Microsoft KB Archive/939039

= Description of the scheduled tasks in Windows Vista =

Article ID: 939039

Article Last Modified on 1/4/2008

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APPLIES TO


 * Windows Vista Ultimate
 * Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Enterprise
 * Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Home Premium
 * Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Business
 * Windows Vista Business 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Home Basic
 * Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit Edition
 * Windows Vista Starter

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INTRODUCTION
This article describes the scheduled tasks in a default installation of Windows Vista.

Note We do not recommend that you modify or disable a scheduled task in Windows Vista. Modifying or disabling a scheduled task may cause unexpected problems.



MORE INFORMATION
To view the scheduled tasks in a default installation of Windows Vista, click Start. In the Start Search box, type task scheduler. Then, in the Programs list, click Task Scheduler.

Scheduled tasks
The following table describes the scheduled tasks in a default installation of Windows Vista.

Hidden scheduled tasks
To view the hidden scheduled tasks in a default installation of Windows Vista, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Startvistastartbutton.jpg]. In the Start Search box, type task scheduler . Then, in the Programs list, click Task Scheduler.
 * 2) On the View menu, click Show Hidden Tasks.

The following table describes the hidden scheduled tasks in a default installation of Windows Vista.

The Mcupdate scheduled task
The Mcupdate scheduled task downloads the following data packages. These data packages are used by Windows Media Center in Windows Vista.
 * Directory Service: The Directory Service package lists the packages that are available in a region. The Directory Service package also provides information about how to obtain packages, about how frequently to download packages, and about when to download packages.
 * Client Update: The Client Update package contains updated regional information.
 * Sports (United States & Canada Only): The Sports package contains information about sporting events. This information is integrated with other Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information..
 * Net TV (United States only): The Net TV package contains information about videos that are available on demand.
 * MCESpotlight: This package contains information about Online Spotlight applications that are available.

The scheduled tasks in the SideShow folder
When a user logs on to a user account, the scheduled tasks in the SideShow folder determine whether a Windows SideShow-enabled device is connected to the computer. If a Windows SideShow-enabled device is not connected to the computer, the scheduled task immediately exits. If a Windows SideShow-enabled device is connected to the computer, these tasks perform the specified functions to make sure that the Windows SideShow-enabled device works correctly.

The CrawlStartPages scheduled task
The CrawlStartPages task is part of Windows Search. The CrawlStartPages task determines whether any locations that are not notification based must be indexed. For example, the CrawlStartPages task runs if you add a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive to the index by using the Indexing Options item in Control Panel. The task runs when you add the USB flash drive if the USB flash drive uses the FAT file system, a FAT partition, or a CD-ROM location. If you have not added a location in the Indexing Options item, this task will start and then be completed immediately.

Note On hard disk drives that use the NTFS file system, Windows Search uses Update Sequence Number (USN) journaling and notification to determine when files are added, deleted, or edited. However, on hard disk drives that use the FAT file system or on other locations that are not notification based, the file timestamps must be verified against the index to determine whether the file must be indexed again.

The UPnPHostConfig scheduled task
The UPnPHostConfig task changes the startup type for the UPnP Host service. This task changes the startup type for the UPnP Host service from &quot;manual&quot; to &quot;automatic&quot; when the service is needed.

