Restart RSLinx in Service Mode Using a Scheduled Task

This procedure creates a Windows Scheduled Task that silently restarts the Rockwell RSLinx service once per day (default: 2:00 AM).   This can help resolve intermittent communication issues by ensuring RSLinx is refreshed on a regular basis.

Prerequisites

• Local administrator rights
• PowerShell available (default on modern Windows)

Steps:

1) Confirm the following directory exists, and if not, create it:  "C:\ProgramData\Copia Automation"

2) Open Notepad, paste the script provided below, and save it as “C:\ProgramData\Copia Automation\RSLinxServiceRestart.ps1”

# RSLinx Management Script

# ─────────────────────────────────────────
# STEP 0: Self-elevate to Administrator when running in manual mode (Uncomment to run)
# ─────────────────────────────────────────

#if (-not ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]"Administrator")) {
#    Start-Process PowerShell -ArgumentList "-NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File `"$($MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path)`"" -Verb RunAs
#    exit
#}

# ─────────────────────────────────────────
# Logging Setup
# ─────────────────────────────────────────
$ScriptFolder = Split-Path -Parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path
$LogFolder    = Join-Path $ScriptFolder "RSLinx Classic Service Restart Logs"
$LogFile      = Join-Path $LogFolder "RSLinx_$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss').txt"

if (-not (Test-Path $LogFolder)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $LogFolder -Force }

# Keep only the last 7 logs (one per day = one week)
Get-ChildItem -Path $LogFolder -Filter "RSLinx_*.txt" |
    Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending |
    Select-Object -Skip 7 |
    Remove-Item -Force

Start-Transcript -Path $LogFile -Append

Write-Host "=== RSLinx Management Script ==="
Write-Host "Run Time: $(Get-Date)"
Write-Host "Running as: $([Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent().Name)"

# ─────────────────────────────────────────
# STEP 1: Stop RSLinx application if running
# ─────────────────────────────────────────

Write-Host "`n[1] Checking for running RSLinx processes..."
$processes = Get-Process | Where-Object {
    $_.ProcessName -like "*rslinx*" -or $_.ProcessName -like "*rslinxclassic*"
}

if ($processes) {
    Write-Host "    Found $($processes.Count) process(es). Stopping..."
    $processes | Stop-Process -Force
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
    Write-Host "    RSLinx processes stopped."
} else {
    Write-Host "    No RSLinx processes found running."
}

# ─────────────────────────────────────────
# STEP 2: Start RSLinx Service
# ─────────────────────────────────────────

Write-Host "`n[2] Starting RSLinx service..."
try {
    Start-Service -Name "RSLinx" -ErrorAction Stop
    Write-Host "    RSLinx service started successfully."
} catch {
    Write-Host "    ERROR: Could not start RSLinx service."
    Write-Host "    $_"
}

# ─────────────────────────────────────────
# STEP 3: Set RSLinx Service to Automatic startup
# ─────────────────────────────────────────

Write-Host "`n[3] Configuring RSLinx service to start automatically..."
try {
    Set-Service -Name "RSLinx" -StartupType Automatic -ErrorAction Stop
    Write-Host "    RSLinx startup type set to Automatic."
} catch {
    Write-Host "    ERROR: Could not configure startup type."
    Write-Host "    $_"
}

# ─────────────────────────────────────────
# SUMMARY
# ─────────────────────────────────────────

Write-Host "`n=== Done ==="
$svc = Get-Service -Name "RSLinx" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($svc) {
    Write-Host "    Service Status : $($svc.Status)"
    Write-Host "    Startup Type   : $($svc.StartType)"
}

Stop-Transcript

3) Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run the command below.  The default run time is 02:00 (2 AM).  To change it, modify /ST to your preferred time (24-hour format)

schtasks /Create /TN "RSLinx Daily Restart" /TR "powershell.exe -WindowStyle Hidden -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File \"C:\ProgramData\Copia Automation\RSLinxServiceRestart.ps1\"" /SC DAILY /ST 02:00 /RL HIGHEST /RU SYSTEM

What This Does

• Creates a scheduled task named “RSLinx Daily Restart”
• Runs once per day
• Executes your PowerShell script silently (no visible window)
• The task runs as System context by default
• Creates a log file for the last 7 days
• If needed, the task can be modified in Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc)