It is possible to set up Windows so that it displays verbose messages during startup or shutdown.
I'm writing a VBScript procedure which will be ran at startup and I would like to display a meaning message instead of the default "Running startup scripts".
How to achieve this in VBS?
You need to use Windows administrative tools which allow you to configure start up for specific users or users group to execute anything on start-up, shutdown even change their backgrounds. Network policy maybe useful for that as well if you are on domain controlled environment.
Also you can use MSCONFIG on a single system to add or define what ever you want to run at startup, for as long as it is valid windows program.
Once you configured what script to run use Windows console (run that under wscript.exe) to execute your VBS file with what ever you want to put there (with wscript you will get dialog with your text in it).
Usually it should look like
Wscript.Echo "Meaningful message goes here"
If you run that under cscript.exe you'll get output in your console window.
Related
When running a Scheduled Task under Windows to launched batch processes under a dedicated account, you could want to see output of theses processes.
These sub-processes could be either or both graphical or character based applications
As there are running in a different Windows Logon session, I cannot find way to display their output. There are like ghost processes
I would expect being able to use the show Window command from Process Explorer, but even via running Process Explorer under the dedicated account used to run the task (via runas), it is not working
Is there a way to do it ?
References : http://www.brianbondy.com/blog/id/100/
I believe that once created, a window cannot be transferred to another window station. Also, I doubt it is possible to open windows in another session. For character-based applications you are better off writing the output to some file and examining that file. For graphical applications you are out of luck with task scheduler. You may want to write a simple VBS script that wakes up at a certain time and runs your graphical task(s) and run it upon user logon, e.g. along the lines of a script from this page:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/scriptcenter/en-US/d9465815-87e2-43df-a0fe-4a23c16dca99/need-a-time-schedule-in-vbs-script-to-execute-something
I have a vbscript file that must run under 32bit on a 64 bit Windows 7 machine so that it can connect to a 32 bit Access database. From a run box I can enter:
C:\Windows\SysWow64\WSCRIPT.EXE P:\Applicants\Applicants.wsf
and it runs great. When I try to run this as a scheduled task, it runs in under a second (it shouldn't be that fast) and claims it finished successfully. This is the 'action' I am running it under currently:
Start a Program
C:\Windows\SysWow64\WSCRIPT.EXE
Arguments: //Nologo //B P:\Applicants\Applicants.wsf >> P:\Applicants\logfile.txt
I have also tried running it under CScript instead of WScript and the result is exactly the same.
Before I added "//Nologo //B" (a tip I found here) it would start running and never stop.
The optional "Start In" box is empty. If I put any value in it at all (tried P:\Applicants) the task fails to start with "Error Value: 2147942667." No solutions offered by searching this error code have worked so I leave this box empty.
The logfile never even gets created and none of the work the script performs is getting done.
The task runs under my network account and should have access to all needed drives and resources.
Suggestions? Without a logfile I don't even know where to begin troubleshooting this thing.
EDIT: New Info: If I set it to run only when I am logged in it works fine. It is only when set to run even if user is logged off that it doesn't work, even if I am logged in when it runs.
EDIT 2: Security context of 'run even if user is logged off' states that ""...select the radio button labeled Run whether user is logged on or not. If this radio button is selected, tasks will not run interactively. To make a task run interactively, select the Run only when user is logged on radio button."
So I guess it thinks my script is somehow interactive, but it isn't. There aren't any kind of prompts or dialog boxes or msgBox calls so I'm not sure why this would be an issue.
Got it! The problem was that I was referencing a mapped drive with P:\ both in the 'action' call and in the script itself. When I replaced all calls to the P drive with the full network path \server\share everything works fine. Of course mapped drives aren't available if I'm not logged in, makes perfect sense :p
You have two options.
1.Create a batch file with the command to run, then schedule the batch file to run instead of the VBScript file.
2.Run the script file directly, instead of using WScript or CScript.
Sources: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsserver2008r2general/thread/464a3bb3-3bcd-47a0-ab03-f0b8910f2ed1/
I am using nant, but this can apply to any thing, I just want to know if there is a way to set windows cmd or console2 or some kind of shell to give me a popup or make a noise when it is "finished" (i.e. when it is waiting and the screen says >C:\User\Random_FILE_PATH>_)
I'm using windows 7.
Valentine
sorry, to clarify, I am not running a script that I created, this is just when running anything in the console. I would like it to be that anytime my console is waiting for me it creates a pop up or a noise. This would ideally be some kind of setting
You may open a message box in the end of your batch file, using WSH with a simple VBScript or JScript. See Show a popup/message box from a Windows batch file for an example.
c:\> my_command & mshta.exe vbscript:Execute("msgbox ""finished"",0,""finished"":close")
this here uses conditional execution - when my_command is finished the mshta.exe will be executed with arguments in the brackets.As the parameter passing here is not so easy the string given to msgbox will not be displayed.
you can add a beep to your prompt:
set prompt=%prompt%^G
Don't type ^G. To get it, keep your alt-key pressed while entering 0 0 7 on your numeric keyboard.
I have a system service running on my Windows machine that can impersonate the currently logged on user and launch applications on their behalf (including UI apps).
It works fine when the user is already logged on into their interactive session, their Desktop is created, and so on.
The startup of the service is Automatic, so it is started automatically after each reboot. If it attempts to run some program (that needs UI access) immediately after the service is started, that program may fail - possibly because the autologon process is still in progress, the Desktop is not created yet, etc.
The question is: if the service starts "early", how can it wait for the interactive session to be fully initialized (apart from waiting some arbitrary time, which is not optimal)?
Or, can the service be started "late"? Is there a registry key, or a folder, or something else, that I can use to delay the service startup to the moment when the Shell is ready and it is safe to launch UI applications?
The easiest two ways to "execute some code when a user logs on" is to write a .bat file, and either:
1) Put the .bat file in the startup folder
<= Note: Windows 7/Vista has a new location for "Startup folder"
... or ...
2) Create a new Task that calls the .bat file at login
I option "2)" gives you finer control. It also allows the .bat file to "Run as Administrator" if needed.
If you'd like to make the .bat file pause briefly (e.g. to make sure things are completely initialized", you can add "ping -w" to your .bat file.
EXAMPLE:
#rem Waits 5 seconds before continuing
ping 1.1.1.1 -n 1 -w 5000 > nul
I'm working on Windows Server 2003 and Windows server 2008.
I would like to start a batch script just before the login window is displayed.
I read about adding the script in the Group Policy editor (startup/shutdown) but it's not working (it worked for logon and logoff though).
An alternative would be to use the task scheduler service but it's not working either. Plus, I want to be able to see the results in a cmd window. That means the last alternative - creating a service to do the job - is not an option.
Do you have any idea ?
Thanks.
Control Panel -> Scheduled Tasks -> < follow the prompts>
Not as nice as a service, which you can start and stop through well-behaved commands, but if it is a service you want running at all times, it does the job.
Try adding your script as a user defined service
That way it will get executed before the login prompt;
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=137890
Though this article says it can't be used for batch scripts, you can call the script from an executable.