Is there a way to start multiple programs in a batch file on system start-up? In addition to that, in that batch file, I would like to be able to say: Once I execute a program, wait until that program completely loads, and execute the next listed program.
Any help would be appreciated.
I had the same issue in Win7 regarding running a script (.bat) at startup (When the computer boots vs when someone logs in) that would modify the network parameters using netsh. What ended up working for me was the following:
Log in with an Administrator account
Click on start and type “Task Scheduler” and hit return
Click on “Task Scheduler Library”
Click on “Create New Task” on the right hand side of the screen and set the parameters as follows:
a. Set the user account to SYSTEM
b. Choose "Run with highest privileges"
c. Choose the OS for Windows7
Click on “Triggers” tab and then click on “New…”
Choose “At Startup” from the drop down menu, click Enabled and hit OK
Click on the “Actions tab” and then click on “New…”
If you are running a .bat file use cmd as the program the put
/c .bat
In the Add arguments field
Click on “OK” then on “OK” on the create task panel and it will now
be scheduled.
Add the .bat script to the place specified in your task event.
Enjoy.
To run a batch file at start up: start >> all programs >> right-click startup >> open >> right click batch file >> create shortcut >> drag shortcut to startup folder.
The path to the folder is : [D|C]:\Profiles\{User}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Go to Run (WINDOWS + R) and
Type
shell:startup, paste your .bat file there !
To start the batch file at the start of your system, you can also use a registry key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Here you can create a string. As name you can choose anything and the data is the full path to your file.
There is also the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
to run something at only the next start of your system.
There are a few ways to run a batch file on start up. The one I usually use is through task scheduler. If you press the windows key then type task scheduler it will come up as an option (or find through administerative tools).
When you create a new task you can chose from trigger options such as 'At log on' for a specific user, on workstation unlock etc. Then in actions you select start a program and put the full path to your batch script (there is also an option to put any command line args required).
Here is a an example script to launch Stack Overflow in Firefox:
#echo off
title Auto launch Stack Overflow
start firefox http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/python+or+sql+or+sqlite+or+plsql+or+oracle+or+windows-7+or+cmd+or+excel+or+access+or+vba+or+excel-vba+or+access-vba?sort=newest
REM Optional - I tend to log these sorts of events so that you can see what has happened afterwards
echo %date% %time%, %computername% >> %logs%\StackOverflowAuto.csv
exit
RunOnce
RunOnce is an option and have a few keys that can be used for pointing a command to start on startup (depending if it concerns a user or the whole system):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
setting the value:
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce" /v MyBat /D "!C:\mybat.bat"
With setting and exclamation mark at the beginning and if the script exist with a value different than 0 the registry key wont be deleted and the script will be executed every time on startup
SCHTASKS
You can use SCHTASKS and a triggering event:
SCHTASKS /Create /SC ONEVENT /MO ONLOGON /TN ON_LOGON /tr "c:\some.bat"
or
SCHTASKS /Create /SC ONEVENT /MO ONSTART/TN ON_START /tr "c:\some.bat"
Startup Folder
You also have two startup folders - one for the current user and one global.
There you can copy your scripts (or shortcuts) in order to start a file on startup
::the global one
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
::for the current user
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
1. Copy the following lines to Notepad.
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run chr(34) & "C:\Users\toto\your_file.bat" & Chr(34), 0
Set WshShell = Nothing
Note: Replace the batch file name/path accordingly in the script according to your requirement.
2. Save the file with .VBS extension, example launch_bat.vbs
3. Create new .bat file, in our case your_file.bat
4. Write the content of your .bat file.
Example:
#echo off
php c:\laragon\www\my_app\artisan serve --host=127.0.0.1 --port=8000
5. Run your_file.bat and ejoy :)
If your Windows language is different from English, you can launch the Task Scheduler by
Press Windows+X
Select your language translation of "Computer Management"
Follow the instruction in the answer provided by prankin
Another option would be to run the batch file as a service, and set the startup of the service to "Automatic" or "Automatic (Delayed Start)".
Check this question for more information on how to do it, personally I like NSSM the most.
Related
I want my .bat file to run after I rename a file in the Sources folder that is located here:
C:\Users\UserName\Videos\Gameplays\HeroesOfTheStorm\Sources\
The .bat file is located in the same Sources folder.
How can I do that without double-clicking on the .bat file manually? I want it to run automatically after I rename a file in the Sources folder.
