Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10  

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    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10

    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10

    How to Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10
    Published by Category: Performance & Maintenance
    27 Jul 2023
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10


    Maintenance activity refers to an application or process that helps maintain the health and performance of a Windows PC. Maintenance includes keeping Windows and applications up-to-date, checking security, and running scans for malware. Windows Automatic Management (WAM) is a set of enhancements to the Task Scheduler API you can use to link your applications into the Windows maintenance schedule. Specifically, WAM allows you to add activities that require regular scheduling, but do not have exact time requirements. Instead, WAM relies on the operating system to choose the appropriate time to activate the task throughout the day. The system chooses those times based on minimal impact to the user, PC performance, and energy efficiency.

    How Scheduled Maintenance Works

    Windows Automatic Maintenance minimizes impact to the PC by scheduling maintenance only when the PC is on and idle. By default, the system performs maintenance daily, starting at 3 AM. (Note that the user may re-schedule when the maintenance occurs.) This daily session is limited to a maximum duration of 1 hour per attempt. If the user is actively using the machine, the system defers maintenance until a later time. The system also suspends any executing maintenance task if the user returns to the PC.

    The system restarts a suspended maintenance task during the next idle period; however, the system will not suspend any task marked as critical. Instead, the system allows a critical task to complete, regardless of user action.

    Due to the nature of scheduling, some scheduled tasks may not finish: perhaps there are too many scheduled events to fit in the 1 hour maintenance window, or maybe the computer was simply not turned on. In such cases, you can define a task with a deadline. A deadline is defined as a recurring time frame in which the system must successfully perform the task at least once.

    If a task misses a deadline, the maintenance scheduler will continue to attempt to execute the task during the maintenance window. Further, the scheduler will not limit itself to the regular 1 hour time limit. Instead, the scheduler extends the duration of the maintenance window in order to complete the delayed task. If the system still cannot complete the task, the Action Center displays a warning notification to the user. The user can then manually initiate the maintenance action from the Action center.

    Once the system completes the task (even with a failure error code), the attempt is considered successful. After a successful attempt, the scheduler resets to the regular maintenance schedule, and will attempt the task during the next period.

    For more information about "Automatic Maintenance", see: Automatic Maintenance - Windows applications | Microsoft Docs


    This tutorial will show you how to change the Automatic Maintenance settings for what time to run the daily maintenance tasks, and if to allow the scheduled maintenance to wake the computer to run at the scheduled time in Windows 10.

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


    Contents

    • Option One: Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Control Panel
    • Option Two: Manually Change "Run maintenance tasks daily at" Time in Registry Editor
    • Option Three: Manually Turn On or Off "Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time" using a REG file






    OPTION ONE

    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Control Panel


    1 Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Security and Maintenance icon.

    2 In Security and Maintenance, expand Maintenance, and click/tap on the Change maintenance settings link under Automatic Maintenance. (see screenshot below)

    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10-automatic_maintenance_settings-1.jpg

    3 Select the time that you would like to have Automatic Maintenance run daily at, then check (on) or uncheck (off - default) Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time. When finished, click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    By default, Automatic Maintenance is set to wake up your computer and run maintenance tasks at 2 AM.


    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10-automatic_maintenance_settings-2.jpg

    4 If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on OK.

    5 When finished, you can close Security and Maintenance if you like.






    OPTION TWO

    Manually Change "Run maintenance tasks daily at" Time in Registry Editor


    1 Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

    2 Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\Maintenance

    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10-automatic_maintenance_time-1.png

    3 In the right pane of the Maintenance key, double click/tap on the Activation Boundary string value to modify it. (see screenshot above)

    If you do not have a Activation Boundary string value, right click on an empty area in the right pane of the Maintenance key, click/tap on New, click/tap on String Value, type Activation Boundary for the name, and press Enter.



    4 Enter a data value from the table below for the time you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10-automatic_maintenance_time-2.png

    Time Date Value
    12:00 AM 2001-01-01T00:00:00
    1:00 AM 2001-01-01T01:00:00
    2:00 AM - default 2001-01-01T02:00:00
    3:00 AM 2001-01-01T03:00:00
    4:00 AM 2001-01-01T04:00:00
    5:00 AM 2001-01-01T05:00:00
    6:00 AM 2001-01-01T06:00:00
    7:00 AM 2001-01-01T07:00:00
    8:00 AM 2001-01-01T08:00:00
    9:00 AM 2001-01-01T09:00:00
    10:00 AM 2001-01-01T10:00:00
    11:00 AM 2001-01-01T11:00:00
    12:00 PM 2001-01-01T12:00:00
    1:00 PM 2001-01-01T13:00:00
    2:00 PM 2001-01-01T14:00:00
    3:00 PM 2001-01-01T15:00:00
    4:00 PM 2001-01-01T16:00:00
    5:00 PM 2001-01-01T17:00:00
    6:00 PM 2001-01-01T18:00:00
    7:00 PM 2001-01-01T19:00:00
    8:00 PM 2001-01-01T20:00:00
    9:00 PM 2001-01-01T21:00:00
    10:00 PM 2001-01-01T22:00:00
    11:00 PM 2001-01-01T23:00:00

