Automatic Maintenance - Enable or Disable in Windows 8

How to Enable or Disable Automatic Maintenance in Windows 8 and 8.1

information   Information
Windows depends on execution of inbox and third party maintenance activity for much of its value-add, including Windows Update, and automatic disk defragmentation, as well as antivirus updates and scans. Additionally, enterprises frequently use maintenance activity such as Network Access Protection (NAP) scanning to help enforce security standards on all enterprise workstations.

Maintenance activity in Windows is designed to run in the background with limited user interaction and minimal impact to performance and energy efficiency. However, in Windows 7 and earlier versions, performance and energy efficiency are still impacted due to the non-deterministic and widely varied schedule of the multiple maintenance activities in Windows. Responsiveness to users is reduced when maintenance activity runs while users are actively using the computer. Apps also frequently ask the user to update their software and run background maintenance, and direct users to multiple experiences, including Action Center, Control Panel, Windows Update, Task Scheduler MMC snap-in, and third-party controls.

The goal of Automatic Maintenance is to combine all background maintenance activity in Windows and help third-party developers add their maintenance activity to Windows without negatively impacting performance and energy efficiency. Additionally, Automatic Maintenance enables users as well as enterprises to be in control of maintenance activity scheduling and configuration.

For more information about "Automatic Maintenance", see: Automatic Maintenance (Windows)


This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Automatic Maintenance in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

Note   Note
It is recommended to leave Automatic Maintenance enabled to let it run automatically at a time you set when the PC is running and you're not using it.

If you disable Automatic Maintenance, then it would be recommended to manually start Automatic Maintenance at least once a week or as needed.




Here's How:

1. Press the :winkey: + R keys to open the Run dialog, type taskschd.msc, and click/tap on OK.

2. In the left pane of Task Scheduler, click/tap on to expand Task Scheduler Library, Microsoft, Windows, and TaskScheduler. (see screenshots below)

3. In the middle pane of TaskScheduler, either right click on or select the Regular Maintenance task, and do step 4 or 5 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshots below)

4. To Enable Automatic Maintenance
NOTE: This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on Enable, and close Task Scheduler. (see screenshot below)​
Enable_Automatic_Maintenance_Task.jpg
B) Check the Automatic Maintenance to wake the computer to run at this time box, and set the time to what you would like it to run at. (see screenshot below)​
settings-2.jpg

5. To Disable Automatic Maintenance
A) Click/tap on Disable, and close Task Scheduler. (see screenshot below)​
Disable_Automatic_Maintenance_Task.jpg
B) Uncheck the Automatic Maintenance to wake the computer to run at this time box. (see screenshot below)​
settings-2.jpg






That's it,
Shawn


 

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you have 5 gold pips now. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
i must be missing something cause.. the easiest way i found to do away w/ automatic maintenence is/was to delete the task completely?

seems to easy so i must be missing something seeing as though that wasnt suggested (best i could tell) lol.

Tell me it doesnt do something under the radar im going to kick myself for?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 4790K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z87X - OC Force
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 (32GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX TITAN SC x4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2713H x3
    Screen Resolution
    4680x2560
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO x2 (512GB)
    Seagate Barracuda x2 (4TB)
    PSU
    EVGA NEX1500 Supernova x2
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian 900D
    Cooling
    EK Supremacy & XSPC RX360
    Keyboard
    Razer Deathstalker Ultimate
    Mouse
    Razer Naga Epic
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Uverse 45Mbp/s
    Browser
    Chromium x64
Hello Kevin,

Yes, you could delete the tasks instead, but that would make it much harder to restore in the future if you should change your mind.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
but, you can export it, then delete it so that you could restore in the future.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64bit (6,3 Build 9600)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony VAIO SVE1512A4E
    CPU
    Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU B980 @2.40GHz 2.40GHz
    Memory
    4,00 Go
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Corporation Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor Plug-and-Play générique
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Harddrive ST640LM001HN-M640MBB from 596.17 GB SATA II
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast! INTERNET SECURITY
Excellent tutorial. I was wondering if Shawn might consider doing a similar tutorial for Windows 10? It seems that Automatic Maintenance in Windows 10 is implemented differently. I have not been able to find any information about Automatic Maintenance in Windows 10.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
Excellent tutorial. I was wondering if Shawn might consider doing a similar tutorial for Windows 10? It seems that Automatic Maintenance in Windows 10 is implemented differently. I have not been able to find any information about Automatic Maintenance in Windows 10.

Hello Tracit, and welcome to Eight Forums.

I'll add it to my list, and will post back with a link when it's finished.

Automatic Maintenance should be allowed to run though since it helps Windows run better. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I just found this thread and it is sooo helpful. Very clear/easy instructions. I have now turned off auto maint. on my HP Touchsmart, 8.1 OS, as the auto maint. kept crashing browsers (ie,torch,chrome,firefox) causing lost data on tabs of pages that were no longer available when I restarted browser. It ran when browser was active, at unscheduled times, though it was supposed to only run when computer idle--is browsing considered idle? I see no one has posted on this thread in a while, so I wonder if there have been any recent changes, and I wonder if I will have a problem with the process restarting itself. I plan to run it once a week as suggested.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
Hello Redbolter, and welcome to Eight Forums. :)

No changes. The only problem would be the need to manually run it as needed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I just found this thread and it is sooo helpful. Very clear/easy instructions. I have now turned off auto maint. on my HP Touchsmart, 8.1 OS, as the auto maint. kept crashing browsers (ie,torch,chrome,firefox) causing lost data on tabs of pages that were no longer available when I restarted browser. It ran when browser was active, at unscheduled times, though it was supposed to only run when computer idle--is browsing considered idle? I see no one has posted on this thread in a while, so I wonder if there have been any recent changes, and I wonder if I will have a problem with the process restarting itself. I plan to run it once a week as suggested.

Hello Redbolter, and welcome to Eight Forums. :)

No changes. The only problem would be the need to manually run it as needed.

Great! Thanks for the info, B!
It's been a couple days without auto maint., and things have been faster, and more stable--knock on wood.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
:thumbsup:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
thank you for the threat... If just realize that we can do this automatic maintenance in our computer. I've just try this feature thanks to you and thatnk for you easy understand explaination
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Touch Smart 11
    Memory
    4
You're most welcome h1n4ta. I'm glad it could help. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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