Maggie's Farm

 
Scheduled Tasks' primary role is to run programs at a pre-set time, i.e., you're scheduling a 'task'.  A classic example would be something like a disk defragmentation program running in the wee hours of the morning; a program that would interfere with your normal operation and takes a while to do its thing.  So, you tell Scheduled Tasks to run it at 3 am.

And one of those programs you can run is Notepad.

Ah-ha!

So, whip out Notepad, scribble down "doctor tomorrow 9 am!", save it to a permanent folder and name it something like "remind1.txt".

You'd then load 'remind1.txt' into Scheduled Tasks and set it to pop open the day before the appointment.  Or maybe an hour before the TV special, just so you can plan around it.  Whatever feels right.
 

In order to run Scheduled Tasks you must have a system password.  Open Control Panel, 'User Accounts', then click on your user name.  If it says "Add a password", do so.  If it says "Change password", then you already have one and you'll have to know what it is.  If you don't, change it to a password you can remember.

The problem is that by adding a system password, Windows is now going to pester you for it when you boot up.  To get around that little snag, go here, look in the right-hand column for "Tweak UI", download it and install it.  It's a Windows XP program; I'm not sure what Vista and Win7 owners do, but there should be an "auto-load password" program around somewhere.

Open up Tweak UI, click on 'Logon' down at the bottom, then "Autologon".  Put your password in the box and that'll do it.  And, as long as you have Tweak UI installed, you might want to glance over some of the other options.  If you don't like Windows adding that "Shortcut to..." your shortcut icons, one of the options turns it off.  More Tweak UI tips here, about a third down the page.
 

Setting up Scheduled Tasks is just a matter of browsing to the "remind1.txt" file and setting the date & time:

• Open Control Panel, pop open Scheduled Tasks
   


• Double-click on 'Add Scheduled Task', 'Next'
   


• Click on 'Browse' and browse to your 'remind1.txt' file
   


• Set how often you want it to run
   


• Set the date & time
   


• Slap in your password and you're done

The first time through you should set the time to just a few minutes later, just to test it out.  Assuming the Notepad file pops up, dbl-click on the 'remind1' entry in the Scheduled Tasks window and set the date & time for real.

To reset a reminder, just dbl-click on the entry and reset the date & time.  If you want to disable a reminder, open the Properties and uncheck the 'Enabled' box.

To set up a second reminder, just make a 'remind2.txt' file and repeat the above.
 

There are two down sides to this method of, uh, reminderation:

• On the off-chance the computer is booting up at the precise moment Scheduled Tasks runs, it's a no-show.
   


• If you happen to be typing when the Notepad file pops up, you'll keep the screen you're typing on 'on top' and you'll never see the Notepad file until you close down (or minimize) the program.  Because of this, when I set it for something precise, like a TV show, I set the Notepad file to pop open during the early evening sometime, then I'll set my desk alarm clock for a minute before the show begins, just to make sure.

I should also note that the Scheduled Tasks window is empty with a stock Windows, so anything in there has been added later.  Norton puts a small file in there, as does Google Analytics.  Unless it's something you know you want, I'd remove it.