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We are having issues with specific tasks written in VB6 it would seem. I am not a developer, but I am told these tasks exe are written in VB6.

The task is initiated by task scheduler, the process begins to run (you can view the task in task manager, but no resources are used, 00 CPU, 760 K RAM), but nothing occurs. In a normal operating situation, the task will use 25% CPU and up to 20 MB RAM. When the task fails to run, you can still end and start it via Task Scheduler, but nothing happens. If you run just the process via the exe, it runs fine. The problem just seems to be when it is initiated via Task Scheduler. And this is a random issue, which always disappears after a server reboot. All of these tasks are VB 6 applications on Windows Server 2008 Standard, some servers are SP1, some are SP2, but both versions experience the issue. The task has been configured to run with highest priviledges, and to run whether logged on or not. Setting compatibility mode on the exe to 2003 does not make a difference.

Situation 1: 51 - ERROR - Program did not appear to complete, check server!! (Desc: Input past end of file) in this situation, the task is running in task scheduler and you can view the process in task manager. . In the log file, all that is logged is: 12/17/2009 03:16 Starting T2 Populator version - 1.0.12 You can just end the task via task scheduler and start it via task scheduler and away it goes

Situation 2: 36 - ERROR - Program last ran on 16-Dec-2009 in this situation the task is running in Task Scheduler and you can view the process in task manager, but no resources are used, 00 CPU, 760 K RAM. Nothing is logged in the log file. You end the task via task scheduler, but you must manually run the exe for it to complete.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced issues with VB6 tasks, or any tasks for that matter, on Server 2008?

2 Answers 2

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I'd bet the application is popping up a message box, or otherwise depending on the desktop being there.

I would suggest marking the task as 'interactive' (possibly uncheck the 'Hidden' checkbox) (I'm not sure of the exact setting name, I don't have a 2k8 box handy to test with). If you are logged in while the task runs, you should be able to see any messages or other things that it pops up.

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Are the error values in your examples from the VB App of Windows?

51 & 36 are network sharing errors in Windows (net helpmsg ##), where are the exe's located?

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    Sorry, 51 and 36 are server numbers, they do not relate to the error. I will admit the code in this is poorly written. The ultimate goal is to migrate these exe to VB.net, however, no actual plan has been put in place to do this, so I am forced to find a solution on my side of the fence to avoid the annoyances involved with failing jobs.
    – Terry
    Jan 21, 2010 at 18:50
  • What parts of the code did you find poorly written?
    – Codezy
    Feb 9, 2010 at 17:26

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