Run any application as a Windows Service | Windows 11/10 and Server 2022/2019/2016 supported

AlwaysUp Version History / Release Notes

We're dedicated to keeping AlwaysUp current by constantly adding features, fixing bugs, and supporting the latest Windows releases. Take a look at our past updates to see our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement

Version 15

15.1.3.82 (February 9 2024) New!

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed an issue running batch files with parameters.
  • Improved how AlwaysUp launches applications (and detects errors) in the auto-logon session.
  • Fixed a situation where the "About" button on the toolbar displayed the wrong image.
  • Dropped the SHA-1 digital signature. Executables are digitally signed with SHA-256 alone.

15.0.4.97 (December 8 2023)

New Features
  • AlwaysUp can now collect diagnostic information on demand, to help customers easily provide application and system details to our technical support team when troubleshooting problems.
  • Advanced monitoring of Dropbox running as a Windows Service.
  • Advanced monitoring of OneDrive running as a Windows Service.
  • Advanced monitoring of Google Drive for desktop running as a Windows Service.
  • To provide more prominent feedback, show important warnings about the application via the status icon and its popup window.
  • The application being monitored can now be restarted hourly, to react to memory leaks, connection failures and other sporadic problems.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a few issues with Windows 64-bit redirection.
  • Improved coordination with Windows to better support applications that take a while to shut down.
  • When installing OneDrive with the Application Advisor, recommend a two minute pause before restarting OneDrive, to better tolerate automatic updates.
  • When installing OneDrive with the Application Advisor, stop OneDrive by running the executable with the "/shutdown" flag.
  • Only show default tags (Group1, etc.) when no applications are tagged.
  • Tweaked the code to improve efficiency when loading the list of services.
  • Fixed a problem loading read-only Windows Services.
  • Removed additional administrative rights when running applications with restricted rights.
  • Fixed a problem where an application with unusual characters in its name could not write records to the Windows Event Logs.
  • Added the option to send an email notification whenever the application is running but may need your attention.
  • Allow a group managed service account to be selected when browsing for a user on the "Logon" tab.
  • Updated the icons on the "Tools" menu to match those on Windows 11/10.
  • Remove the HKCU AlwaysUp registry key when the software is uninstalled.
  • Fixed a problem where the output of the sanity check utility would sometimes be garbled.

Version 14

14.5.1.68 (May 12 2023)

New Features
  • On startup, provide the option to stop only instances running in the same Windows session or account.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved the handling of non-English text throughout the program.
  • Better support for handling and terminating multiple Dropbox processes.
  • Added the ability to remove the registration code, to return AlwaysUp to the unregistered state.
  • Display the version history properly when checking for updates.
  • Fixed a bug when deleting a service with unbalanced quotes in its name.
  • Fixed an issue with the registration window being cut off on high-resolution, 4K screens.

14.0.8.19 (November 14 2022)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed an issue where volume licensing would occasionally fail.

14.0.7.36 (November 4 2022)

New Features
  • The Application Advisor now supports Emby Server.
  • The Application Advisor now supports Java WAR files.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Applied multiple optimizations to the low-level code that kick in when managing 5 or more applications/services.
  • Improved performance and reduced CPU demands when monitoring applications on computers running hundreds of processes.
  • Fixed a performance issue when an event log contains millions of records.
  • Improved efficiency when reading from the Windows event logs.
  • Added logic/code to preserve the desktop's visual styles/themes when launching the application in the current session.
  • Fixed sorting by time in the activity window.
  • Support for services that don't return a valid description (e.g. McpManagementService) on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
  • Tolerate Active Directory slowness by increasing the timeout when creating a new service.
  • Stricter XML validation, with warnings output.


Version 13

13.3.8.92 (April 16 2022)

New Features
  • File rollover is now an option when capturing console output.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Set the start-in folder when creating a Node.js service.
  • Improved internal logging on Windows Server 2022.
  • Allow special command line variables to be used in input fields.
  • Full support for Windows Server 2022.

13.2.2.17 (November 5 2021)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved support for Google Drive for desktop.

