Powershell sends emails when run interactively, but not when it runs automatically in Task Scheduler

Question

Powershell sends emails when run interactively, but not when it runs automatically in Task Scheduler

Kaplan, Andrew H 226

Hello.

I have written a PowerShell script that is designed to send output via email to its intended recipient. When run by the Task Scheduler utility, the Administrator user account is used, whether or not the account is logged into the system, and run with the highest privileges. The script is run using the following command syntax:

powershell -executionpolicy bypass -file C:\Scripts\check_disk_space.ps1

The text of the script is the following:

Powershell -executionpolicy bypass -File C:\Scripts\disk_space_check.ps1

. C:\Scripts\disk_space_check.ps1

Get-DiskSpaceReport -ComputerList C:\Scripts\server.txt -To ******@partners.org -From ******@partners.org -SMTP smtp.partners.org

The text of the script is the following:

The command within the script that accomplishes this is the following:

Get-DiskSpaceReport -ComputerList C:\Scripts\server.txt -To <email address> -From <email address> -SMTP <serverhostname>

When I run the script interactively, the email is sent without issue. However, when the script is run through the Task Scheduler, it appears the script ran successfully, but no email is received by the recipient. Is there another command that I need to include in order for this to work?

Rich Matheisen 48,116 Reputation points

2023-08-03T19:39:24.36+00:00

That sorta hurts my head. Usually, the script you dot-source contains only functions. I think a more appropriate name for the script might be "DiskSpaceReport.ps1". Within that script you should dot-source the disk_space_check.ps1 script and then call the Get-DiskSpaceReport function.

To figure out why it doesn't work, the first thing to do would be to add a Start-Transcript at the beginning of the (new) DiskSpaceReport.ps1 script and a Stop-Transcript at the end.

Next, check to see if the HTML file the script created is present in the location you expected.

Then sprinkle "Write-Host" cmdlets throughout the script at important points. They'll show up in the transcript and help you zero in on what might be a point of failure.

A common problem when running scripts that require access to the network is that the task scheduler is running the script in a user context different to the one you're using when you test the script. Make sure the scheduled task is running with an account that has the necessary network access permissions (and the SYSTEM account does not have that permission).