Automatically running a windows bat file after returning from idle

Question

First off, the background on what I want to do:

I am running rosetta@home on my computers at home and work, and I often find minirosetta tasks stuck in memory when I resume using the computer after a long idle period. I haven't found any real solution to the problem so I am looking for a workaround solution that involves automatically killing the minirosetta tasks when I return from an idle state.

It is possible to kill tasks with a simple command line (in windows7):

taskkill /IM taskname.exe /F

So I am looking for a way to execute a batch script to kill minirosetta tasks when I return from idle mode. Does anyone know if I can use one of the event triggers under windows task scheduler to automatically run a bat file after returning from idle? I see many different possibilities for event triggers but no idea what to use for returning from idle.

Alternatively I could run an executable or bat file when idle, and this executable could wait for mouse/keyboard action before it runs a script to kill the minirosetta tasks. Is this possible with simple scripts or do I need to compile a windows exec?

Thanks

Answer 1

I'm assuming when you return after leaving the PC idle for a while you find the screensaver running and dismiss it using the mouse or keyboard. So one possible solution would be to execute your batch file (or even taskkill directly) on screensaver dismissal.

Event ID 4803 corresponds to The screen saver was dismissed, so all you need to do is turn on logging of this event using the Local Group Policy Editor and then use Task Scheduler to create a task that will be launched when the event occurs. You can find a detailed tutorial for this here.