Soon.exe Schedules Tasks for Next Day Instead of Current Day (237840)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 SP4, when used with:
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows NT
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 SP5, when used with:
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows NT
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP4, when used with:
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows NT
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP5, when used with:
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows NT
This article was previously published under Q237840

SYMPTOMS

When you schedule a task using the Soon tool (Soon.exe) included with the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit, the task may be scheduled for the next day instead of the current day.

NOTE: This behavior may occur with other tools that call the AT command.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 is installed on your computer.

After you install Internet Explorer 5, the Scheduler service is replaced by Task Scheduler. Task Scheduler checks the task list every minute, instead of every second like the Scheduler service. Therefore, the AT command is modified so that it schedules a task for tomorrow if the specified time is equal to the actual system time, and the seconds are ignored. For example:

At 10:00:00, you type the following command:

at 10:00:05 /interactive notepad.exe

This task is scheduled for tomorrow because of the behavior described in this article. However, the task is scheduled for today and Notepad.exe starts in one minute, if you type the following command:

at 10:01:00 /interactive notepad.exe

By default, Soon.exe calls the AT command with the actual system time plus five seconds. For example, using Soon.exe at 10:00:55 works fine, but from 10:00:00 until 10:00:54 the task is scheduled for tomorrow. This behavior occurs because of the "new" way the AT command interprets the specified time.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, use Soon.exe and specify a delay with a minimum of 60 seconds. To do this, use the appropriate method:
  • Call Soon.exe and specify the delay parameter.
  • Call soon.exe /l [delay] to set the default delay for local jobs.
  • Call soon.exe /r [delay] to set the default delay for remote jobs.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/14/2003
Keywords:kbprb KB237840
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