task scheduler powershell scripts never ends

Question

I have a script that works great manually. However, when I schedule it in Task Scheduler, the script never ends and so the next time it tries to run, it fails because the prior instance is still running. The script itself takes a few seconds to complete the first time or when run manually. Here is the script:

$source = "\\server1\upload"
$destination = "\\server2\upload"
$logfile = "c:\Scripts\fileMover\log.txt"
$table = Get-ChildItem $source -include *
foreach ($file in $table){
    $filename = $file.FullName
    #write-host $filename
    try
    {
        move-item -LiteralPath $filename -destination $destination -force
        $body = "Successfully moved $filename to $destination"
        $subject = "fileMover Succeeded"
    }
    catch
    {
        $body = "Failed to move $filename to $destination"
        $subject = "fileMover Failed"
    }
    finally
    {
        $body | out-file $logfile -append -width 1000 -encoding ascii
        Send-MailMessage -To "[email protected]" -From "[email protected]" -Subject $subject -SmtpServer "10.1.10.1" -Body $body
        exit
    }
}
exit

The script is scheduled with the following settings:

• Run whether user is logged or not (user account has been granted log in as a batch program privilege)
• Run with highest privileges
• Triggers Daily, every 2 minute
• Action: Start a Program powershell -file c:\Scripts\upload.ps1

As a workaround, I configured the task to automatically stop after 1 minute. However, I'm concerned that in certain circumstances -- such as a large number of large files -- the script may get terminated before completing fully.

The script needs to run every 2 minutes.

Answer 1

I had this problem when trying to execute .ps1 file directly. Execute Powershell and feed it your script as a parameter.

Scheduled Task Actions Tab:

Program\script: C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe

Add Arguments (optional):
-command & 'E:\PowerShell_scripts\Script_name.ps1’