Task Scheduler having issues running .hta in Windows 10 environment

Tim A123 20

Hi,

We have workstations that need to be restarted at least once a week. We created an .hta file to run. The .hta file consists of a countdown and message that notifies end user that a reboot will take effect after 60 seconds. If they are still working on that workstation they can cancel the .hta and will cancel tasked schedule to be repeated the following week. Since we upgraded our workstations from Windows 8 to Windows 10 Pro 20H2 the tasks scheduler will fail to run. When we try to run the .hta independently it will open but not execute the reboot at the end of the timeout. I was reading online that there is an issue with HTA files and windows 10. If that is the case is there any remediation that can be done. Also, are there alternative types of script that can be ran on task scheduler that can server the same purpose (vscript,bat,etc) Maybe even group policy alternative.

1 answer

MotoX80 31,571 Reputation points

2023-05-26T22:33:33.1433333+00:00

I would recommend PowerShell. There are examples out on the internet. Here is one.

https://www.red-gate.com/simple-talk/sysadmin/powershell/building-a-countdown-timer-with-powershell/

Having said that, on my Win11 laptop I have a copy of the old ScriptoMatic.hta file. I defined a task to execute program mshta.exe with an argument of C:\Utils\ScriptomaticV2.2.hta. I had to check off the "Run with highest privileges" since the WMI calls required admin access. I set the task to run as the Users group and "Run only when the user is logged on". The hta seems to work just fine. I am a member of the administrators group.

In order to help you with your .hta file, I would need to know what error you are getting. Did you configure the task to run mshta.exe? Is the user a member of the administrators group? What entries are in the History tab for the task? Do you get an error code?

Do you have error handling and logging in your hta code? I'm a VB guy so I would do a ON ERROR RESUME NEXT and then check err.number. If it is not equal zero write out the err.description to a log file and note what the code was trying to do.
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Tim A123 20 Reputation points

2023-05-30T14:44:42.9866667+00:00

Hi, thanks for your help.

Did you configure the task to run mshta.exe? Not that I can tell. How would I check that?

Task Scheduler launched action "C:\Windows\system32\OpenWith.exe" in instance "{1a4cb5a9-3e12-448e-86f0-6db21059640c}" of task "\ARK CWS Reboot".

Is the user a member of the administrators group? Yes, and for the security options I have the account set to run the task. And run whether user is logged on or now, run with highest privileges, Configure for: Windows 10.

What entries are in the History tab for the task?

Do you get an error code? No error code, but we have the event set to timeout after 3 days then we will get a "task stopping due to timeout reached"

Do you have error handling and logging in your hta code? Not that I can tell. I'm not too familiar on how to check that. Where in the hta code would I enter that line item?

MotoX80 31,571 Reputation points

2023-05-30T16:19:33.0566667+00:00

And run whether user is logged on or now,

I believe you meant "or not". That will cause the task to execute but won't be visible to the desktop user. Set it to "Run only when the user is logged on." If you look in the Details tab of task manager you may see some mshta.exe's running that have your hta on the command line. OpenWith.exe is figuring out the program name associated with the .hta extension.

If the task is scheduled to run at a certain time, and the user is not logged on, in Settings you can set "Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed."

Where in the hta code would I enter that line item?

This goes back to your comment about the reboot not working. Find that section of code in the .hta file. How is it doing the reboot? Is this VB script or Java script? I would expect it to call the WSH Shell object. You should at least get a return code from that call. Try the call manually and see if it works.

Tim A123 20 Reputation points

2023-05-30T17:21:13.8+00:00

For the task there is kiosk user account that is normally logged on. The "run whether user is logged on or not" was meant to allow the reboot script to run when the kiosk account is logged on.

This is from the task manager. the opewith.exe UAC column say "not allowed". GPO maybe? Also I did not see mshta.exe running

We are working with javascript. I am not familiar with Java but am willing to try that level of troubleshooting. Here is the part of the script where we could expect the restart to happen when the clock runs down to zero.

// total time in seconds var howMany = mins * 60; Number.prototype.toMinutesAndSeconds = function() { var nbr = Math.floor(this / 60); return ((nbr>1)?nbr+" minutes ":"")+((nbr==1)?nbr+" minute ":"")+(((nbr=(this-(nbr*60)))<10)?"0"+nbr+" seconds":nbr+" seconds"); } function display(seconds, output) { output.innerHTML = (--seconds).toMinutesAndSeconds(); // update screen with remaining time if(seconds > 0) { // if time still running, continue countdown if (seconds < 60) { beep(); Window_Onload();} // if less than 60 seconds, start beeping and put window on top window.setTimeout(function(){display(seconds, output)}, 1000); } if (seconds == 0) { // if time has ran out, run shutdown command Shutdown(); } } display(howMany, document.getElementById("countdown")); </script>

Tim A123 20 Reputation points

2023-05-30T17:21:37.9566667+00:00

For the task there is kiosk user account that is normally logged on. The "run whether user is logged on or not" was meant to allow the reboot script to run when the kiosk account is logged on.

This is from the task manager. the opewith.exe UAC column say "not allowed". GPO maybe? Also I did not see mshta.exe running

We are working with javascript. Here is the part of the script where we could expect the restart to happen when the clock runs down to zero.

// total time in seconds var howMany = mins * 60; Number.prototype.toMinutesAndSeconds = function() { var nbr = Math.floor(this / 60); return ((nbr>1)?nbr+" minutes ":"")+((nbr==1)?nbr+" minute ":"")+(((nbr=(this-(nbr*60)))<10)?"0"+nbr+" seconds":nbr+" seconds"); } function display(seconds, output) { output.innerHTML = (--seconds).toMinutesAndSeconds(); // update screen with remaining time if(seconds > 0) { // if time still running, continue countdown if (seconds < 60) { beep(); Window_Onload();} // if less than 60 seconds, start beeping and put window on top window.setTimeout(function(){display(seconds, output)}, 1000); } if (seconds == 0) { // if time has ran out, run shutdown command Shutdown(); } } display(howMany, document.getElementById("countdown")); </script>

MotoX80 31,571 Reputation points

2023-05-30T20:27:07.9933333+00:00

The "run whether user is logged on or not" was meant to allow the reboot script to run when the kiosk account is logged on.

That sounds like you are using 2 different accounts. A kioskuser that logs on to the desktop and an adminuser account to run the scheduled task. Your task will run, but it's window will not be visible to the kioskuser.

The account that logs on to the desktop has to be the same account that the task runs as and you have to use "Run only when user is logged on".

I am not familiar with kiosk mode, but that is how "normal windows" works. Kiosk mode might have some other functionality to do what you want. Maybe some other user can help you on that.

If the only real processing that the hta does is a reboot, then maybe you can add the kioskuser to the User Rights Assignment/Shutdown the System policy. and then use that account to run the task.

https://woshub.com/allow-prevent-non-admin-users-reboot-shutdown-windows/
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