Workshop: Automate Windows by scheduling tasks

Task scheduling — starting and stopping programs at set times — has always been a feature of Windows, but it has been subject to many changes over the years.

In Windows Vista the process has been completely overhauled and now offers users greater control than ever, but this Workshop concentrates on task scheduling as it is implemented in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, which is still used by the majority of PCs.

The tasks most suitable for scheduling are the sort of time-consuming maintenance operations we all tend to ignore, such as defragmenting a hard disk or cleaning out unwanted files, but there are many other possibilities, such as scheduling backups to take place overnight or downloading files from the internet at times when your internet service provider does not impose traffic restrictions.

Click here to find out how to use the Windows Scheduled Tasks feature.