Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

How to Launch HS3 Automatically Without Logging On To Your PC

Collapse
This is a sticky topic.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    How to Launch HS3 Automatically Without Logging On To Your PC

    HS3 doesn't run as a Windows service. We did this intentionally to mitigate support traffic caused by incompatible Windows drivers (ie drivers that are not compatible with a software running as a service). This generally doesn't create a problem for those using a dedicated PC to run HomeSeer in a secure environment. However, it does create problems for others. Use this How To to create a Windows Task Scheduler task that will automatically launch HS3 at Startup, without requiring at log in.

    Procedure
    1. Launch the Windows Task Scheduler by typing "Taskschd.msc" into the Windows search or run box
    2. Click "Create task" in the pane on the right
    3. On the general tab, name the task and then click the Security option to "Run whether user is logged on or not"
    4. On the triggers tab, click "New" and then select "At startup" from the "Begin the task" menu
    5. On the actions tab, click "New" and choose "Start a Program" from the Action menu. Now Browse to and select HS3.exe file in the Windows Explorer. Then copy and paste the path it into the "Start in (optional)" field.
    6. Click OK to save your work.
    7. To test this, reboot your PC but DO NOT log in. Then navigate to http://find.homeseer.com, click the 'Search' button and verify that your instance of HS3 is actually running.


    Or... just watch this!



    Caveats
    • Due to Windows security constraints, the Windows Speaker Client will not run properly when HS3 is launched as a Task Scheduler task. This will only affect users who are using the Windows speaker client for TTS announcements or for voice recognition commands.
      This will not affect users who are using HSTouch and Amazon Echo for TTS announcements and voice recognition. If you are not using the Windows Speaker Client, we recommend disabling it entirely by un-ticking the "Launch Speaker Client.." box in the Setup area of HS3 (see below).
    • By default, HS3 is configured to launch your web browser on startup and an instance of your browser will appear in in the task manager. However, the browser may not appear on your screen after login and it may prevent additional instances of the browser to run properly too. Because of this, we recommend un-ticking the "Launch Web Browser.." box in Setup (see below)
    • By default, HS3 is configured to check for updates on startup. We recommend you manually check for updates and un-tick the "Check for HS3 Update.." box in Setup (see below)

    💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

    #2
    I'm missing something. I want to launch HS3 on a new PC running windows 10 Pro at computer startup but HS3 doesn't start properly. I see HS3 running as a task when auto started but it isn't really running properly. I'm loading it on a new computer in trial mode while an old dying computer is running Home control (HS3). I never see the start up screen that asks if I want to continue in trial mode or register and I don't see the speaker or web browser. I need to leave HS3 running for an extended time with no one home. I have it powered by a UPS and do weekly restarts to keep things working properly. Is there a startup launcher utility that will start up HS3 just like clicking the mouse on the HS3 icon?

    Comment


      #3
      Startup Delayer

      https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...-on-windows-10

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by joegr View Post
        Excellent recommendation. Thank you!!

        Comment


          #5
          Startup Delayer is what I use. It has a handy option to delay startup of programs by specified times which makes it simple to ensure support programs start in order before Homeseer. In my case:
          NTP (my time server) [Immediately]
          SpeedFan (system monitor) [15 seconds later]
          Cumulus (my personal weather station which provides data to HS) [ one minute after startup]
          Homeseer [two minutes after startup. Gives Cumulus time to initialize].

          In order to use Startup Delayer however it's necessary to have the user logged in, which is quite easy as well.
          Microsoft's solution: https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/...gon-in-windows
          An easier solution: https://www.lifewire.com/how-do-i-au...indows-2626066

          If you're concerned about local security, just enable a screensaver with a password shortly after startup.
          Real courage is not securing your Wi-Fi network.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Wadenut View Post
            Startup Delayer is what I use. It has a handy option to delay startup of programs by specified times which makes it simple to ensure support programs start in order before Homeseer. In my case:
            NTP (my time server) [Immediately]
            SpeedFan (system monitor) [15 seconds later]
            Cumulus (my personal weather station which provides data to HS) [ one minute after startup]
            Homeseer [two minutes after startup. Gives Cumulus time to initialize].

            In order to use Startup Delayer however it's necessary to have the user logged in, which is quite easy as well.
            Microsoft's solution: https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/...gon-in-windows
            An easier solution: https://www.lifewire.com/how-do-i-au...indows-2626066

            If you're concerned about local security, just enable a screensaver with a password shortly after startup.
            If you run as a service a delay, if needed, is offered as a built-in Windows option.

            Comment


              #7
              You can also use Task Scheduler. I've posted instructions for doing that here: https://github.com/jvmahon/homebridge-homeseer/wiki/Automatically-Start-HomeSeer-and-Homebridge-at-Windows-Start. These instructions are part of a Wiki I maintain for the HomeBridge-Homeseer plugin, so you only need to follow A-D of the instructions.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by jvm View Post
                You can also use Task Scheduler. ...
                Just a few days ago a tech support person pointed me to a link
                "You can follow these instructions to make sure the software will auto start:
                https://docs.homeseer.com/display/HS...HS4+on+Windows "
                they have on how to do what you described in your post/link, EXCEPT their set of instructions leaves out the fact that Windows 10 has the tendency to default to the setting of stopping the task after 3 days. THIS was how my HS 6 Pro computer with HS3 was shipped to me 3 years ago, and it took me about a year to figure out because I simply concluded that HS3 was that unstable such that ever few days, the green light on my Z-Wave ethernet node would turn red, notifying me that I needed to provide a one-finger salute to the CPU, rebooting it in order to get another few days' use out of the system. Repeated contact attempts with tech support, and searching up here, yielded NOTHING. I stumbled across the solution quite by accident thanks to a post up here that touched on something nearby, but not specific to that line. BE SURE YOU UNCHECK THE OPTION TO STOP THE TASK IF IT RUNS LONGER THAN.....!!! Click image for larger version

Name:	0190.png
Views:	633
Size:	31.2 KB
ID:	1426727

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by macromark View Post
                  HS3 doesn't run as a Windows service. We did this intentionally to mitigate support traffic caused by incompatible Windows drivers (ie drivers that are not compatible with a software running as a service). This generally doesn't create a problem for those using a dedicated PC to run HomeSeer in a secure environment. However, it does create problems for others. Use this How To to create a Windows Task Scheduler task that will automatically launch HS3 at Startup, without requiring at log in...
                  Thank you so much for this.

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X