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set WMI = GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\.\root\cimv2")
Set MonitoredEvents = WMI.ExecNotificationQuery("SELECT * FROM __InstanceCreationEvent WITHIN 10 WHERE Targetinstance ISA 'CIM_DirectoryContainsFile' and TargetInstance.GroupComponent= 'Win32_Directory.Name=""C:\\\\Users\\\\David Candy""'")
Do
Wscript.Echo MonitoredEvents.NextEvent.TargetInstance.PartComponent
WshShell.Run "cmd /c ""C:\folder\batchfile.bat""", 1, false
Loop
Note the use of 4 \ for 1 in directory name but nowhere else.
It a vbs file. It monitors a directory and will run commands if you rename or create files in that directory. WITHIN 10 means it tests every 10 secs.
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set WMI = GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\.\root\cimv2")
Set MonitoredEvents = WMI.ExecNotificationQuery("SELECT * FROM __InstanceCreationEvent WITHIN 10 WHERE Targetinstance ISA 'CIM_DirectoryContainsFile' and TargetInstance.GroupComponent= 'Win32_Directory.Name=""C:\\\\Users\\\\David Candy""'")
Do
WMIPath = Split(MonitoredEvents.NextEvent.TargetInstance.PartComponent, "=")(1)
FilePath = Replace(WMIPath, "\\", "\")
WshShell.Run "cmd /k echo File Renamed is " & FilePath & "&" & Filepath
Loop
Ok, you can do this in a rather complicated way with windows tools.
First, you need to enable Auditing.
run GPEDIT and then go to: Computer Configuration --> Windows Settings --> Security Settings --> Local Policies --> Audit Policy --> Audit object Access
enable i guess both success and failures.
Now go to the folder you want to monitor, double-click and go to: security tab --> Advanced --> Auditing Tab
add a rule with your user (or a groups or something like that) that will make a log for the rename (the is no rename event, but you can try different combination, like file creation, file delete or read/write attributes you can find)
after that, now if you got to Event Viewer, Security log, a couple of events with Ids 4565/4663 will appear when the operation you selected is perfomed.
last thing, open the Task Scheduler and create a new task, with the activation set to the trigger of the event and an action that will run the bat.
Some of the term may differ, my Windows is not in English so i might have translated something wrong. Also, you might do some tests to see if you have everything set up correctly.
Another option might be setting up a small application that monitors the folder and run the bat accordingly. You can do such a thing in Java or in other languages.
This can be achieve easily with AutoHotkey using WatchDirectory()
https://stackoverflow.com/a/30582696/883015
I am a new programmer, i have created a batch file to open a website but i want that batch file to run when the computer starts.
Here's the code:
#echo off
:top
start iexplore.exe http://www.website.com
timeout 3
goto top
While i do think Arescet's answer will work, i am more in favor of using Windows' Task Scheduler.
Simply create a new task :
Assign it's trigger to be At Startup :
and add a new action to Start a program giving it the path to your batch file:
I believe this is a cleaner approach which also provides you with logging and history should you decide to do more things in your batch file later on
Type run into windows search, type shell:startup in the prompt, press enter, Then, create a shortcut of your program, and move the shortcut into the startUp folder.
On note of your code, the start command should have a blank title as "", and quotes around the application name and parameters passed, like:
start "" "iexplore.exe" "http://www.website.com"
I am writing a batch file on my Windows 8.1 machine. In one section of my batch file I need to start a command prompt in the "current working directory".
So far, this is what my batch file looks like:
#echo OFF
set WORKING=%cwd%
start cmd.exe /K pushd %WORKING%
exit
Let's say the batch file is located in the folder C:\Temp\Utilities. If I open an explorer window and double click the batch file to run it everything works great. A new command prompt is created in the directory C:\Temp\Utilities. However, if I right-click the batch file and select Run as administrator the working directory is no longer the location of the batch file, it's C:\Windows\System32.
Similarly, if I create a shortcut to the batch file in a different folder (for example. C:\Temp) and repeat the two steps above the results are the same. If I double click the shortcut and run it as a normal user the working directory is what I would expect. (Note, the working directory for the shortcut it's whatever is set for "Start in" of the shortcut properties, not the location of the batch file.) If I right click the shortcut and run it as administrator I again get a command prompt opened to the folder C:\Windows\System32.
