scheduler on windows

This might be a permission issue. Is your computer connected to a network?

Sincerely,
Ed

Is the Task Scheduler service set to Automatic and running?

Open Services...
Start | Run | Type: services.msc | Click OK |
Scroll down to and double click Task Scheduler |
Make sure that it's set to Automatic under Startup type |
Click the Start button | When it starts, close Services

Open the SchedLgU.txt and see what you can see.

Start | Run | Type: SchedLgU.txt | Click OK

C:\WINDOWS\SchedLgU.txt

Or, Open Scheduled Tasks.
On the Advanced menu, click View Log.

From XP HELP:

Troubleshooting Scheduled Tasks
[[If a scheduled task does not run when you expect it to, right-click the
task, and then click Properties. On the Task tab, verify that the Enabled
check box is selected. On the Schedule tab, verify that the schedule is set
correctly.

If a task program does not run correctly, you might need to add command-line
options to the path of the program. For more information about a particular
program and its command-line options, try one of the following:

* If available, view Help for the program.
* At a command prompt, type the following (where program is the name of the
task program you are trying to run): program /?

You can also check the Status column in the Scheduled Tasks window. The
following table describes the status types.

Status Description
Blank The task is not running, or it ran and was successful.
Running The task is currently being run.
Missed One or more attempts to run this task was missed.
Could not start The most recent attempt to start the task failed.

For more information about the status of a scheduled task, you can check the
SchedLgU.txt log file. This log file for Scheduled Tasks is stored in the
Windows folder, where it is used to record the activity of scheduled tasks.
You can use the log file to determine why a task might have stopped, or to
check on the status of a task.

Notes
* If you cannot run any scheduled tasks on your computer, and your computer
is connected to a domain, see your system administrator to make sure that
the Scheduled Tasks service is turned on.
* If a user is not logged on at the time the task is scheduled to run, the
task runs, but it will not be visible.
* To check the status of a scheduled task, on the View menu, click Details,
and then scroll to view the Status column.]]

The Task Scheduler service can also be stopped from the Scheduled Tasks
window.

"The Task Scheduler service must be running and properly configured to run
tasks. If you had stopped scheduled tasks manually from the Scheduled Tasks
window, the service stops and does not initialize the next time you start
the computer."

"Check your task scheduler - change the security on the job so it matches
your account name and password."
Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]

"The accounts database may be corrupt. Try deleting all tasks then after
restart add them back in."
Dave Patrick MS-MVP

How to troubleshoot scheduled tasks in Windows XP and in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308558

--
Hope this helps.
Brgds
Wellous

what does it mean when the Status is "Could not start" but the last result column shows 0x0 ie The operation completed successfully ? Isn't 0x0 supposed to be for a sucessful run?

Definitely you have issues here ..
Are you the Admin ? if not ? then you can ask your Admin to enable it for you.
The status should be "Started" . nothing else.
If you are the Admin , then you need more troubleshooting to Enable the service Automatically.

GL,
Wellous

I am not the admin, neither am I running the task as an admin. However, I am confused that it actually runs but logs the status as "Could not start".

the log seems to say this:
      Started 3/20/2011 8:05:03 AM
      Started indirectly, through a shortcut; task finish will not be logged.

In the Run section, I list the full path to the excel file A:\.....\blah\blah.xlsm
and in the Start in:, I list A:\.....\blah

Glad to help,
Thanks for the grade :)