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Windows Scheduled Tasks

This guide explains how to automate tasks on your Windows VPS with Task Scheduler.

Access Task Scheduler​

  • Win + R > taskschd.msc
  • Or search for "Task Scheduler"

Create a Simple Task​

Via GUI​

  1. In the right panel, click Create Basic Task...
  2. Name: Give a descriptive name
  3. Trigger: Choose the frequency
    • Daily, Weekly, Monthly, etc.
  4. Action: Select Start a program
  5. Program/script: Path to the executable or script
  6. Finish

Example: Daily Backup​

  1. Name: "Daily Backup"
  2. Trigger: Daily at 03:00
  3. Action: C:\Scripts\backup.bat

Create an Advanced Task​

For more options, use Create Task...

General Tab​

  • Name: Task name
  • Run whether user is logged on or not: Check for server tasks
  • Run with highest privileges: For tasks requiring admin rights

Triggers Tab​

Click New... to add triggers:

  • On a schedule: Fixed time
  • At startup: When the server starts
  • At log on: When a user logs in
  • On an event: In response to a Windows event

Actions Tab​

  • Start a program: Run a script or application
  • Send an e-mail: (deprecated, use a PowerShell script)
  • Display a message: (deprecated)

Conditions Tab​

  • Start the task only if the computer is idle
  • Start only if on AC power
  • Wake the computer to run this task

Settings Tab​

  • Allow task to be run on demand
  • Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed
  • Stop the task if it runs longer than: Timeout

PowerShell: Task Management​

Create a Task​

# Define the action
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "PowerShell.exe" -Argument "-File C:\Scripts\backup.ps1"

# Define the trigger (every day at 3 AM)
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 3am

# Define settings
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -ExecutionTimeLimit (New-TimeSpan -Hours 1)

# Create the task
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Daily Backup" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Settings $settings -User "SYSTEM" -RunLevel Highest

Trigger Examples​

# At system startup
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtStartup

# Every hour
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Once -At (Get-Date) -RepetitionInterval (New-TimeSpan -Hours 1) -RepetitionDuration (New-TimeSpan -Days 365)

# Every Monday at 8 AM
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -DaysOfWeek Monday -At 8am

# 1st of every month
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Monthly -DaysOfMonth 1 -At 00:00

Manage Existing Tasks​

# List all tasks
Get-ScheduledTask

# View task details
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Daily Backup" | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo

# Run a task manually
Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Daily Backup"

# Disable a task
Disable-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Daily Backup"

# Enable a task
Enable-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Daily Backup"

# Delete a task
Unregister-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Daily Backup" -Confirm:$false

Useful Scripts​

Backup Script​

Create C:\Scripts\backup.ps1:

# Configuration
$source = "C:\inetpub\wwwroot"
$destination = "C:\Backups"
$date = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm"
$backupFile = "$destination\backup_$date.zip"

# Create destination folder if needed
if (!(Test-Path $destination)) {
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $destination
}

# Create archive
Compress-Archive -Path $source -DestinationPath $backupFile -Force

# Delete backups older than 7 days
Get-ChildItem $destination -Filter "*.zip" | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) } | Remove-Item

# Log
Add-Content -Path "C:\Scripts\backup.log" -Value "$(Get-Date): Backup created - $backupFile"

Service Restart Script​

# C:\Scripts\restart-service.ps1
$serviceName = "MyService"

Stop-Service -Name $serviceName -Force
Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
Start-Service -Name $serviceName

# Log
$status = Get-Service -Name $serviceName
Add-Content -Path "C:\Scripts\service.log" -Value "$(Get-Date): $serviceName - $($status.Status)"

Log Cleanup Script​

# C:\Scripts\cleanup-logs.ps1
$logFolders = @(
    "C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles",
    "C:\Windows\Temp"
)
$daysToKeep = 30

foreach ($folder in $logFolders) {
    Get-ChildItem $folder -Recurse -File | Where-Object {
        $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-$daysToKeep)
    } | Remove-Item -Force
}

Add-Content -Path "C:\Scripts\cleanup.log" -Value "$(Get-Date): Cleanup completed"

Disk Monitoring Script​

# C:\Scripts\disk-check.ps1
$threshold = 80
$disk = Get-WmiObject Win32_LogicalDisk -Filter "DeviceID='C:'"
$usedPercent = [math]::Round(($disk.Size - $disk.FreeSpace) / $disk.Size * 100)

if ($usedPercent -gt $threshold) {
    # Send an alert email
    $smtpServer = "smtp.example.com"
    $from = "server@example.com"
    $to = "admin@example.com"
    $subject = "VPS Disk Alert"
    $body = "Drive C: is at $usedPercent% capacity."

    Send-MailMessage -SmtpServer $smtpServer -From $from -To $to -Subject $subject -Body $body
}

Common Use Cases​

Restart a Game Server Every 6 Hours​

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "PowerShell.exe" -Argument "-Command Restart-Service -Name 'FiveM'"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Once -At (Get-Date) -RepetitionInterval (New-TimeSpan -Hours 6) -RepetitionDuration ([TimeSpan]::MaxValue)
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Restart FiveM" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -User "SYSTEM" -RunLevel Highest

Run a Script at Startup​

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "PowerShell.exe" -Argument "-File C:\Scripts\startup.ps1"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtStartup
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -AllowStartIfOnBatteries
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Startup Script" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Settings $settings -User "SYSTEM" -RunLevel Highest

View Execution Logs​

# Task history
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Daily Backup" | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo

# View in Event Viewer
eventvwr.msc
# Then: Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > TaskScheduler > Operational

Troubleshooting​

Task Doesn't Run​

  1. Verify the user has permissions
  2. Check "Run whether user is logged on or not"
  3. Verify paths (use absolute paths)
  4. Check Event Viewer

Error 0x1​

The script ended with an error. Test the script manually.

"Access Denied" Error​

Run with highest privileges and/or use the SYSTEM account.

Tip

Always test your scripts manually before scheduling them, and use log files to track their execution.