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Using Soon to Troubleshoot a Batch Job

One way to troubleshoot a batch job that is scheduled to run using the AT command is to type the following at the command prompt:

soon /interactive "cmd.exe"

This command opens the command prompt within the next five seconds and allows you to manually run the batch job.

If a command prompt does not open, then open Control Panel Services and check to see if the Schedule service is started. Click the Startup button and make certain that the System account is selected; only the system account can interact with the desktop. Network connections made under the System account use a null session for credentials, so it may be necessary to supply a user name and password for commands such as NET USE.

Before running your batch job, type the command set in order to understand the environment that the command scheduler is running under; all environmental variables including the user name will be listed.

The above command syntax allows you to troubleshoot situations where a batch job runs successfully when it is executed from the command line, but does not work when you execute it using the AT command.

In addition to troubleshooting the batch job, do the following:

1. Include the echo and pause commands in your batch file so that you can narrow down the cause of the problem.
2. When you use the AT command, make sure you are using the correct schedule service account. In Control Panel Services, verify the "Log On As" account for the Schedule service. This account determines whether the task scheduled to run has access to the network or the local computer.
3. Determine if the task requires interaction with the desktop. If so, use LocalSystem for the Schedule service. However, this means that network connectivity is not available unless you type the following at the command line:
   net use \\servername\sharename /U:domain\user name password