Purposely delaying PC OS startup question

[jrockelecko]

Hello everyone!
First post here, so please be patient. Here is the scenario I am dealing with:
W7 Pro 32bit running on a Syx mini PC
-set to Autologon (on a Domain)
-a web-based application is placed in Startup folder

The desired effect is for the web application to load at the time of PC startup.

Unfortunately, what is happening is that I get the "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" error screen.

I've already tried MSCONFIG and increasing the boot timeout from 30 to 50 seconds. When I click on the web app (that is placed in the user's Startup folder), the web app displays correctly. However, I need the web app to load without any user intervention.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Welcome to the Seven Forums.

It sounds like the webpage is attempting to load before access to the internet has been established. You should delay the launch of the web app - not the OS. You can use a scripting tool to check for connectivity, then have the same script launch the web app. AutoHotKey, AutoIt3 or other scripting tools can do what you need.

 

[jrockelecko]

Thanks for the response! I am completely unfamiliar with scripting, so is there either a way to delay the internet access without the use of a script or a pre-made script that I could essentially just copy and paste into a .vbs?

 

[DavidE]

One thing you could try is to set this up in Task Scheduler.
It has a lot of options such as Delayed Start, Check for Network connection, Run at Logon, etc.

Here is a SF Tutorial you can look at:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/67503-task-create-run-program-startup-log.html

 

[jrockelecko]

Thanks much! I was not successful in configuring the delayed startup via Task Scheduler, but I need to run through the tutorial again to see if I was missing something. I am configuring for a Standard User, so that may be a slight issue. I will keep at it though.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Edit: the info in this post might be a better solution for some people.

I searched for a VBScript that would be close to what you want - but real life got in the way.

Let's wait and see if David can help you with what he had in mind using task manager before we go down the road of batch files with a ping delay:

PING 1.1.1.1 -n 1 -w 60000 >NUL
"%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" http://www.bbc.com/


Sadly, the batch file method will not work 100% of the time as the delay that you set by changing 60000 might not be enough. There will also be a command prompt window to deal with. You can put the batch file somewhere and put a shortcut to it in the startup folder - setting that shortcut to open the window minimized - but the command prompt window will still be in the task bar. The command prompt window can be hidden, but that gets a bit messier.

Edit: fixed URL

 

[DavidE]

I did some testing for this and what i found is the scheduled task would run, and the delay worked.
In Task Scheduler I could see it queued upon log on, and running a short time later.
I could see it running in process explorer.
The problem was the IE window was not visible.
This may be why it didn't work for you...

It seems "Run only when user is logged on" must be checked for the window to be visible.

Why is a Windows 7 scheduled task running hidden? - Microsoft Answers

I logged in with my Admin account to set it up in task scheduler.
I set it up to only run when my STANDARD account is logged in.

So, I'm not sure if this approach is something you want to pursue, or it's too complicated.
It sounds like you are setting this up for a Business.
Does it need to run with ADMIN authority while logged in with a STANDARD account?
Will there only be ONE STD user account per PC that needs to run this?

If you don't need to run with ADMIN authority you could probably simplify this and just log in as the STD account and set up the scheduled task there.

I don't have access to a domain for my tests.
Also, it may be possible to set it up to run for a GROUP instead of a USER...i'm not sure

The screen prints highlight settings i used.

 

[alishathomaz]

Go to Start > Run.

Type msconfig and press Enter.

The General tab helps diagnose if the problems encountered are with drivers, services, or startup items by unchecking the appropriate boxes and restarting. The Startup tab allows you to individual disable or re-enable startup items.

Also scan PC for virus and registry errors.

 

[jrockelecko]

Thanks David. To answer your questions:
Does it need to run with ADMIN authority while logged in with a STANDARD account? Yes...the task would have to be run with ADMIN authority on a STANDARD account

Will there only be ONE STD user account per PC that needs to run this?
Yes...there is just 1 STD user account per PC

It is indeed a Domain PC for a business. Also, I mispoke when I referred to it as a "web application". It is a webpage, hosted on an internal server, in which the shortcut is placed in the Startup folder of the STANDARD user's account.

The PC is set to "autologon". The desired result is for the PC to be powered-up and the webpage to display after the STANDARD user account is fully booted-up (basically, the user does not need to intervene at all in the case of an unexpected loss of power; the webpage is displayed automatically).

