How to Automatically Restart a Windows Software on Repetitive Errors

Introduction

Windows applications can generate recurring error messages that can cause the software to crash or stop functioning altogether. In such cases, it is essential to have a mechanism to automatically restart the application to prevent further problems. This blog post explores a possible way to automatically restart a Windows application when it generates recurring error messages in its directory’s log file.

Monitoring the Log File

The first step in automatically restarting a Windows application is to monitor its log file for error messages. Various software programs such as Wintail and BearTail can monitor the log file and display the error messages in real-time. However, these programs are incapable of responding to error messages and initiating an automatic restart.

Using PowerShell Scripts

PowerShell is a powerful scripting language that can be used to automate various tasks in Windows. We can use PowerShell to monitor the log file and initiate an automatic restart when a specific error message is detected. The following PowerShell script can be used to accomplish this task.

Get-Content C:examplesoftwarelog.txt -Tail 3 | Select-String "Session Timeout to server" -Quiet -Count 3 | ForEach-Object {
    Stop-Process -Name "example.exe" -Force
    Start-Process "C:examplesoftwareexample.exe"
}

The above script reads the last three lines of the log file, searches for the error message “Session Timeout to server,” and counts the number of occurrences. If the error message appears three times, the script stops the “example.exe” process and starts it again.

Scheduling the PowerShell Script

To automate the process of monitoring the log file and initiating an automatic restart, we can schedule the PowerShell script to run at regular intervals. We can use the Windows Task Scheduler to schedule the script to run every hour or every day, depending on our requirements.

Testing the Solution

Before implementing the solution in a production environment, it is essential to test it thoroughly to ensure that it works as expected. We can test the solution by deliberately causing the error message “Session Timeout to server” to appear in the log file and verifying that the PowerShell script initiates an automatic restart of the application.

Conclusion

In conclusion, automatically restarting a Windows application when it generates recurring error messages in its log file can prevent further problems and ensure that the software runs smoothly. Using PowerShell scripts and scheduling them to run at regular intervals is a possible solution to accomplish this task. However, it is essential to test the solution thoroughly before implementing it in a production environment.

There are several ways to automatically restart a Windows software on repetitive errors. One approach is to use a batch script to monitor the log file and restart the software when necessary.

Here is an example of a simple batch script that can be used to accomplish this task:

@echo off

:start

echo Checking log file for errors...

findstr /c:"ERROR" "C:\examplesoftware\log.txt" >nul

if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 (
  echo Error found in log file! Restarting software...
  taskkill /f /im examplesoftware.exe
  start "" "C:\examplesoftware\examplesoftware.exe"
)

timeout /t 60 >nul
goto start

This script will continuously check the log file for the string “ERROR” and, if found, will kill the software process and start it again. The script will check the log file every 60 seconds and repeat this process indefinitely.

You can customize this script to fit your specific needs by modifying the error message and path to the log file, as well as the path to the software executable and the frequency at which the log file is checked.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

This .bat file will continue to run in a loop until it’s manually stopped. During each iteration, it will extract every second line that contains the word “ERROR”, count the number of these lines using the “find /c /v” command, compare the count with the number “3”, and perform an action if the count is equal to “3”:

:loop
FOR /F "tokens=* USEBACKQ" %%F IN (`findstr "ERROR" "C:\examplesoftware\log.txt" ^| find /c /v ""`) DO set NUMBER=%%F

if "%NUMBER%"=="3" goto found    
timeout /t 1 > NUL
goto loop
:found
echo Do it here
goto loop

If there’s a possibility that the program could generate more than three error lines within a second, it’s advisable to include additional IF commands for higher numbers, within reasonable limits.