HOWTO: Windows Task Scheduler Run automatically when device is plugged in

[brandonhiga]

So I got Windows 10 Task Scheduler set up to automatically run the application when the device is plugged in. I believe it should work the same in Windows 11 but I haven't tested that yet.

Enable Plug and Play Tracking

1. Open an elevated PowerShell session
2. Run auditpol /set /subcategory:"Plug and Play Events" /success:enabled to enable success tracking for Plug and Play events. This will get an event 6416 in the Security log when a USB device is connected
3. auditpol /get /subcategory:"Plug and Play Events" to verify the setting was applied - it should have Success in the setting, rather than the default of No Auditing

Record the device ID

1. Unplug your screen if it's plugged in
2. Plug the screen back in
3. Open Event Viewer
4. Navigate to Windows Logs>Security
5. Filter or Search for Event ID 6416
6. Open the event and copy the Device ID from the General or Details tab. My generic UsbPcMonitor 3.5-inch screen is USB\VID_1A86&PID_5722\USB35INCHIPSV2 same as the official Turing 3.5" I just got.

Create the Task

1. Open Task Scheduler
2. In Actions, Create Task...
3. You should be in the General tab
4. Give it a Name and Description
5. Tick the Run with highest privileges option
6. Click the Triggers tab
7. Click New...
8. For Begin the task: select On an event
9. Under Settings, click Custom
10. Click New Event Filter...
11. Click the XML tab
12. Tick the Edit query manually option and click Yes to continue if prompted about not being able to edit the filter in the Filter tab
13. Paste the following code into the box
    <QueryList> <Query Id="0" Path="Security"> <Select Path="Security">*[System[(Level=4 or Level=0) and (EventID=6416)]] and *[EventData[Data[@Name='DeviceId'] and (Data='USB\VID_1A86&amp;PID_5722\USB35INCHIPSV2')]]</Select> </Query> </QueryList>
14. In the code, replace USB\VID_1A86&PID_5722\USB35INCHIPSV2 with your device's ID that you recorded and escape the ampersand (&) by replacing it with & - if you don't escape the ampersand it will tell you the query is invalid.
15. Click OK to accept the filter
16. Make sure Enabled is ticked and click OK
17. Click the Actions tab
18. Click New...
19. For Action: select Start a program
20. Click Browse... and locate the main.exe file --OR-- if you're not using the compiled script, enter "%windir%\system32\cmd.exe" in the Program/Script and enter /c and whatever-command-you-run-the-script-with in Add arguments (optional):
21. Click the Settings tab
22. In If the task is already running, then the following rule applies: select Do not start a new instance. The script/app terminates itself when the device is disconnected, and on a genuine Turing 3.5" that I just got, having it set to Stop the existing instance causes a loop as the device disconnects and reconnects after being initialized, which stops the previous run and starts a new one that makes the device disconnect and reconnect again. Oddly enough that doesn't happen on the generic UsbPcMonitor 3.5" I have.
23. Click OK to save the task and enter the necessary account credentials if prompted.

Test it out

1. Unplug the screen if it's plugged in
2. In Task Scheduler, click Refresh or hit F5 to make sure the status display is updated. The task you created should show Status Ready
3. Plug the screen in. Wait 5 seconds or so
4. In Task Scheduler, click Refresh or hit F5 to make sure the status display is updated. The task you created should show Status Running
5. You should see the display initialize and display your configured theme
6. Unplug the screen. Wait 5 seconds or so
7. In Task Scheduler, click Refresh or hit F5 to make sure the status display is updated. The task you created should show Status Ready

You should be good now - plug the screen back in and it should reinitialize.

Notes

• While I believe this same procedure should work for Windows 11, I haven't tested it there yet.
• I don't believe this will work if you have multiple screens with the same Device ID as it's keying on the device, not the full instance path. If someone figures that out, or if there's a way to change the device ID, please let us all know.
• I couldn't find a way to track when the device is disconnected, luckily the script/app terminates itself when the device is disconnected, so it's not a requirement.
• It does seem to work running as the SYSTEM user, or without storing the password for a standard user, it's up to you how you want to have it running, just make sure you don't run into permissions issues running the task if it's not running in a user session.

EDIT: 2025/04/06 - Change If task is already running option to Do not start a new instance because on genuine Turing 3.5-inch it disappears from the bus and reconnects after the app initialize, causing a loop.

[mathoudebine]

Thanks for sharing this procedure! I will add a link in the wiki page

[RootShinobi]

Windows 11 Pro 24H2
auditpol /set /subcategory:"Plug and Play Events" /success:enabled
fails with
Error 0x00000057 occurred: The parameter is incorrect..

use this auditpol /set /subcategory:"Plug and Play Events"

[RootShinobi]

20. *if you're using venv (recommend)
    for example if you created a venv in the project folder, e.g. C:\turing-smart-screen\venv
    Program/script: C:\turing-smart-screen\venv\Scripts\pythonw.exe
    Arguments: main.py
    Start in: C:\turing-smart-screen\