How do I run a batch file when a server reboots?

I have several servers that I have scheduled to reboot Sundays at 3
am. I'd like them to leave a mark that they did reboot as it seems
some don't always invoke the SHUTDOWN command.

I'd like to run a simple batch file that contains the line:

echo rebooted > \\primarycontoller\bootlogs$\%computername%.txt

The time stamp of the file will be enough to tell me if SHUTDOWN ran
properly.

My question is where do I put the call to this batch file so it gets
executed during the reboot?

Marten

"Marten" <> wrote in message
news:...
>I have several servers that I have scheduled to reboot Sundays at 3
> am. I'd like them to leave a mark that they did reboot as it seems
> some don't always invoke the SHUTDOWN command.
>
> I'd like to run a simple batch file that contains the line:
>
> echo rebooted > \\primarycontoller\bootlogs$\%computername%.txt
>
> The time stamp of the file will be enough to tell me if SHUTDOWN ran
> properly.
>
> My question is where do I put the call to this batch file so it gets
> executed during the reboot?
>
> Marten
>

It seems you don't want to leave the mark for the ***boot-up***
event but rather for the ***shut-down*** event. Use the Task
Scheduler to invoke a batch file with two commands inside:
- Your "echo" command (probably supplemented with %date%
and %time%)
- shutdown.exe
You should also use the >> redirector so that subsequent
shutdown events do not overwrite the previous ones.

On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 19:54:47 +0200, "Pegasus \(MVP\)"
<> wrote:


>
>It seems you don't want to leave the mark for the ***boot-up***
>event but rather for the ***shut-down*** event. Use the Task
>Scheduler to invoke a batch file with two commands inside:
>- Your "echo" command (probably supplemented with %date%
> and %time%)
>- shutdown.exe
>You should also use the >> redirector so that subsequent
>shutdown events do not overwrite the previous ones.
>

That's a good method, thank you. I forgot to think of calling a batch
file from the scheduler.

My only concern is getting a false positive. By that I mean the first
line (per your suggestion) runs and creates the mark file, but for
what ever reason the Shutdown fails and the server doesn't reboot.
Which has happened. My thinking was if I could put the call to my
batch file in some equivalent of AUTOEXEC.BAT, I could be sure it was
processed during the power up.

The >> redirector is a consideration. I'm mostly concerned with thee
last reboot. But having a bit of history isn't bad. As long as I
remember to trim the file periodically.

for the record, the Shutdown command used is:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\shutdown.exe /r /d p:4:1

Marten

"Marten" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 19:54:47 +0200, "Pegasus \(MVP\)"
> <> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>It seems you don't want to leave the mark for the ***boot-up***
>>event but rather for the ***shut-down*** event. Use the Task
>>Scheduler to invoke a batch file with two commands inside:
>>- Your "echo" command (probably supplemented with %date%
>> and %time%)
>>- shutdown.exe
>>You should also use the >> redirector so that subsequent
>>shutdown events do not overwrite the previous ones.
>>
>
> That's a good method, thank you. I forgot to think of calling a batch
> file from the scheduler.
>
> My only concern is getting a false positive. By that I mean the first
> line (per your suggestion) runs and creates the mark file, but for
> what ever reason the Shutdown fails and the server doesn't reboot.
> Which has happened. My thinking was if I could put the call to my
> batch file in some equivalent of AUTOEXEC.BAT, I could be sure it was
> processed during the power up.
>
> The >> redirector is a consideration. I'm mostly concerned with thee
> last reboot. But having a bit of history isn't bad. As long as I
> remember to trim the file periodically.
>
> for the record, the Shutdown command used is:
> C:\WINDOWS\system32\shutdown.exe /r /d p:4:1
>
> Marten

I'm quite aware of the syntax for the shutdown command . . .

Running a command at boot time (the equivalent of Autoexec.bat)
is dead easy: Use the Task Scheduler to run it at boot time.
However - how will you distinguish between a boot after a
scheduled shutdown and a boot caused by a crash?

About trimming the log file: If you schedule a reboot once every
week then you accumulate some 2 kBytes per annum. I would
not call this a huge amount of disk space - it's puny, so why worry?

On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 21:46:06 +0200, "Pegasus \(MVP\)"
<> wrote:


>> for the record, the Shutdown command used is:
>> C:\WINDOWS\system32\shutdown.exe /r /d p:4:1
>>
>> Marten
>
>I'm quite aware of the syntax for the shutdown command . . .
>
>Running a command at boot time (the equivalent of Autoexec.bat)
>is dead easy: Use the Task Scheduler to run it at boot time.
>However - how will you distinguish between a boot after a
>scheduled shutdown and a boot caused by a crash?
>
>About trimming the log file: If you schedule a reboot once every
>week then you accumulate some 2 kBytes per annum. I would
>not call this a huge amount of disk space - it's puny, so why worry?
>

My apologies for a grammatical error. I should have written "the
Shutdown command as I am using it is:" I added it in case you saw
something that was incorrect or if someone else reading this thread
wanted to know what I had done.

I haven't worked much with the scheduler. I wasn't aware there was an
at boot option. Thank you for pointing it out to me. As for
distinguishing, since I know the time of the scheduled reboot, I'd
expect anything outside that time frame would be questionable.

The >> redirect is a consideration. I was originally only concerned
with the last reboot.

Thank you for the information. It helps me out.

Marten

"Marten" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 21:46:06 +0200, "Pegasus \(MVP\)"
> <> wrote:
>
>
>>> for the record, the Shutdown command used is:
>>> C:\WINDOWS\system32\shutdown.exe /r /d p:4:1
>>>
>>> Marten
>>
>>I'm quite aware of the syntax for the shutdown command . . .
>>
>>Running a command at boot time (the equivalent of Autoexec.bat)
>>is dead easy: Use the Task Scheduler to run it at boot time.
>>However - how will you distinguish between a boot after a
>>scheduled shutdown and a boot caused by a crash?
>>
>>About trimming the log file: If you schedule a reboot once every
>>week then you accumulate some 2 kBytes per annum. I would
>>not call this a huge amount of disk space - it's puny, so why worry?
>>
>
> My apologies for a grammatical error. I should have written "the
> Shutdown command as I am using it is:" I added it in case you saw
> something that was incorrect or if someone else reading this thread
> wanted to know what I had done.
>
> I haven't worked much with the scheduler. I wasn't aware there was an
> at boot option. Thank you for pointing it out to me. As for
> distinguishing, since I know the time of the scheduled reboot, I'd
> expect anything outside that time frame would be questionable.
>
> The >> redirect is a consideration. I was originally only concerned
> with the last reboot.
>
> Thank you for the information. It helps me out.
>
> Marten

Thanks for the feedack.

Aren't the events in the event log enough of a mark?
______
Greg Stigers, MCSE
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