    5 You can now close Registry Editor if you like.





    OPTION THREE

    Manually Turn On or Off "Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time" using a REG file


    The downloadable .reg files below will add and modify the DWORD value in the registry keys below.

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\Maintenance

    WakeUp DWORD

    0 = Off
    1 = On


    1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you would like to do.


     2. To Turn On "Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time"

    A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

    Turn_ON_Allow_scheduled-maintenance_to_wake_up_my_computer_at_scheduled_time.reg

    Download


     3. To Turn Off "Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time"

    This is the default setting.

    A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

    Turn_OFF_Allow_scheduled-maintenance_to_wake_up_my_computer_at_scheduled_time.reg

    Download


    4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

    5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

    6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

    7 You could now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


    That's it,
    Shawn Brink






  1. Posts : 575
    Windows 11 Pro
       #1

    I realize that Automatic Maintenance is important and these settings allow one to generally change the time Automatic Maintenance is suppose to run. In my experience Automatic Maintenance rarely runs at the time set. It is randomized and many times runs when I am using my computer to do something else.

    The four tasks found in Windows 8.1 TaskScheduler (Idle Maintenance, Maintenance Configurator, Manual Maintenance, and Regular Maintenance) are no longer present in Windows 10 Technical Preview. Using your tutorial from the Eight Forums I could better control when Automatic Maintenance would actually run. I suspect in Windows 10 that a new task named Maintenance Activator now controls Automatic Maintenance. I found this task by running the command powercfg /waketimers and the response was:
    Timer set by [SERVICE] \Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\svchost.exe (SystemEventsBroker) expires at 5:52:14 AM on 10/20/2014.
    Reason: Windows will execute 'Maintenance Activator' scheduled task that requested waking the computer.

    I have looked for the Maintenance Activator task by running schtasks /query and by looking in the Task Scheduler under the Active Tasks list, and I cannot find it.

    For some reason Microsoft has chosen to really hide this new task. Does anyone now how to unhide the Maintenance Activator task?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 983
    Windows 7/64 Professional
       #2

    Thanks Shawn for the tutorial.
    I do like to make those kinds of choices of what happens and when.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 2
    Windows 10
       #3

    Hello!
    Any updates on how to permanently disable automatic maintenance on windows 10?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Hello Stilatore, and welcome to Ten Forums.

    If you like, you could uncheck Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time for now, but nothing new for how to do so in Windows 10 like below in Windows 8 yet.

    Automatic Maintenance - Enable or Disable in Windows 8
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 2
    Windows 10
       #5

    Thank you!
    Yes, i knew about that but i was looking for disabling it permanently like in windows 8.
    Thank you again for your quick reply :)
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 3,264
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit Version 21H2
       #6

    Little confused by this, for one why is it showing white flag for Windows 10 and if click Action center in notification area in Windows 10 you do not get to Security and Maintenance, only through Control Panel.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #7

    jds63 said:
    Little confused by this, for one why is it showing white flag for Windows 10 and if click Action center in notification area in Windows 10 you do not get to Security and Maintenance, only through Control Panel.
    Hey mate, :)

    In Windows 10, this is now called "Security and Maintenance" instead of "Action Center" like in previous Windows.

    All system icons are white, so the white flag is the same one for "Security and Maintenance", but just white.

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2...dows-10-a.html

    This is of course because Windows 10 has a new "Action Center" for notifications and quick actions. You'll notice it has a different system icon than the white flag.

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2...dows-10-a.html
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 3,264
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit Version 21H2
       #8

    Tutorial made it seem like i had a white flag and was an option to get me to Security and maintenance in windows 10. All i know is control panel is only way. What i meant is what is shown in the tutorial as being a white flag on taskbar for a Windows 10 tutorial had me confused.

    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10-untitled.jpg

    Change Automatic Maintenance Settings in Windows 10-untitled3.jpg
    I know other tutorials, thanks
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Yeah, usually you won't see the white flag icon for "Security and Maintenance" anymore unless you have a notification message from it. I just added it as one of the possible available options for how to open "Security and Maintenance".
      My Computers


 

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