How to Restart an IIS 6 Periodically

IIS (Internet Information Services) is the web service application for Windows operating systems. With IIS, you can create websites or FTP (file transfer protocol) sites and publish them internally in your network or to the Internet. For server operating systems such as Windows 2003 and Windows 2008, IIS is installed by default. For client operating systems such as Windows XP and Windows 7, IIS is an optional component. IIS has a command-line tool called "iisreset.exe" that restarts the IIS service. While there is no one command to restart IIS periodically, you can use the "Scheduled Task" feature to run iisreset.exe periodically.

Instructions

Restart IIS Periodically For Windows XP or Earlier OS

1. Click "Start" and go to "All Programs" >> "Accessories."

2. Click "System Tools" and then click "Scheduled Tasks."

3. Double-click "Add Scheduled Task" to open the add scheduled task wizard page and then click "Next."

4. Click the "Browse" button to open a separate window to locate the "iisreset.exe" tool.

5. Go to the directory C:\Windows\system32 and select "iisreset.exe." Click "Open" to add "iisreset.exe" in the scheduled task window.

6. Type a descriptive name for the task in the "Name" box such as "Reset IIS Periodically."

7. Choose the schedule of when you want to run iisreset. The options are: daily, weekly, monthly, one time only, when my computer starts or when I log on. Click "Next."

8. Specify the date and time of when you want to initially run the task.

9. Type the name and password of the user who has administrative privileges in the computer to run the task. If you have administrative privileges, Windows pre-populates these fields.

10. Click "Next" and then "Finish" to close.

Restart IIS Periodically For Windows 7 or Vista

1. Click the "Start" button.

2. Go to "Control Panel" >> "System and Security" >> "Administrative Tools" and double-click "Task Scheduler." Enter an administrator password if prompted.

3. Click "Create Basic Task" in the "Action" menu.

4. Type a name for the task such as "Restart IIS Periodically" and then click "Next."

5. Select a schedule of when you want to run the task.

6. Click "Next."

7. Click "Start a program" to schedule the program to start automatically after creating the task and then click "Next."

8. Click "Browse" to look for the program you want to start.

9. Go to the directory: C:\Windows\system32\ and select "iisreset.exe." Click "Open" to add the program in the task scheduler.

10. Click "Next" and click "Finish."

References

• Microsoft: Restarting IIS (IIS 6.0)
• Microsoft: How To Schedule Tasks in Windows XP
• Microsoft: Schedule A Task