Running Procomm When Not Logged On

[KennethLove]

I'm running NT4 Workstation with Procomm Plus v4.5. We are connecting to an internal Worldgroup BBS via Telnet to update the file lists in the BBS libraries.

My question:

Is it possible to run an Aspect script in Procomm while not logged on to the machine?

I have a script that works fine on the scheduler (most of the time anyway) if a user is logged on at the time it runs. It even works if the computer is locked. However, if no one is logged on then all I get is a Procomm process without a window/frame/UI. This process never ends unless I kill it or reboot the machine.

In the Windows Task Scheduler, I told it to use the administrator ID and password and run a batch file that then calls Procomm with the appropriate command line arguments.

Is there a setting somewhere that allows Procomm to run as a service or in an unattended mode?

If this is possible under versions later than v4.5 then please let me know that as well. We are looking to upgrade to Windows XP Pro in the near future.

Thanks in advance for any assistance on this matter.

Kenneth Love
Programmer/Analyst

 

[knob]

Off the top of my head, I do not believe this is possible but I have not tested it. I recall a piece of software (I think from Microsoft, maybe from a resource kit) called srvany.exe that would let you run a program as a service, but I don't know if Procomm would work well with it.


aspect@aspectscripting.com

http://www.aspectscripting.com

 

[KennethLove]

Thanks for your response, knob.

I was afraid that would be the answer, but I decided to ask anyway.

Kenneth

 

[IncredibleVolk]

Why don't you write a script to login? If you're just trying to login to telnet you can write an aspect script to log you in. If you're trying to login to the actual machine through Windows there are Windows Script Host scripts (.vbs) that can be run from task scheduler to log you in.

 

[KennethLove]

IncredibleVolk,

Would you provide a link to a WSH script to log on to the machine via the Windows Task Scheduler?

A WSH script to log off would be helpful as well.

adTHANKSvance,
Kenneth Love

 

[IncredibleVolk]

I actually only used a Windows shutdown script, but the login may be at one of these sites:

http://www.apostate.com/programming/wsh-adsi.html

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Guenter_Born/WSHBazaar/WSH1.htm

If you're going to use a scheduled task to login to Windows you still must leave the power on. If you don't come across a login script you can always try a product called Tweak Manager. It has an option that allows you to bypass the login.

 

[knob]

I finally got around to install Procomm on a spare Win2K machine at work and was able to schedule a script to run while the machine was not logged in and it appeared to work fine (although all I did was create a text file and write a line to it). However, I did it a bit differently then you as I scheduled Procomm and then went into the scheduler's advanced properties for that task, went to the end of the Run field, and added a space followed by the name of the .wax file I wanted to run.


aspect@aspectscripting.com

http://www.aspectscripting.com

 

[KennethLove]

Knob,

Did you use the Procomm Scheduler or the Windows Task Scheduler?

I suppose I could set up two tasks. One for the batch file and the tasks it needs to perform and then another for the Procomm script. Then I would just schedule them a few minutes apart.

However, I'm worried that the reason the script fails is because the telnet client portion of Procomm is looking for a terminal to display on and this isn't "available" until NT is logged on. The limited amount of testing I have had time for indicated that's what the problem is. I say this because the BBS never showed a logon attempt, but the Procomm process was still running in NT's Task Manager. I let it run for almost 24 hours before killing it and the BBS never heard a peep.

The only other thing I can think of is that I was running into a permissions problem. I doubt that was the case since I provided an administrator ID and password to "Run As".

For now, I'm just going to leave it running as is and anyone else that needs the machine will have to talk to me beforehand. /shrug

Thanks for all of the suggestions knob and IncredibleVolk.

Kenneth

 

[knob]

I was using the Windows Scheduler. What kind of tasks are you performing? I can try duplicating them as best I can and see if I get the same problem.


aspect@aspectscripting.com

http://www.aspectscripting.com