Scheduler won't let me log out

Jaylee · Post by **Jaylee** » Tue May 23, 2006 2:28 am

Hello,

I apologise if this has already been asked and answered, however, I couldn't find anything when I searched the forum.

I am using Version 8 on XP. I have created a short encrypted macro to log into the PC I have running various other scripts. As I want this to happen before I get to the office, I used the option in the Tools to "Keep scheduling on exit" and have also set up the other required changes to the Windows logon (as per the Help file and this post: http://www.mjtnet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2811). The one thing I have not been able to do is to disable Fast User Switching as I am unable to locate this option. If I navigate through Start > Control Panel > User Accounts, there are no options for Fast User Switching.

Once the "Keep scheduling on exit" option is engaged, XP does not allow me to either "Log off" or "Shut Down". I can click Start > Log Off but XP ignores the command. It also seems to be preventing other macros performing at their scheduled times and, for those running repeat sessions after a designated time, the times are not resetting.

I am the workstation owner with local Administrator permissions.

Things only seem to go back to normal if I close MS from the system tray or use the Task Manager to end the mssched.exe process.

Where am I going wrong?

Any info would be gratefully received.

TIA.

J.

Post by **Marcus Tettmar** » Tue May 23, 2006 7:26 am

First - are you running XP Service Pack 2? Is XP fully up to date with all the latest updates and hotfixes?

What happens if you enable "Keep scheduling on exit" and then Exit Macro Scheduler before logging off XP. Does Macro Scheduler close successfully?

Just wondering if the service is installed correctly as it sounds to me like Macro Scheduler is unable to start the Scheduler Service on close down and is waiting for it to respond.

You can check to see if the service is installed correctly under:

Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services

Check that the "Macro Scheduler Service" is installed correctly.

Disable "Keep scheduling on exit" and exit Macro Scheduler and then see if you can start the scheduler service manually. What happens?

Jaylee · Post by **Jaylee** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:18 am

Hello Marcus,

Thank you for the fast response.

First - are you running XP Service Pack 2? Is XP fully up to date with all the latest updates and hotfixes?

Yes. This PC is part of a network which is continually updated.

What happens if you enable "Keep scheduling on exit" and then Exit Macro Scheduler before logging off XP. Does Macro Scheduler close successfully?

Yes. If I close MS before trying to log off, everything operates normally.

Just wondering if the service is installed correctly as it sounds to me like Macro Scheduler is unable to start the Scheduler Service on close down and is waiting for it to respond.

You can check to see if the service is installed correctly under:

Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services

Check that the "Macro Scheduler Service" is installed correctly.

Disable "Keep scheduling on exit" and exit Macro Scheduler and then see if you can start the scheduler service manually. What happens?

Services showed the scheduler was set on automatic. I tried the following:
1. Enabled "Keep scheduling on exit", left MS running, successfully started the scheduler through the Services window.
2. Disabled "Keep scheduling on exit", left MS running, unsuccessfully attempted to start the scheduler through the Services window.
3. Enabled "Keep scheduling on exit", closed MS, found the scheduler already running in the Services window.

This is the first time I have attempted to use this scheduling service in this way. Should I be exiting MS prior to attempting to log off the PC as this obviously works? I've previously used a normal, scheduled "Close Windows" script (with very little modification to the one supplied as an example with the application). This has not required MS to close until Windows forces the close during the log off process (at least, not that I've noticed!)

Any futher thoughts, please?

TIA.

J.

Post by **Marcus Tettmar** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:27 am

Well when you exit Macro Scheduler it starts the scheduler service. When you log out of Windows that itself causes applications to shut down and therefore Macro Scheduler will shut down and in so doing will start the scheduler service. Sounds like on your machine something doesn't want to give and it sounds to me like it is waiting forever while starting the service on shut down. Yet you are able to get it working by first exiting Macro Scheduler then shutting down Windows.

If you enable the scheduler service then exit Macro Scheduler the service should be running and you can then shut down Windows. You shouldn't have to do it that way, but if that gets it working for you then you can do that as a workaround for now.

You should just be able to close down Windows without exiting Macro Scheduler first.

Jaylee · Post by **Jaylee** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:47 am

Wow, you're fast!

Thank you for following up. Can I programmatically close MS from its minimised state in the system tray or do I need to run it in full window status and then have a script exit the application? (This PC is about to be replaced so maybe this will run properly on the replacement once it is set up). In the meantime, I need to allow the auto login, script execution, and auto log out at night for security reasons and I'm the only person with the access to some applications I'm using the scripts to run.

If I can close it from the system tray, could you please advise how I do that?

Thanks again.

J.

Post by **Marcus Tettmar** » Tue May 23, 2006 10:12 am

You can exit the software via the tray by right clicking on the Macro Scheduler tray icon and selecting Exit.

Hmm. But I wonder if it will fail to close down again after it has AutoLogged in for the same reason.

I would recommend that instead of logging off, just *lock* the workstation instead. That way the software doesn't have to close down. You can lock the workstation manuall when you leave in the evening with:

rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

You could make a macro to do it:

Run>rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

Then on the night time schedule AutoLogon will unlock the PC, run the macro and then lock it again. Macro Scheduler will continue to run and this approach will avoid any issues your PC has with logging off completely.

Jaylee · Post by **Jaylee** » Wed May 24, 2006 7:28 am

Hi Marcus,

Thanks again for the follow up. I was trying to avoid any manual input on this PC at all which is why I was after a programmatical method of closing MS from the system tray.

At COB yesterday, I closed MS, logged out of the workstation manually, and left the scheduler to login automatically this morning. This happened as hoped, however, the daily scripts did not follow their expected schedules. I'm not sure whether the first script ran at its first scheduled time as this was due before I got to work, but it certainly did not reset to the next scheduled time and I have had to use hot keys all day to force a run.

For the moment, I'll disable the scheduling until the new PC arrives and is set up as I have previously experienced password issues if I've left things logged in overnight, due to various software upgrades/patches run across the network.

If anyone else reading this has found this sort of issue and solved it, I would be grateful for any pointers.

Kind regards,
J.

Bob Hansen · Post by **Bob Hansen** » Wed May 24, 2006 5:07 pm

I'm not sure whether the first script ran at its first scheduled time as this was due before I got to work, but it certainly did not reset to the next scheduled time and I have had to use hot keys all day to force a run.

Turn on logging for each of the scripts, and then you can look at the log to see if the script tried to run and if it completed.