AutoBoot is a Control Panel/System extension which will reboot (restart) you Macintosh after a System Error or a Freeze-Up has occurred. This comes in handy when your Macintosh must be 'on-line' at all times, even when it is left unattended for long periods of time.
For instance, people using Timbuktu (a package which allows you to operate a Mac remotely by modem) complained that they had to drive down to the location of the Mac to reboot it after a system crash. Very nice if the Mac is located at the other side of town !
Other uses can be found for file servers, systems that carry a BBS, systems with a FAX modem, systems which have file sharing turned on … . AutoBoot allows maximal availability of these Macs, even in the presence of System crashes or Freeze-Ups.
As one user wrote to me: "Permit me to thank you a thousand times for having developed it […] For the fact that we were running your product last night, we were able to obtain 2 very important telefaxes that we would not have otherwise received".
I suggest you carefully read this document before installing AutoBoot on your system.
AutoBoot requires at least system 6.0.4. It is 32 bit clean, compatible with system 7 but it is not compatible with virtual memory (yet). I'm working on it, though.
B. Installation
Just drop AutoBoot in your System Folder (system 6) or Control Panels Folder (system 7). You should not use AutoBoot in the presence of a debugger (like Macsbug). It would not hurt if you did, but the debugger would disable the functioning of AutoBoot. If you reboot, you should see the AutoBoot icon appear on the desktop:
If the icon is crossed out, and you don't get any other message, you probably are running a system earlier than 6.0.4 .
C. Functionality
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,…).
If your Mac crashes, it will show the normal error alert box.
System 7 users will see a slightly different alert, with buttons called 'continue' and 'restart'.
After a configurable amount of time (see lower), the mac will reboot (restart) if no action is taken. If you press the resume (or continue) button within the time limit, the current application will be terminated and no reboot will take place. When the mac 'autoboots', all data that was not saved before will be lost.
If the Mac freezes up, it will also be restarted by AutoBoot 1.1 after a configurable amount of time.
You can test AutoBoot by launching one of the 'Bomb' applications which came with this package. At least one of them should cause a crash on your Mac. Be patient: AutoBoot only starts functioning 30 seconds after it was loaded at boot time.
Warning: I can not give a 100% guarantee that AutoBoot will in fact reboot your Mac after a crash or freeze-up. A severe crash can disable all functionality of the Mac, and thus prevent reboot. If the Mac crashes before AutoBoot was loaded, it will of course not reboot the mac.
D. The Control Panel
1.Restart after System Error:
If you switch this option on, your Mac will be rebooted after a System Error. You can set the time between crash and reboot (Restart Delay: minimum 0 and maximum 30 minutes) .When the Mac first discovers an error, it will look again after the specified amount of time. If the error still exists, the mac will be rebooted. Use zero minutes only if ultra fast recovery after a crash is necessary. I suggest you set this time to at least one minute (or higher) for a number of reasons:
• if the Mac starts a cycle of reboots ( reason e.g. a defective startup application or init), a long waiting period will take less toll on the hard disk, because less reboots will take place.
• Some temporary internal errors might be seen as a system crash by AutoBoot and the system will seem reboot "spontaneously" (don't worry: this is only some theoretical speculation from my part. No evidence exists this will actually ever happen). If you set the time to one minute or more, the internal errors will probably have been cleared. Actually, even if you set the time to zero, a minimum of 2 seconds will be respected to avoid the above from happening.
• if you press the interrupt button and enter the mini-debugger, this will be seen as a system crash by AutoBoot. If you want to be able to use the mini-debugger, set the restart time as high as possible.
2.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.
4. Post Notification on restart
If you check this option, a notification will be posted to the user after the reboot caused by a system crash/ freeze-up. The notification will give the time and reason of the crash, and also the number of reboots since the power was turned on. If the notification is not dismissed by the user, it will remove itself after about 10 minutes.
Warning: this notification, when not dismissed, will disable all foreground processing till it removes itself. An example of foreground processing is the launching of the startup application(s). Background processing will continue however. When maximal availability is wanted, do not check this option.
Note: internal AutoBoot errors will always be communicated to the user by a notification, even if this option is turned off.
5. Keep log file.
The log file will be called 'AutoBoot Log' and will be created in the system folder. It will contain the same messages as the notifications: the time and reason of the crash, and also the number of reboots since the power was turned on. I strongly suggest to check this option to keep a log of all reboots, in order to identify machines which have a problem.