13.2.1.58 (October 26 2021)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fix for parsing command lines with special operating system characters.
  • Show the activity pane on the initial run.
  • Save and restore the state of the activity window.

13.2.0.49 (October 10 2021)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Avoid trying to re-launch in the autologon session if the user quickly logs off after boot.

13.1.1.62 (October 10 2021)

New Features
  • Added Google Drive for desktop to the Application Advisor.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Minor adjustments for Windows 11 Version 21H2.

13.1.0.56 (October 5 2021)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Introduced a registry setting that enables services to opt-out of automatic launch in the autologon session.

13.0.7.84 (October 1 2021)

New Features
  • Introduced the Application Advisor, to easily add a dozen well-known applications with recommended settings.
  • Full support for Windows 11.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved internal logging on Windows 11.
  • Resolved licensing issues on "locked down" versions of Windows.
  • Added code to tolerate systems that apply timezone settings late, a few seconds after boot.
  • Special handling for "splwow64.exe" processes, which may not exit properly following the completion of a print job.


Version 12

12.9.0.46 (July 2 2021)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed the "a required privilege is not held by the client" error when running OneDrive as a Windows Service.

12.8.5.43 (June 11 2021)

New Features
  • Enhanced support/controls for running OneDrive as a Windows Service.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Minor adjustments for Windows 10 May 2021 Update (21H1).

12.7.1.53 (January 16 2021)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a misleading warning when setting Dropbox environment variables.
  • Eliminated a misleading warning about interactive services from the Windows Event Logs.
  • Improved performance when loading 50+ services.
  • Improved performance when loading 1000+ records from the Windows event logs.

12.6.0.89 (December 14 2020)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Bug fixes for internal TCP/IP networking components.

12.5.8.33 (November 27 2020)

New Features
  • Added the ability to set the number of seconds to delay all services started automatically but delayed.
  • Alert emails now include the most recent activity from the Windows Event Logs.
  • Support for running Dropbox version 105+ as a service.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Minor adjustments for Windows 10 October 2020 (20H2).
  • Several small improvements to the registration windows.
  • Fixed a bug when representing dates in the "friendly" format.

12.0.8.31 (March 13 2020)

New Features
  • Support for importing multiple applications from files.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Smoother exiting for Dropbox running as a service.
  • Report the session number in the Event Log when the application is started.
  • Added the Help > FAQ menu, linking to popular FAQ entries.
  • Improved several windows with additional help/instructions.
  • Better handling of licensing component problems.
  • Minor tweaks for Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19577.


Version 11

11.8.3.74 (May 3 2019)

New Features
  • Added hourly options for restarting the application.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Don't stop the application when the startup type is changed to "Disabled".
  • Allow a running disabled service to be stopped.
  • Send an email when the application and service are being stopped.
  • Wait a bit longer for emails to be sent.
  • Show the application's file name, version number, modified date and company name in the "running" tooltip.
  • Link to our website when configuring the sanity check feature, email.
  • Provide extra help on the registration window.
  • Better processing of SCM messages recorded in the System Event Log.
  • Give long-running services a bit more time to stop when the system is shutting down.

11.8.0.42 (March 12 2019)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fix for utility invocations not respecting the silent flag.

11.7.3.28 (February 19 2019)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Treat "Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library" errors as fatal.

11.6.1.24 (November 20 2018)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a problem where registration would fail on Windows Server 2012 R2.

11.5.0.57 (November 17 2018)

New Features
  • Disable switching to Session 0 on versions of Windows where Session 0 is no longer accessible (currently Windows 10 Version 1803 and later).
  • Added support for viewing and setting the "Read" permission for services.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved support for Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.
  • Small technical enhancements for Windows Server 2019.
  • Added version information to the registration window.
  • Various tweaks to clarify registration.
  • Added support links to the Help menu.
  • Improved help text on several components, to clarify operation.
  • When running un-registered, note when the 30-day trial will expire in the title of the main window.

11.1.0.62 (August 21 2018)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved tracing of application shutdown.
  • Fixed a bug where hang-tracking would occasionally be prolonged.

