Windows 7 Cannot Find Scheduled Task

Here's a quick guide to using the Task Scheduler in Windows 7.

1. Opening the Task Scheduler. To open the Task Scheduler, click Start. Click on All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and finally Task Scheduler. This launches the scheduler program. You can also simply click Start and type Task Scheduler into the search field.

2. Creating Tasks. To create a task, click Create Task or Create Basic Task on the right side of the screen. The task can launch pretty much anything that you could launch if you were sitting at the computer--you can make it open up a certain program, for instance. A common way to use the Task Scheduler is to set up maintenance and data backup programs that run automatically when opened. Create Basic Task should be fine for most common uses of the Windows 7 Task Scheduler; you can set conditions, and have your tasks run after a certain interval of time or set up other triggers (for instance, when X program runs, a task causes Y program to run). Basic Task allows you to send a certain email, run a program, or display a message.

Follow the on screen dialog to create a new task for the scheduler; it's all very straightforward, and after you create one or two tasks you'll easily get the hang of it.

3. Editing Tasks. Once your Task is created, you can edit it by right clicking on the task in the Task Scheduler and selecting Properties. You can change a lot of options here, much more than what you put in if you created a basic task. To delete a task in Windows 7, right click the task you want to delete and select "Delete" (or click Disable if you just want to temporarily disable the task).