Task Scheduler Reboot Function (WinOS)

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Affected Roles:  Administrator, Owner

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps:  DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Complexity:  Medium

Last Edit:  March 11, 2021

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Automatic Reboot

By default, DW Blackjack® units using Windows OS are configured to automatically reboot the operating system on the first (1st) of every month at 12:00 AM.  This is done purposefully as it helps to keep the computer running efficiently as it can flush the RAM, halts memory leaks, and can even resolve some operating issues.  All of this helps to maintain healthy processing performance.

The way that the DW Blackjack® units manage this setting is through the Windows Task Scheduler program.  Because of how tasks are created in the program, if the DW Blackjack® Owner or Administrator changes the Windows Username or Password, the task must be updated to work properly.

This article will outline how to adjust the rule in the Task Scheduler program to update the user information of a DW Blackjack (WinOS) system.

 

Supported/Affected Devices:

• DW Blackjack® Series (Windows OS)

 

Configuring Scheduled Reboot

To configure the scheduled reboot task:

1. As the computer’s Administrator user, open the Control Panel menu and select System and Security.

Select Administrative Tools.

 

2. Select the Task Scheduler program.

To locate the scheduled reboot task, click on Task Scheduler Library and locate System Restart from the list of scheduled tasks.

 

3. Double-click on the System Restart task.  The System Restart Properties window will display.

Select the General tab and click on the Change User or Group button.

 

4. The default user will display in the From this location box.  For DW Blackjack® systems, this is usually named after the unit’s model.

To change and use the updated user, click the Locations button.

Under the Location list, select the new user, then click the OK button to close the Locations window.

Next, click the OK button to close the Select User or Group window.

 

5. When you have finished adjusting the System Restart task configuration, click the OK button.  You will be prompted to enter the new system password.  Enter the password, then click OK.

 

6. After making adjustments to the system configuration, it is recommended to restart the computer. This can be used as an opportunity to test the task.

To do so, from the Task Scheduler’s task list, right-click on the System Restart task, then select Run.  The system will then reboot.

 

Additional Configuration Settings

From the Properties window, the following settings are recommended to facilitate the System Restart task.

 

General Tab

Under Security options, it is recommended to have the Run whether user is logged on or not setting selected.

Additionally, make sure that the Run with highest privileges is enabled.

 

Triggers Tab

From the Triggers tab, it is recommended have the task set to trigger Monthly at 12:00AM on day 1 for every month.

If you need to adjust when or how frequently this task triggers, you can select the trigger, then click the Edit button.

 

**NOTE:  If the computer is not restarted on a regular schedule and is left running indefinitely, system issues will be more likely to occur.  Once a month is recommended at minimum.

 

 

Actions Tab

From the Actions tab, it is recommended that the Action is set to “Start a program” and that the Details are set to “shutdown.exe /f /r /t 0”.

If this must be corrected, you can select the Action and click the Edit button.

 

Conditions Tab

From the Conditions tab, under the Power section, it is recommended to have “Start the task only if the computer is on AC power” and “Stop if the computer switches to battery power” enabled.

By default, DW Blackjack® Server units are configured to never go into Sleep Mode as they are intended to act as dedicated server units.  However, if for some reason you have changed this setting, it is recommended that you also enable the “Wake the computer to run this task” setting to ensure that this task runs if the unit has fallen asleep.

 

Settings Tab

From the Settings tab, it is recommended to enable the following:

• Allow task to be run on demand
• Stop the task if it runs longer than:  1 hour
• If the running task does not end when requested, force it to stop