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Why use AlwaysUp instead of a Scheduled Task?
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Running your application as a true Windows Service with AlwaysUp is the ideal choice in professional environments where 24/7 uptime is important
A Scheduled Task is perfect for basic scenarios...
A scheduled task, managed by the
Windows Task Scheduler,
enables you to start a program at a specific time or in response to a supported event.
Scheduled tasks are great for short, maintenance operations to be performed regularly every few minutes, hours, or days.
For example, you can use a scheduled task to:
- Scan your computer for viruses every Friday at midnight;
- Run a batch file that cleans up a temporary folder when your PC boots;
- Bypass UAC prompts and start an application on your desktop whenever you log in.
For ad-hoc, housekeeping operations like these, you should definitely use a scheduled task.
... but AlwaysUp is better in mission-critical situations!
AlwaysUp runs any application as a
Windows Service
- Microsoft's technology of choice for essential components that start at boot and run 24/7 in the background.
Choose an AlwaysUp Windows Service instead of a scheduled task when you need:
- 24/7 Uptime: AlwaysUp monitors your application and will quickly restart it if it crashes or someone accidentally shuts it down.
Task Scheduler is focused on starting your application, not on restarting it when it stops for any reason.
- Email Alerts: Want to know when your program has a problem? AlwaysUp will send you an email whenever anything strange happens, or send you a daily/weekly report showing your program's activities (including CPU and memory usage).
- Robust Error Reporting: As a Windows Service, errors and warnings from AlwaysUp will be sent to the
Windows Event Log
where your administrators can use their established tools to process that information.
Reports from a scheduled task may be buried in the much less accessible Task Scheduler history.
- Graceful Stop/Shutdown: A scheduled task is geared towards starting your program and offers no flexibility in stopping it gracefully.
With AlwaysUp, you can specify your own, custom command that will be used to stop your application safely without data loss.
- CPU & Memory Monitoring: Unlike a scheduled task, AlwaysUp is able to restart your application if it is hogging the CPU or using too much RAM. A great way to work around those annoying memory leaks!
- Dependencies: With AlwaysUp, you can set your application to run only after required services have been started. For example, ensure that the Windows networking services are up before starting your Internet-enabled application.
- Advanced Failure Detection: Plug in your own failure detection script to have AlwaysUp detect subtle problems and promptly restart your application when necessary.
For example, recycle your application
when a web site becomes unavailable,
or
when a particular file has not changed for a while,
etc.
- Access to Network Drives: Scheduled tasks have
trouble using mapped network drives
but AlwaysUp can restore automatically mapped drive letters for your application.
- Web Browser Control: Start, stop or restart your application from any browser with the
free AlwaysUp Web Service add-on.
- Remote Management: Windows Services created by AlwaysUp can be
controlled from remote machines using conventional GUI-based and command-line tools.
Not so with applications launched from scheduled tasks.
- Reliability & Maintainability: When it comes to these important concerns, a Windows Service beats a scheduled task, hands down!
- Starts your Windows 11/10 and Windows Server 2025/2022/2019/2016 applications automatically when your PC boots
- Will do everything in its power to keep your app running 24/7/365 — even if it is unstable and crashes, hangs or terminates unexpectedly
- Is trusted and used every day by many of the world's best known companies
- Is fully supported by our experienced technical team, who are on hand to answer your most detailed questions and help you get set up, free of charge
- Comes with a
free, unrestricted 30-day trial,
to guarantee your complete satisfaction before making a purchase
Easy to use. Reliable. Supported. Guaranteed.
Peace of mind, for less than $50!
Click here to find out more about AlwaysUp, download the free 30-day trial, and much more!
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Over 94,000 installations, and counting!
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Rock-solid for the past 19+ years!
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(888) 881-CORE