11.0.5.83 (June 23 2018)

New Features
  • Each application can now have one or more tags associated.
  • Added a filter pane, to support filtering the list of applications by tag, by text and by disabled state.
  • Highlight cells matching the text filter in the list of applications.
  • Allow tags to be added to selected services.
  • Allow tags to be removed from selected services.
  • Allow the application list and activity list headers to be hidden.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Removed a warning when checking if windows networking is available.
  • Corrected a misleading message when the service account doesn't have full administrative rights.
  • Confirm when starting, stopping or restarting all applications.
  • Improved performance when reading from the Windows Event log.
  • Improved efficiency when capturing output to a text file.
  • Renamed the "Hide" setting on the Logon tab, to improve clarity.


Version 10

10.5.0.93 (November 19 2017)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a hang showing activity when the event logs contained thousands of records.

10.4.2.47 (October 14 2017)

New Features
  • Added support for starting the application without admin rights.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Allow multiple services to be started serially instead of in parallel.
  • Don't attempt to restart the application when a system shutdown is in progress.

10.3.1.84 (August 21 2017)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a bug on Windows 10 SHB where the main window becomes disabled.
  • Added a workaround for a problem when licensing on Windows 10 SHB.

10.2.0.47 (June 3 2017)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • The output from failed sanity checks is now captured and emailed or logged as necessary.

10.1.2.94 (May 6 2017)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Removed all prompts when uninstalling silently.

10.0.5.29 (April 2 2017)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved logging for troubleshooting startup.

10.0.4.18 (March 28 2017)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Warn if data execution prevention (DEP) is always on.
  • Fixed an error when granting desktop rights.

10.0.3.62 (March 25 2017)

New Features
  • New command line switch to grant the service user access to the current desktop.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Ensure that the service user has access to the current desktop when starting in session.
  • Allow commands to operate silently.

10.0.1.24 (February 25 2017)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Various fixes for branding (logo, title).

10.0.0.72 (January 12 2017)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • When stopping, don't show an alert when long-lived services remain.
  • Fix for an inaccurate CPU percent computation when tracking a CPU hog.


Version 9

9.7.2.88 (September 2 2016)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Applications can now be stopped even after the trial has expired.
  • Applications stopping and starting quickly were not always refreshed properly in the console.

9.7.0.41 (August 11 2016)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fix for a launcher identifying the wrong launched process.

9.6.1.23 (April 9 2016)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Enhancements for scripts that launch applications (like Solr).
  • Fixed a bug when dismissing Windows popups.

9.5.0.84 (March 11 2016)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Executable components are now signed with a SHA-256 certificate.
  • Various improvements when adding an application.

9.2.2.39 (October 7 2015)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Avoid locking the file for long periods when capturing output.

9.2.1.65 (September 22 2015)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Several enhancements for "launcher" programs.
  • Give applications more time to close gracefully when the system is being shut down.
  • Minor improvements to a few windows in the purchase process.

9.1.0.32 (June 6 2015)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Automatically retry when the ISD service fails to start.
  • Resolved a registry permission issue that occasionally occurred when registering the software.
  • Eliminated a few scenarios where starting in the user's session would fail.
  • Removed HTML centering from email messages, to avoid poor formatting when viewed in gmail.

9.0.3.81 (December 4 2014)

New Features
  • Added the ability to stop all running copies of the application before starting it up.
  • Added the option to prevent the computer from automatically going to sleep while the service/application is running.
  • Introduced the option to minimize event logging for applications that run periodically (and must be restarted frequently).
Fixes & Improvements
  • Show sanity check error codes in the range of -10 to -1 as negative.
  • Removed the "try to prevent closing on logoff" option, which only worked on Windows XP and Server 2003.
  • Events from the System log now show up on activity reports.
  • Added links to tutorials and the troubleshooter under the Help menu.
  • Tweaks for supporting Windows 10 Technical Preview (October 2014).
  • Avoid a timeout error when stopping services configured to take longer than 30 seconds to stop.

