Task Scheduler: Automation on Windows Server

# Via run
taskschd.msc

# Via PowerShell
Get-ScheduledTask | Where-Object State -eq "Running"

# 1. Define action (what to execute)
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction `
  -Execute "powershell.exe" `
  -Argument "-NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Scripts\backup.ps1"

# 2. Define trigger (when to execute)
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At "02:00AM"

# 3. Define settings
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet `
  -ExecutionTimeLimit (New-TimeSpan -Hours 2) `
  -RestartCount 3 `
  -RestartInterval (New-TimeSpan -Minutes 5)

# 4. Register the task
Register-ScheduledTask `
  -TaskName "Nightly Backup" `
  -Action $action `
  -Trigger $trigger `
  -Settings $settings `
  -RunLevel Highest `
  -User "SYSTEM"

# Every day at 3:00 AM
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At "03:00AM"

# Every Monday at 8:30 AM
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -WeeksInterval 1 `
  -DaysOfWeek Monday -At "08:30AM"

# First day of month at 00:00
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Monthly -DaysOfMonth 1 -At "00:00AM"

# Every hour (use RepetitionInterval)
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Once -At (Get-Date) `
  -RepetitionInterval (New-TimeSpan -Hours 1) `
  -RepetitionDuration ([TimeSpan]::MaxValue)

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

# At specific user login
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn -User "DOMAIN\user"

# When specific event is written to log
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtEvent `
  -LogName "System" -Source "Service Control Manager" -EventId 7036

# Create backup script
$backupScript = @'
$date = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd_HHmm"
$backupPath = "C:\Backup\DB_$date.bak"
Invoke-Sqlcmd -ServerInstance "localhost" -Query "BACKUP DATABASE MyDb TO DISK='$backupPath' WITH FORMAT, COMPRESSION"
# Delete backups older than 7 days
Get-ChildItem "C:\Backup\*.bak" | Where-Object LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) | Remove-Item
'@
$backupScript | Out-File "C:\Scripts\backup-sql.ps1" -Encoding utf8

# Create task
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "powershell.exe" `
  -Argument "-NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Scripts\backup-sql.ps1"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At "02:00AM"
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "SQL Nightly Backup" `
  -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -User "SYSTEM" -RunLevel Highest

$cleanScript = @'
$logPath = "C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles"
Get-ChildItem $logPath -Recurse -Filter "*.log" |
  Where-Object LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-30) |
  Remove-Item -Force
'@
$cleanScript | Out-File "C:\Scripts\clean-iis-logs.ps1" -Encoding utf8

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "powershell.exe" `
  -Argument "-NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Scripts\clean-iis-logs.ps1"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -WeeksInterval 1 `
  -DaysOfWeek Sunday -At "03:00AM"
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "IIS Log Cleanup" `
  -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -User "SYSTEM" -RunLevel Highest

$watchScript = @'
$service = "W3SVC"
if ((Get-Service $service).Status -ne "Running") {
  Start-Service $service
  Write-EventLog -LogName Application -Source "TaskScheduler" `
    -EventId 1001 -EntryType Warning -Message "Service $service restarted automatically"
}
'@
$watchScript | Out-File "C:\Scripts\watch-iis.ps1" -Encoding utf8

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "powershell.exe" `
  -Argument "-NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Scripts\watch-iis.ps1"
# Every 5 minutes
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Once -At (Get-Date) `
  -RepetitionInterval (New-TimeSpan -Minutes 5) `
  -RepetitionDuration ([TimeSpan]::MaxValue)
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Watch IIS" `
  -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -User "SYSTEM" -RunLevel Highest

# List all tasks
Get-ScheduledTask

# Filter by state
Get-ScheduledTask | Where-Object State -eq "Disabled"
Get-ScheduledTask | Where-Object State -eq "Ready"

# Run task manually
Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Nightly Backup"

# Enable / Disable
Enable-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Nightly Backup"
Disable-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Nightly Backup"

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

# View last result
(Get-ScheduledTaskInfo -TaskName "Nightly Backup").LastTaskResult
# 0 = success, any other value = error

# View current policy
Get-ExecutionPolicy -List

# Enable signed or local scripts for system
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope LocalMachine

# Or, for task only, use -ExecutionPolicy Bypass flag in action

# View task execution history (last 10 runs)
Get-ScheduledTaskInfo -TaskName "Nightly Backup"

# Detailed log in Event Viewer
# Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs
#           → Microsoft → Windows → TaskScheduler → Operational

# Enable operational log if disabled
wevtutil set-log "Microsoft-Windows-TaskScheduler/Operational" /enabled:true