Resolving problems with scheduled tasks

[kinook]

A few users have reported various problems when running Visual Build from a scheduled task, including tasks not starting, unspecified errors (E_FAIL), exit code of 128 (0x80), access denied, class not registered, etc. Here are some common resolutions for such problems:

* General troubleshooting of scheduled tasks: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/308558

* Task doesn't start or results in exit code 80 (128 decimal): https://support.microsoft.com/kb/812400

* Failure creating a process in a scheduled task: https://support.microsoft.com/defaul...;EN-US;Q184802

* Class not registered or other errors with scheduled builds: Some users indicated errors were resolved by putting the VisBuildPro/VisBuildCmd command-line call into a .cmd file and scheduling the .cmd file instead of calling VBP directly from the task command-line. Also, do not install Visual Build on a network share, since permissions limitations can cause errors with builds.

* Occasionally restart Windows: Some users reported problems with the build starting to encounter an unspecified error after some period of time (possibly running out of memory or other resources?) and that rebooting the computer resolves the problem. The build could be configured to occasionally restart Windows (and Windows can also be configured to logon at startup) to work around this problem.

* Use an alternative scheduler:
https://www.jenkins.io/
http://www.z-cron.com/

* Use a continuous, repeating build instead of a scheduled task: An alternative to using the Windows task scheduler is to set up a continuous build within a Visual Build project and configuring that project to build at startup or logon. The attached sample demonstrates a build that repeats once every hour.