Specifying the running directory for Scheduled Tasks using schtasks.exe
Just wanted to add details that are valid for Windows Server 2008 and 2012. As many people can understand screen shots better here is a screen shot:
To sum it up. When you create the action for your scheduled task you have the option to set the "Start in (optional)" field (rounded in red on the screen shot). This will be the directory from where your process is triggered.
Hope this helps!
I recently came across the same issue. The way I resolved it was to add the /V1 switch to the schtasks command.
/V1 creates a pre-vista compatible scheduled task and automatically populates the Start In directory.
You can set the start in directory using the following command
The key is the \ in the /tr switch.
SCHTASKS /Create /u username /p pswd /ru "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /rp /sc ONSTART /tn task-name /tr "\"D:\name-of-file-to-run\" "