PCB Shutdown Command File Doesn't Execute

[BillP]

This question was originally posted by Steve on APC forums on 5/16/2013

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I have installed a SMT750RM2U and connected it with a standard USB cable to a Windows 7 (x64) computer (HTPC).  I have installed PowerChute Agent, Console and Server on the HTPC. (I have since learned that I only needed to install Agent; however,  I'm afraid to uninstall any of this software because of the reports that they don't uninstall properly.)

I ran the Wizard successfully.  Then started the Console.  Everything looks correct:

I then run Agent and setup the shutdown settings:

I created a file named test.bat in the cmdfiles directory which contains only the following line:

c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -i

When I click on the Test button, I get the following response:

Command File was executed
C:\Program Files (x86)\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\agent\cmdfiles\test.bat

However, shutdown.exe -i does not execute.

I also tried this line:

@START c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -i

and this line:

@START "" "c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe" -i

all with the same result.  I can run the test.bat in a windows command window and it executes correctly.

What am I doing wrong?  How can I fix this problem?

Thanks, Steve

[voidstar_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 6/23/2013

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sconaway wrote:
A big thank you to voidstar and Angela N.  Sorry for the delayed response.  The test.cmd voidstar suggested resulted in a stderr.txt error message of "test2.cmd is not a valid command..."  However, double clicking on the test2.cmd file did execute shutdown.exe.

Odd... I guess you can't run .cmd files like that from a cmd file? Maybe a .bat file would work. Not that it matters since Angela's suggestion to use "Interactive Services Detection" seems much more useful.

This result has parallels to my original symptoms.  So that didn't help much; however, the suggestion to use Process Explorer was a big help.  I found shutdown.exe being is Process Explorer, checked the security tab and it said User:   So I now have information which appears to show that shutdown.exe is being invoked by Agent but not executed due to some kind of permission problem.

I think it probably means Process Explorer didn't have enough permissions to determine the user that Shutdown was running as. Try right clicking "Process Explorer" and choosing "Run as Administrator". Determining which user Shutdown should be informative.

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 5/30/2013

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Another suggestion I had was:

Can you check to determine if the exe is running in the background possibly? [viewable through task manager]

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Polydore on APC forums on 1/10/2014

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Hello to All,

Sconaway, were you ever able to resolve this issue? I am facing the same problems with not success.

Regards,

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Steve on APC forums on 5/16/2013

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I have installed a SMT750RM2U and connected it with a standard USB cable to a Windows 7 (x64) computer (HTPC).  I have installed PowerChute Agent, Console and Server on the HTPC. (I have since learned that I only needed to install Agent; however,  I'm afraid to uninstall any of this software because of the reports that they don't uninstall properly.)

I ran the Wizard successfully.  Then started the Console.  Everything looks correct:

I then run Agent and setup the shutdown settings:

I created a file named test.bat in the cmdfiles directory which contains only the following line:

c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -i

When I click on the Test button, I get the following response:

Command File was executed
C:\Program Files (x86)\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\agent\cmdfiles\test.bat

However, shutdown.exe -i does not execute.

I also tried this line:

@START c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -i

and this line:

@START "" "c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe" -i

all with the same result.  I can run the test.bat in a windows command window and it executes correctly.

What am I doing wrong?  How can I fix this problem?

Thanks, Steve

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 5/16/2013

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First thing that comes to my mind is seeing if the PowerChute Agent service is allowed to interact with the desktop (beyond what you already tried).

1. Go to services within Administrative Tools and right click on the Agent service and choose Properties.
2. Click on the "Log On" tab.
3. Tick the box for "Interact with Desktop".
4. If the command file is executing commands to another computer, the local system account that the service runs as does not have the proper rights. In this case, the service should be set to log in as a user that does have rights on the secondary system. Please keep in mind also that passwords for the logged in account will not automatically change when the user's password changes for his account. The log in as account should be a user with a password that does not expire.
5. Stop the Agent service and restart it. Retest the command file through PowerChute.

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Steve on APC forums on 5/16/2013

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Thank you for the quick response to my request for help.  I checked the Agent service Log On tab.  The Interact with Desktop was already checked. I rebooted the computer and tried the Agent Setting Test button.  No luck.  I get the "Test Command File" executed response but the command Shutdown.exe doesn't execute.

