tab
> Enter a valid account into the "Run As" textbox.
> Click "Set Password"
> Enter the password for that account
> Click OK twice.