When performing database deployments on Windows Server 2008 R2 (or any version), scheduled tasks that interact with the database can cause conflicts or data corruption. While you could manually disable each task through Task Scheduler GUI, this becomes impractical when dealing with multiple tasks across different servers.

The ScheduledTasks module in PowerShell provides all necessary cmdlets to manage scheduled tasks programmatically. Here's how we can automate this process:

# First, import the module (not needed on Server 2012+)
Import-Module ScheduledTasks

# Get all tasks in a specific folder (root folder in this case)
$tasks = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath "\"

# Disable all tasks
$tasks | ForEach-Object {
    Disable-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName -TaskPath $_.TaskPath
    Write-Host "Disabled task: $($_.TaskName)"
}

For more control, you might want to disable only tasks matching certain patterns:

# Disable tasks containing "DB" in their name
Get-ScheduledTask | Where-Object {$_.TaskName -like "*DB*"} | Disable-ScheduledTask

# Disable tasks from a specific folder
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath "\Maintenance\" | Disable-ScheduledTask

Here's a complete script you can use in your deployment pipeline:

# Deployment_Preparation.ps1
param(
    [string]$TaskPath = "\",
    [switch]$Disable,
    [switch]$Enable
)

$tasks = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath $TaskPath

if ($Disable) {
    $tasks | ForEach-Object {
        Disable-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName -TaskPath $_.TaskPath
        Write-Output "Disabled: $($_.TaskPath)$($_.TaskName)"
    }
    exit 0
}

if ($Enable) {
    $tasks | ForEach-Object {
        Enable-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName -TaskPath $_.TaskPath
        Write-Output "Enabled: $($_.TaskPath)$($_.TaskName)"
    }
    exit 0
}

Write-Output "Please specify -Disable or -Enable parameter"
exit 1

For production use, add proper error handling:

try {
    $tasks = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath "\" -ErrorAction Stop
    $tasks | ForEach-Object {
        try {
            if ($_.State -ne "Disabled") {
                Disable-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName -TaskPath $_.TaskPath -ErrorAction Stop
                Write-Host "Successfully disabled: $($_.TaskName)"
            }
        }
        catch {
            Write-Warning "Failed to disable $($_.TaskName): $_"
        }
    }
}
catch {
    Write-Error "Failed to retrieve scheduled tasks: $_"
    exit 1
}

• Always test scripts in a non-production environment first
• Consider creating task state backups before modifications
• Document which tasks were disabled for rollback purposes
• Integrate with your CI/CD pipeline for automated execution

During database-related deployments on Windows Server 2008 R2, temporarily disabling scheduled tasks is crucial to prevent conflicts. The manual approach of going through a checklist becomes tedious and error-prone, especially when dealing with numerous tasks. PowerShell offers a perfect automation solution.

The ScheduledTasks module (introduced in Windows Server 2012/Windows 8 and available for earlier versions) provides cmdlets for task management:

# First, check if the module is available
Get-Module -Name ScheduledTasks -ListAvailable

# If not present on Server 2008 R2, you'll need to install RSAT
# or use alternative methods shown later

For systems where the module is available:

# Disable all tasks in a folder recursively
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath "\YourAppFolder\" | 
    Where-Object { $_.State -ne "Disabled" } | 
    Disable-ScheduledTask

# Disable specific tasks by name pattern
Get-ScheduledTask | 
    Where-Object { $_.TaskName -like "*Backup*" } | 
    Disable-ScheduledTask

# Enable tasks after deployment
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath "\YourAppFolder\" | 
    Enable-ScheduledTask

For Windows Server 2008 R2 without the module:

# Disable a single task
schtasks /Change /TN "\YourAppFolder\TaskName" /DISABLE

# Disable all tasks in a folder (requires loop)
$tasks = schtasks /Query /FO CSV | ConvertFrom-Csv
$tasks | Where-Object { $_.TaskName -like "\YourAppFolder\*" } | 
    ForEach-Object { schtasks /Change /TN $_.TaskName /DISABLE }

# Enable a task
schtasks /Change /TN "\YourAppFolder\TaskName" /ENABLE

Here's a robust example that handles both module and legacy cases:

function Set-TaskState {
    param(
        [string]$TaskPath,
        [bool]$Disable
    )
    
    if (Get-Module -Name ScheduledTasks -ListAvailable) {
        $tasks = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath $TaskPath -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        if ($Disable) {
            $tasks | Where-Object { $_.State -ne "Disabled" } | Disable-ScheduledTask
        } else {
            $tasks | Enable-ScheduledTask
        }
    } else {
        $action = if ($Disable) { "DISABLE" } else { "ENABLE" }
        $tasks = schtasks /Query /FO CSV | ConvertFrom-Csv | 
            Where-Object { $_.TaskName -like "$TaskPath*" }
        $tasks | ForEach-Object { schtasks /Change /TN $_.TaskName /$action }
    }
}

# Usage:
Set-TaskState -TaskPath "\YourApp\" -Disable $true  # For deployment
Set-TaskState -TaskPath "\YourApp\" -Disable $false # After deployment

Make your script production-ready with proper error handling:

try {
    $disabledTasks = @()
    $allTasks = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath "\YourApp\"
    
    foreach ($task in $allTasks) {
        if ($task.State -ne "Disabled") {
            $task | Disable-ScheduledTask -ErrorAction Stop
            $disabledTasks += $task.TaskName
            Write-Verbose "Disabled task: $($task.TaskName)"
        }
    }
    
    # Save list of disabled tasks for later enable
    $disabledTasks | Out-File "C:\Temp\DisabledTasks_$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd').txt"
}
catch {
    Write-Error "Failed to disable tasks: $_"
    # Implement your error recovery logic here
}

For more complex scenarios:

# Disable tasks except critical ones
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath "\" | 
    Where-Object { 
        $_.TaskName -notmatch "CriticalTask1|CriticalTask2" -and 
        $_.State -ne "Disabled" 
    } | 
    Disable-ScheduledTask

# Check task states before deployment
$taskStates = Get-ScheduledTask | Select-Object TaskName, State
$taskStates | Export-Csv -Path "C:\Temp\TaskStates_BeforeDeployment.csv"