WinActivate problem on Windows Server 2003

[smatty]

I wrote an AutoIt backup script that ran flawlessly for 5+ years, but has recently started failing. The failure occurs when calling WinActivate() to bring the server application to the foreground in preparation for shutdown. I am using remote desktop to connect to the server (mstsc.exe /admin) as close to the "real" console session as possible. If I manually run the script while connected via remote desktop, it works correctly. If I schedule the script, disconnect from remote desktop, and check back later, the server application window has been maximized, but doesn't have focus, causing the script to fail gracefully.

I have read that the root cause of the issue is that Windows shuts down GUI interaction with application windows if nobody is connected to the session.

I have tried everything I can think of (various hacky combinations of sleep(), sending multiple WinActivate(), trying ControlSend() so the window doesn't need to be active first), but nothing works. I see various people reporting similar problems around the internet (both with AutoIt and other products), but nobody seems to have a solution.

Does anybody here know workarounds for this issue? Thank you

Smatty

Edited January 15, 2012 by smatty