I assume this is a "bug" or "feature" (if you want to call it that) in Windows 8.1 and it probably happens because execution environments for programs run as administrator are forced to run in the System32 folder? (I remember with Windows 7 this did not happen so it must be a new feature to Windows 8.)
I found one way to fix the issue and stop the command prompt from starting in C:\Windows\System32. I did this by modifying the following line in the batch file:
set WORKING=%~dp0
Doing it this way sets the working directory to the location of the batch file. With this change, no matter how I run the batch file or the shortcut (administrator or normal) the working directory ends up being the same, C:\Temp\Utilities.
The problem with this solution is I don't want the working directory to always be the location of the batch file. If the batch file is run directly then it's okay but if I run it from a shortcut I need the working directory to be whatever is set in the "Start in" property of that shortcut. For example, if the batch file is located in the folder D:\Temp\Utilities this is what I need to happen regardless of whether I run as administrator or not:
Shortcut Location Start In Property Command Prompt Working Directory
-------------------- ------------------- ------------------------------------------
C:\Temp <undefined> D:\Temp\Utilities
C:\Data\bin C:\Data\bin C:\Data\bin
C:\Data\bin D:\Temp\Utilities D:\Temp\Utilities
What this means is I can't always use %~dp0 to set the working directory in my batch file. What I need is some way for the batch file to know if it was run either directly or by a shortcut. If the batch file is run directly then the working directory is easy to get, it's just the value of %cwd%. If the batch file is run by using a shortcut, I don't know how to get the "Start in" property inside the batch file.
Does anyone know how I can do these two things inside my batch file:
1. Check whether it was run directly or by a shortcut.
2. If run by a shortcut, get the "Start in" property of the shortcut that started it.
Thank you,
Orangu
UPDATE
I found sort-of a "hackish" way to fix the issue. For the shortcut I edited the "Target" field and changed it to the following:
cmd.exe /k pushd "C:\Temp" && "D:\Temp\Utilities\batchfile.bat"
Now the working directory can be obtained by calling %CD% in the batch file and this works for both administrator and normal users. It does not, however, work for the case when I run the batch file directly. I still need to use %~dp0 in that case.
I don't like this solution, however, because it requires me to manually change all shortcuts I make and it also makes the icon look like a cmd prompt icon rather than a batch file.
Have you already considered to not use shortcuts at all?
You could e.g. create a batchfile_exec.bat containing your call
REM optionally do
REM cd /D working_directory
REM if you want to force a special working directory
D:\Temp\Utilities\batchfile.bat
and replace all the shortcuts with batchfile_exec.bat. If you double-click batchfile_exec.bat, the working directory will be the one containing batchfile_exec.bat.
I personally don't like Windows shortcuts that much, because they are hard to handle within a revision control system. As you also noticed, it is very time consuming if you want to modify a lot of them.
By the way: If batchfile.bat was designed/written to be always run from the direcory where it is located, you might also consider to modify batchfile.bat to force that behaviour:
setlocal
cd /D %0\..
REM your original content
endlocal
In %0 the path to the batchfile is stored.
The trick is to assume that %0 is a directory and then to change one level lower based on that directory. With /D also the drive letter is changed correctly.
The cd command doesn't care if %0 is really a directory. In fact %d doesn't even have to exist (%0\dummy\..\.. would also work).
The setlocal command is to have the working directory being restored when batchfile.bat has finished (this would be good if batchfile.bat was called form another batch file).
I noticed that the endlocal command is not really necessary in this context since it is applied implicitly when batchfile.bat finishes.
I'm using cl in cmd and having to run vcvars32.bat every time I open a cmd window is really a pain in the axx. Can anyone offer a way of running it automatically?
From cmd /?:
If /D was NOT specified on the command line, then when CMD.EXE starts, it
looks for the following REG_SZ/REG_EXPAND_SZ registry variables, and if
either or both are present, they are executed first.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun
and/or
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun
You therefore could add vcvars32.bat to one of those AutoRun registry values to have it executed for every cmd.exe instance (except when /D is explicitly specified, of course).
However, be forewarned that doing this could result in other weird side-effects (for example, it could cause other .bat/.cmd scripts to be run in an environment that they aren't expecting).
