With the Scheduled Tasks program included with Windows XP you can schedule any script, program, or document to run at any time. The Scheduled Tasks program runs each time Windows XP starts and makes it easy to schedule your optimization tools to run when the computer is not busy.

To open Scheduled Tasks, click on the Start Button, browse to All Programs, Accessories, and System Tools, and select the Scheduled Tasks icon.

To add a Scheduled task click the Add Scheduled Task icon. The Scheduled Task Wizard should appear. To continue to the next step in the wizard, click the Next button.

 

 

The next window of the Scheduled Task Wizard allows you to select the program you want Windows to run, or you can browse for a program.

 

 

The next window allows you to specify the name for this task, and when to perform the task. Depending on the choice that is made in this window you will be prompted for different types of information. Here’s a breakdown of the available choices:

Choice	Options
Daily	Start time  How often to perform the task (Options are Every Day, Weekdays, or you may pick the number of days manually) Start date Username Password
Weekly	Start time Every X weeks. (type in a number) The day(s) of the week. (pick from a checkbox) Username Password
Monthly	Start time Start date (with radio buttons) The months of the year Username Password
One time only	Start time Start date Username Password
When my computer starts	Start time Start date Username Password
When I log on	Username Password

 

 

 

For each scheduled task that is created additional advanced settings can be modified through the properties of the scheduled task.

 

 

There are three tabs available in this advanced properties window for the scheduled task we created: Task, Schedule, and Settings.

• Task tab: Allows you to change the program being run, the user running it, and checkbox options for: Run only if logged on and Enabled (scheduled tasks runs at specific time.)

• Schedule tab: Allows you to adjust the time and date that the scheduled task is set to run on.

• Settings tab: Allows options for Scheduled Task Completed, Idle Time, and Power Management.