Currently, once the PC powers-up and the OS is loaded, the user is having to click on the shortcut in the Startup folder. I want to eliminate that step completely if possible.

Thanks again for all the assistance.

 

[DavidE]

Hi jrockelecko,

Did you get this to work with the example i gave you?
I would NOT set this up with a shortcut in the Startup folder and a "Startup" entry in Task Scheduler.
That would cause two startup items...
You could move your shortcut to some other folder for testing this.

the user does not need to intervene at all in the case of an unexpected loss of power; the webpage is displayed automatically

With that, I'm not sure what the best approach would be.

How many users need this? 10, 100, 1000+, etc.
It sounds like a small company if you are trying to handle power outages this way, as most businesses have a UPS...

 

[jrockelecko]

Unfortunately, I did not get the item to work correctly with the example set forth.

As far as using a UPS, they are used in other locations in the place of business, but I am not able to use them in the locations that these PCs are currently residing. I realize that would solve the issue, but it's not my call to make. My responsibility is to get this webpage to display without any user intervention.

Thanks to everyone for the replies and help. Much appreciated...

 

[DavidE]

Unfortunately, I did not get the item to work correctly with the example set forth.

What did it do?

 

[jrockelecko]

Unfortunately, I did not get the item to work correctly with the example set forth.

What did it do?

It did not delay the initialization of the Startup item and I got the same "Internet Explorer Cannot Display Webpage" notification.

What's strange is that, if I select "diagnose connection problems", I get the "windows did not detect a solution" notification and when I then select "close the troubleshooter", the webpage displays correctly immediately afterwards.

 

[DavidE]

Did you move the shortcut out of the Startup folder?
If you leave it there it will try to startup by itself (not using Task Scheduler).

 

[jrockelecko]

Did you move the shortcut out of the Startup folder?
If you leave it there it will try to startup by itself (not using Task Scheduler).

Yes, I did remove the shortcut from the Startup folder. Still no luck...yet.

 

[DavidE]

I don't know...
For me i can login, go to the Task Scheduler and see it is Queued.
A minute later it runs and opens IE.
Maybe try using UsernameIssues idea.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Thanks David. To answer your questions:
Does it need to run with ADMIN authority while logged in with a STANDARD account? Yes...the task would have to be run with ADMIN authority on a STANDARD account
....................

I'm not sure that I fully understand this requirement. Were you saying that the task needed to run as admin or are you saying that Internet Explorer needs to run as admin while a standard user is logged on?


This AutoIt3 code...

;AutoIt Version: 3.3.8.1

Do
    TrayTip('Please wait...', 'Checking online status.', 100)
    Sleep(1000)
Until Ping("msn.com", 7000) Or Ping("cnn.com", 7000) Or Ping("bbc.com", 7000)

ShellExecute("http://www.sevenforums.com/")

...should get you these results:




Watch the columns named Status and Connectivity in the video below:



Please read the info just above and below the 2nd video in this post - then watch that 2nd video. [Of course, putting the script as a text file into the startup folder is probably not an option for you - unless you want to install AutoIt3 on to each of these computers. You will want to deploy a compiled version - with or w/o UPX packing.]

In the AutoIt3 code above, you should change the pinging of msn.com to the domain of the internal website (but only if the server responds to pings). As long as one of the three domains can be resolved & pinged - the Do/Until loop will exit.

There is a possibility that pings are not allowed to exit your intranet. If that is the case, then change all three pings to domains (or if you have to, use IP addresses) of servers that give you a good ping. If possible, I would suggest that all 3 pings stay as a text/URL so that you are sure that DNS is functional before launching the browser.

The ShellExecute line of the script does what it sounds like - it passes the URL to the OS shell which should then pass it to the default browser.

Once you have changed the ping(s) and the URL in the last line of code, you can compile the script. Here is a virustotal.com link to the compiled code with UPX compression.

If you do not want the tray tip (balloon) to show, then remark out that line by putting a semicolon in front of it or just delete the entire line.

If you do not want the tray tip to show AND you do not want the AutoIt3 icon to show in the system tray, then add #NoTrayIcon after AutoIt Version: 3.3.8.1

BTW, there is no problem using AutoIt3 in a commercial setting. Toshiba uses it on some of their restore CDs to install stuff.

Let me know how this works out for you.