9.0.2.14 (October 17 2014)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • The option to hide the application's windows did not always work when run in the current session.

9.0.1.56 (September 24 2014)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Dates and times were inconsistently formatted on non-English localizations. These have all been normalized to the English locale, to be consistent with the rest of the program.
  • Fixed a problem sending reports at midnight when a scheduled restart was configured at the same time.
  • Fixed a problem launching .CMD files on Windows Server 2008 and 2012.


Version 8

8.8.0.43 (June 21 2014)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Messages written to the event log were occasionally garbled.

8.8.0.17 (June 7 2014)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Sometimes email would not be sent when the application was run in session and the user logged off.

8.7.5.11 (May 24 2014)

New Features
  • Added support for stopping the application when the computer resumes from a sleep/hibernate/low-power consumption state.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a race condition when the service was stopped while waiting for auto-logon to complete.
  • Increased the time to wait for automatic logon from 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Don't restart an application running in the current session when it has not been configured to be restarted.
  • Ensure that all pending email has been sent prior to stopping the service.

8.7.1.26 (November 25 2013)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved the log messages for CPU hogs.
  • Restricting an application to processor #32 was not possible.
  • Disabled applications were not always hidden when that option was selected from the "View" menu.

8.6.1.12 (September 8 2013)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Increased the sanity check timeout from 2 to 5 minutes.

8.6.0.89 (July 2 2013)

New Features
  • Added support for screening out certain types of events from the Windows event log.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a problem accepting passwords with trailing spaces.

8.5.3.47 (April 20 2013)

New Features
  • Added support for automatically logging on a designated user at boot and launching all auto-start applications in his session.
  • Added a toolbar button for switching to Session 0 (Vista and later).
  • Added the option to limit the pause at startup to only when rebooting.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved switching to Session 0 on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.
  • Fixed a bug when activating the main window and a warning was showing.
  • Improved licensing on virtual machines (Azure, EC2).
  • Disabled the "Try to prevent the application from closing when you log off" option on Windows Vista and later.
  • Fixed a bug when restoring network shares containing spaces.
  • Registration would sometimes fail on PCs where there is no "C:" drive.
  • Fixed a bug where the on-stop command would be saved even when deactivated.
  • Introduced several new command line replacements used when launching helper applications.

8.1.1.45 (November 28 2012)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Added the ability to start all or restart all running services in the current session from the command line.
  • Fixed a problem where mail authentication errors were incorrectly reported.
  • Improved the performance of the components capturing output.

8.1.0.72 (September 21 2012)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • The "Automatic (Delayed)" startup menu entry was visible on Windows Server 2003, which doesn't support that option.
  • Fixed a bug starting in sessions with very large identifiers.
  • Mail servers actually called "mail" weren't being recorded properly.
  • Introduced a method to throttle CPU usage/monitoring - useful when running many applications as services.

8.0.7.65 (August 4 2012)

New Features
  • Multiple selection is now supported.
  • Added an "Activity" panel, showing the recent activity of the selected application.
  • Added support for certain "launcher" applications.
  • Added the ability to Start/Restart All in the current session.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Reduced the number of emails sent when a service/application is repeatedly failing.
  • Fixed a DST problem when restarting weekly.
  • Minor tweaks for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.
  • Restricted the size of the output file to 1 GB when trimming (for performance reasons).
  • Removed an unnecessary prompt when running a VBScript file as a service.
  • Fixed a problem where emails were sent on failure when not configured to do so.


Version 7

7.9.8.95 (April 5 2012)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Switching to session 0 now works for non-administrative users.

7.9.8.91 (March 25 2012)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a bug when capturing output and shrinking the file.

7.9.8.23 (January 7 2012)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved licensing on virtual machines.

7.9.7.50 (November 14 2011)

New Features
  • Added support for sending email with TLS or STARTTLS encryption (for Office 365).
  • Added the ability to run a command when the application stops.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Applications that need additional time to stop are handled more gracefully when shutting down.

