Load with Windows does not work - My own workaround

[Clairvaux]

I would like to share the workaround I have just found for launching Hard Disk Sentinel when the computer starts -- in my case, I had never been able to make the Load with Windows option work (in Configurations / Preferences). The how-to provided here (https://www.hdsentinel.com/forum/viewto ... 694#p14864) does not work for me.

My understanding is, the reason for this is :

• I work from a non-admin Windows user account, while my admin account is reserved for the rare cases when the other account would not be able to complete the required task.
• I'm also trying to have HDS launch as an application in this case -- despite the detailed explanations kindly given by the site admin a few years ago, I must admit I remain a bit bone-headed on this "run as a service/run as an application" alternative. (See this thread : https://www.hdsentinel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11268.)

My apologies in advance if I missed something in the way the Load with Windows option should be used.

Since working from a non-admin account is the highly recommended practice to avoid malware, I thought maybe this would be helpful to other users.

The only problem that remains, with the following how-to, is that I still have to enter my Windows user account password at startup, as part of the UAC escalation process. If there is a way to avoid that, I'd be glad to know it.

The following steps work on my setup. This does not mean they would work on another, or they are all necessary.

I use Hard Disk Sentinel Pro v.5.6.1, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. So the instructions are relevant to those.

• Make sure the Load with Windows option of Hard Disk Sentinel is UN-ticked.
• Log into your Windows admin account.
• Launch Windows' Task Scheduler (it's in Administrative Tools).
• Create a Hard Disk Sentinel folder in the left panel of the Task Scheduler (optional) : Action / New Folder.
• Create a task : Action / Create Task.

In the General tab :

• Give your task a name (anything starting with Hard Disk Sentinel will be fine).
• Add a Description if you like.
• Change the account shown in When Running the Task, Use the Following User Account. In order to do this, click on Change User or Group.
• In the field Enter the Object Name to Select, type the name of your non-admin Windows user account. You need to do this from memory. There is no list shown and no hint given.
• Click on Check Names. If the name was correctly entered, it will now appear underlined, preceded by the name of your computer. Click OK. Now, the item When Running the Task, Use the Following User Account shows your non-admin account, instead of your admin account.
• Run Only when User is Logged on = Yes.
• Run with Highest Privileges = Yes.

In the Triggers tab :

• Begin the Task : At Logon.
• Specific User : [this should show the name of your non-admin account].

In the Actions tab :

• Action : Start a Program.
• Program / Script : [browse to hdsentinel.exe in the install folder of HDS].

In the Conditions tab :

• The default options are OK.

In the Settings tab :

• If the Task Fails, Restart every : 5 minutes
• Attempt to Restart up to : 3 times

That's it. Now Hard Disk Sentinel monitors my disks continuously without my having to launch it, and I have access to the full application. Any comments or criticism welcome...

[hdsentinel]

Thanks for the information and the details !

Yes, generally Hard Disk Sentinel starts only when the admin user (who installed it) logs in, but yes, this solution may work for non-admin users too.