I hope you have some other suggestions.

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Bill on APC forums on 5/16/2013

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Hi,

I tested the script on WinXP attached to SMT750 and as long as interact with desktop was checked the script worked.

This is the text I used for the test @START c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -i

I also tested with this @START c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -f -r and that ran without an issue with or without interaction with desktop checked.

If neither work try testing with this echo %time% >> C:\temp\cmdtest.txt This will create a file named cmdtest.txt in c:\temp The text file will list the time the script was run.

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Steve on APC forums on 5/16/2013

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Using the @START line didn't work.  I tried the echo %time% line and it did work!  Great suggestion. That gives me great confidence PCB is communicating with my computer.  So it must be something with my command file. I copied the @START line directly from you post and pasted it into my test.bat file. So I'm still puzzled why it doesn't work. Here's a direct copy from my test.bat file:

echo off

@START c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -i

echo %time% >> c:\temp\cmdtest.txt

I also tried renaming the file test.cmd    still no execution.  Each time I get a new entry into  the cmd.txt file.

I have to go to a meeting now.  Please let me know if you have further suggestions.

Thanks, Steve

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Steve on APC forums on 5/17/2013

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I've been troubleshooting this problem all day.  When I double click on the test.bat file it executes perfectly.  When I call the test.bat file using the Agent Test button I get the %time% echo but the @START line doesn't execute.  Somehow, PCB is preventing the @START line from executing.  I'm out of ideas.

Please, can anybody help?

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 5/21/2013

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I don't know of of any other ideas and Bill P. is on vacation so I will see if anyone else has any ideas.

[voidstar_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 5/22/2013

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My guess is the user that PCBE runs as lacks SeRemoteShutdownPrivilege therefore shutdown.exe fails.

This msdn post describes making it work for INTERACTIVE users. I suspect something similar applies to the PCBE user.

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Steve on APC forums on 6/13/2013

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Thank you for the suggestion.  I added INTERACTIVE.  However, it did not solve the problem.

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Steve on APC forums on 6/13/2013

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I checked to see if shutdown.exe was running in the background using task manager.  It wasn't.

My test.cmd file runs perfectly from the command prompt window.  Shutdown.exe executes as specified.

Agent does run the test.cmd file because I see the "echo %time% output; however, shutdown.exe does not run.  This implies to me there is some kind of permission problem but I can't figure out how to solve it.

Here's the content of the test.cmd file (I've simplified the shutdown.exe parameter to just -i for troubleshooting purposes):

@START "" "c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe" -i

echo %time% >> c:\temp\cmdtest.txt

Any new suggestions would be appreciated.

[voidstar_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 6/13/2013

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While it's probably a permission issue, you can try to capture the error. Make the test.cmd file:

test2.cmd 1>stdout.txt 2>stderr.txt

then in test2.cmd

C:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -i

Errors should show up in stderr.txt

For debugging privilege issues, Process Explorer is helpful. Under the "Security" tab it shows the privileges granted to the process. You'll want to make sure both local and remote shutdown privileges are enabled. Perhaps run "ping -n 30 127.0.0.1" in the .bat script so it hangs around long enough for you to check the privileges under process explorer.

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 6/14/2013

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I also have someone helping with this and based on your latest feedback here was the suggestion:

Start the  'Interactive Services Detection' service from Start/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Services. Then try the process again. If the theory is correct, then you should see a blinking icon on your taskbar basically indicating that a process is requesting to run. If you allows it, then you will be taken to a session where you can interact with it. It will not solve the problem but it will show that the .exe is being called.

[whoups_apc · Accepted solution]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 4/26/2015

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I'm late to this party, but I encountered the exact same problem and figured out a work-around: use the Windows Task Scheduler!

1. Create a task that executes whatever you'd like (I tested with shutdown /i), set a suitable user account for running it (I picked my user account) and check "Run with highest privileges" if necessary (not necessary for my test), and allow it to be started manually. Give the task a suitable name, e.g. ShutdownTest.
2. Create a script for PowerChute to execute, and add this line: @start schtasks /run /tn ShutdownTest
3. Execute it from PowerChute and watch it work 😉

Works perfectly, at least for me!