Microsoft KB Archive/236773

= Internet Explorer Replaces Atsvc.exe Tool with Mstask.exe Tool =

Article ID: 236773

Article Last Modified on 9/9/2002

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition

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This article was previously published under Q236773



SYMPTOMS
After you upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5, all of your existing Atsvc.exe jobs are converted to Scheduled Tasks.



CAUSE
This behavior occurs because Internet Explorer upgrades the Windows NT 4.0 Schedule service (Atsvc.exe) to the Scheduled Tasks tool (Mstask.exe).



STATUS
This behavior is by design.



MORE INFORMATION
With the original Atsvc.exe service, all Atsvc.exe jobs defaulted to run in the same account as the service itself. The default account for the service was the Local System account, but it could be changed to another user account as needed. Some Windows NT 4.0 or earlier computer users changed the user in the Atsvc.exe service account because they needed their jobs to run in a specific user account. With the Task Scheduler included in Internet Explorer 5.0, each scheduled task can be configured to run in a different account, however, the Task Scheduler service itself must run in the Local System account. For backward compatibility, Task Scheduler permits you to set one default account to use when running scheduled tasks that were created from Atsvc.exe jobs. When Internet Explorer 5 is installed, any Atsvc.exe jobs scheduled under the context of a specific user account are converted to the Local System account. To restore, you must manually re-enter the user name and password for that account from the "Advanced, AT Service Account" command in the Scheduled Tasks folder.

NOTE: Internet Explorer 5 Setup has not been designed to decrypt passwords entered for the Atsvc.exe Service. This is by design for security reasons.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

235536 Task Scheduler Service on Windows NT

Keywords: kbui kbprb KB236773

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