AutoBoot 1.1 handles two kinds of errors: System Crashes (a System Error Dialog occurs on the screen) and Freeze-Ups (Mac doesn't respond any more, cursor freezes,…).
Restart after Freeze Up:
If you switch this option on, your Mac will be rebooted after a Freeze Up. You can set the time between Freeze Up and reboot (Inactivity Period: minimum 15 and maximum 99 minutes) .
Important : It is very important to understand how AutoBoot attempts to detect a freeze-up. For this purpose, AutoBoot monitors the System's activity. Even when the computer appears to do nothing, every running program is supposed to call some housekeeping routine (technical: SystemTask() ) at least 60 times a second. If the system freezes up, this routine will not be called any more. If this routine is not called for a certain length of time (the inactivity period), AutoBoot will conclude the system has jammed, and reboot the Mac.
Unfortunately, some badly written programs don't call this housekeeping routine as often as they should. Even well know programs sometimes fail to call it for several minutes. One can easily detect these programs: for lengthy periods, they don't respond to user input, and one can not switch them to the background. Examples are: backup programs, installer programs, conversion programs,…
There is a real danger, AutoBoot might mistake such a situation for a Freeze Up, and reboot the Mac. That's why the minimum Inactivity Period is 15 minutes, a period in which most programs will call systemtask at least once.
You should set the Inactivity Period as high as possible, to prevent accidental reboots. However, if you use programs which run for long periods of time without calling the housekeeping routines, like installers, backup programs … you should switch "Restart after Freeze Up" off. You can also prevent AutoBoot from loading by holding down your mouse button at boot time.
p.s.: if you move the position of your mouse, the timer which measures the inactivity period will be reset. If you want to leave "Restart on Freeze-Up " on, and yet run programs which don't call the housekeeping routine regularly, you can prevent reboot by moving the mouse every few minutes.