Note: The log and notification messages are kept in (high) memory where they are likely to survive the reboot. They will be written to disk AFTER the reboot. This guarantees maximum safety because writing to disk after a crash has occurred is potentially dangerous. It is possible however, that a severe crash will erase the messages in memory . In that case, the reboot can not be logged because AutoBoot has no memory of it.
Note2: internal AutoBoot errors will always to logged, even if this option is turned off.
6. Registration
This software is Shareware. You can evaluate it for two weeks. After this period, you will be regularly reminded to pay your shareware fee. After each user reboot, you will be presented with a notification, inviting you to pay your shareware fee. This message, when not dismissed, will remove itself after 10 minutes to allow foreground processing to continue. The message will also be logged.
After you pay your fee, you will receive a serial number, which you must use to register your copy. The messages will disappear.
Note: you can of course also install a fresh copy of AutoBoot every two weeks :-)
E. Shareware
This software is shareware. This is not another term for free software, as many people seem to think. Shareware software must be paid, just like ordinary commercial software. The difference is that a shareware author uses cheap distribution channels to keep costs down and this system also allows you to evaluate the software before you decide to purchase it.
Support the shareware system by paying your shareware fee ! Many great shareware products have gone commercial because people did not take up their responsibility and paid their fees.
Distribution:
You can distribute this software by giving it away to friend, upload it to a BBS or online services like Compuserve or AOL, or send it to any ftp site. Basically you can distribute it any way you like, as long as you don't ask any money for it, other than a small charge related to distribution costs (cost of a disk, postage or download fee) and keep it together with this unmodified document in the original compressed archive this product came in.
You may not sell this product or bundle it with any other products (commercial or other) without explicit written permission by the author of this software.
You may not modify AutoBoot or this document in any way nor distribute AutoBoot without this document or the other files and applications that came with it.
Price:
The basic fee for the first copy of AutoBoot is $15. For each additional macintosh you run this product on, you must pay another $5. Mind you: you don't pay for the number of users, but for the number of Macs you run AutoBoot on.
You will receive a personal registration number which will reflect the number of copies you paid for . Please allow 4 to 5 weeks for response.
You can also get a site license for $200. This gives you the right to install as many copies as you want . You will also receive all new updates for free and I will give full support to the best of my possibilities (e.g. problem solving, modification of AutoBoot for specific needs…).
If you want to sell this product with any of your products, please contact me, and we'll work something out.
Payment:
a. Europe: You can send cash (dollars or Belgian Franks (BEF)) or send me a Eurocheck. The Eurocheck must be made payable in Belgian Franks (BEF). The fee is 450 BEF for the first copy and 150 BEF for each additional mac. A site license costs 6000 BEF.
b.Outside Europe: You can send cash (dollars) or an International Money Order . Please do not send any checks because cashing a foreign check is often more expensive than the amount it was written for. If do want to send a check anyway, add at least $25 to the shareware fee to cover costs.
From contacts with people in the U.S.A, I learned many people don't pay shareware fees because they think it is a hassle to get money to Europe. It isn't ! The simplest way (for small fees, less than $40), is to send CASH. My experience tells me this is a very reliable method, and I never had any trouble with it. Put the money inside a piece of paper (the registration form) and put it in a firm envelope, so that you can't see it when you hold it to the light. Send the letter by air mail. Larger amounts can best be paid by International Money Order.
My address:
Karl Pottie
Orkaanstraat 21
8800 Rumbeke-Roeselare
Belgium (Europe)
If you want to send me a bug report, be sure to state Macintosh model, system version, used inits (system extensions) and cdevs (control panels). Describe the problem as clearly as you can: what happens ? which circumstances ? Can you eliminate the problem by turning off some extensions ?
LIMITED WARRANTY AND LIABILITY:
THIS SOFTWARE COMES 'AS IS'. I CAN NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS OF DATA CAUSED BY THIS PRODUCT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, WHATEVER THE NATURE OF THE DAMAGE. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT AUTOBOOT WILL IN FACT REBOOT A MACINTOSH AFTER A SYSTEM CRASH NOR DO I GUARANTEE IT WILL NOT REBOOT A MACINTOSH AT ANY OTHER TIME.