A workaround that works for some people is to write a batch file and call it A.BAT and make a.bat launch vcvars32.bat. Put a.bat on the path and then it's a matter of opening the cmd prompt and typing a and enter and voila, you're set!
way old, but the easiest way to do this with, say, a shortcut created on your TaskBar is to modify your shortcut (in %appdata%\microsoft\internet explorer\quick launch\user pinned\taskbar, or thereabouts) so the target is:
%windir%\system32\cmd.exe /k vcvars32.cmd
that'll do exactly what you're looking for. The /k tells it to execute the string but keep the window open (string being your batch file). You can either put vcvars32 somewhere in your path, or specify the whole path to vcvars32.
You can use the script in http://www.alteridem.net/2010/09/02/visual-studio-2010-command-prompt-here to make it so when you right-click a folder in explorer the option shows up. After downloading and extracting the zip file you can modify the .inf to point to the correct path to your particular VS version (and change the displayed name if desired). Note the comment on the page about having to rename the file if you are running 64-bit Windows.
I want to have a batch file(must be placed on desktop) which does the following;
opens cmd
navigates to a directory, e.g. C:\activiti-5.9\setup
runs a command within the directory, e.g. ant demo.start (this command runs the activiti server)
I tried the following to reach to the directory but how to run command, "ant demo.start"?
START cmd.exe /k "cd C:\activiti-5.9\setup"
Thank you for the help.
EDIT:
Referring to zb226's answer below: One more question if you can answer me is how to make that cmd to be run as administrator? will the following work?
START cmd /K "runas /user:administrator & cd C:\activiti-5.9\setup & ant demo.start"
Chain arbitrary commands using & like this:
command1 & command2 & command3 & ...
Thus, in your particular case, put this line in a batch file on your desktop:
START cmd.exe /k "cd C:\activiti-5.9\setup & ant demo.start"
You can also use && to chain commands, albeit this will perform error checking and the execution chain will break if one of the commands fails. The behaviour is detailed here.
Edit: Intrigued by #James K's comment "You CAN chain the commands, but they will have no effect", I tested some more and to my surprise discovered, that the program I was starting in my original test - firefox.exe - while not existing in a directory in the PATH environment variable, is actually executable anywhere on my system (which really made me wonder - see bottom of answer for explanation). So in fact executing...
START cmd.exe /k "cd C:\progra~1\mozill~1 && firefox"
...didn't prove the solution was working. So I chose another program (nLite) after making sure that it was not executable anywhere on my system:
START cmd.exe /k "cd C:\progra~1\nlite && nlite"
And that works just as my original answer already suggested. A Windows version is not given in the question, but I'm using Windows XP, btw.
If anybody is interested why firefox.exe, while not being in PATH, is executable anywhere on my system - and very probably on yours as well - this is due to a registry key where applications can be registered to be available everywhere. See this SU answer for details.
For me, the following is working and running activiti server as well as opening the explorer in browser (with the help of zb226's answer and comment);
START "runas /user:administrator" cmd /K "cd C:\activiti-5.9\setup & ant demo.start"
START /wait localhost:8080/activiti-explorer
This question is 5 years old. I wonder why still nobody has found the /d switch to set the working folder:
start /d "c:\activiti-5.9\setup" cmd /k ant demo.start
CMD.EXE will not execute internal commands contained inside the string. Only actual files can be launched with that string.
You will need to actually call a batch file to do what you want.
BAT1.bat
start cmd.exe /k bat2.bat
BAT2.bat
cd C:\activiti-5.9\setup
ant demo.start
You may want to create a folder called BAT, and add it's location to your path.
So if you create C:\BAT, add C:\BAT\; to the path. The path is located at:
click -> Start -> right-click Computer -> Properties ->
click -> Avanced System Settings -> Environment Variables
select -> Path (From either list. User Variables are specific to
your profile, System Variables are, duh, system-wide.)
Click -> Edit
Press the -> the [END] or [HOME] key.
Type -> C:\BAT\;
Click -> OK -> OK
Now place all your batch files in C:\BAT and they will be found, regardless of the current directory.
Mine DID execute commands in order. Here's my version of what I was using it for:
START cmd.exe /k "U: & cd U:\Design_stuff\new_lcso_website_2017 & python -m http.server"
I needed to
Change to my U drive
CD to a specific folder containing a website I'm redesigning
Execute python with the http server module (to display the contents in my browser).
If those commands are out of order, it would not display the correct files. I initially forgot to change to U: and, running the batch file on my Desktop, it created a web page in my browser at http://localhost:8000 showing me the contents of my Desktop instead of the folder I wanted.
You Can Also Check It:
cmd /c cd /d C:\activiti-5.9\setup & ant demo.start