7.9.6.22 (September 28 2011)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a bug that caused the max CPU to show up as 0% in the reports.

7.9.5.18 (September 8 2011)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fix for some Java applications not receiving shutdown events.

7.9.4.33 (August 15 2011)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fix for not recording the correct peak memory in activity statistics.
  • Improved the licensing models.

7.9.3.85 (August 3 2011)

New Features
  • Added the option to send an email when the service starts/machine reboots
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fix for not detecting a hang in MetaTrader 4 / audio applications.
  • Improved licensing on virtual machines.

7.8.3.91 (February 19 2011)

New Features
  • The first sanity check can now be delayed to avoid startup conflicts.
  • Can now switch to Session 0 from the menu.
  • Added a menu option to report on all activity for the past 30 days.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a problem running .CMD files with arguments.
  • Fix for not detecting a hang in Windows Forms applications.
  • Fixed a daylight savings time bug with emailed reports.
  • Fixed a bug where time zones in email dates could be negative.
  • Improved the performance of reading from the Event Logs.

7.5.0.39 (August 14 2010)

New Features
  • When the settings of a running application have been changed, AlwaysUp will now ask permission to restart the application. Settings can be saved without restarting the application.
  • Added support for disabling services/applications.
  • Improved the display of the list of applications.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed the message logged when a scheduled stop is not executed.
  • Fixed the formatting of numeric memory values in the event log, to avoid values being missed in the generated reports.
  • Fixed a problem where screen size changes would cause AlwaysUp not to restore its last position.
  • Fixed a rare condition where a program could not be terminated and a second copy would be launched.

7.0.9.24 (March 20 2010)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Restarting now only operates on running services.
  • Improved the error message displayed when attempting to install AlwaysUp while it is already running.

7.0.8.51 (February 21 2010)

New Features
  • Apply conditions when restarting (when idle, memory threshold exceeded, no one logged on).
  • Keep retrying to restart if conditions are not initially met.
  • Improved compatibility with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
  • Support for the "Automatic (Delayed Start)" option on 7/2008/Vista.
  • Added a "Check for updates" feature.
  • Option to not panic on "short" runs.
  • Support for restarting the application at a specific time.
  • When waiting to start, show a tooltip with details.
  • Added support for suspending the computer while waiting to restart the application.
  • Introduced the option to immediately close the application when certain critical/serious crash dialogs are encountered.
  • Added support for waiting a while for the application to close properly.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Too many emails may be sent when an application is constantly failing.
  • Problem entering an automate/sanity-check path with spaces.
  • XML import is setting unwanted values (for limiting restarts).
  • The last highlighted list entry is not properly restored when AlwaysUp starts.
  • Clicking on the tooltip will now cause the tooltip to stay on-screen.
  • Automation set to run when the program starts only runs when AlwaysUp starts.
  • When installing, complain if AlwaysUp is running.
  • Delay when starting an application (1 second).
  • When specifying a user account, test it before saving.
  • AlwaysUp now formats time-strings with regional settings applied.
  • Flap detection would occasionally fail when starting the application in the current session.
  • Improved the monitoring of native 64-bit applications.
  • Password was not always requested when importing an application from XML.
  • A shortcut to a path with a space was not handled properly.


Version 6

6.8.5.44 (February 15 2009)

New Features
  • Added the option to stop restarting the application if it fails to start properly after a few attempts.
  • Allow the sanity check program to signal to reboot the computer or to stop the application and not restart it.
  • Added the ability to automatically refresh the list of applications periodically.
  • Show a "Waiting" status icon when an application is waiting to be started.
  • Can now pass the sanity-check, stop and automation programs special variables.
  • Sorting of the list columns now works.
  • Allow the specification of additional text included with each email.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Disable drag & drop when busy.
  • Fixed a crash during the installation of some complex applications.
  • Recognize .CMD files as executables.
  • Improved the checking and validation of application command lines.
  • Fixed a problem where an application would always be restarted even if configured to run only once.
  • Don't send email notifying scheduled restarts/reboots.
  • Fix for encrypting the mail server password.

6.7.3.88 (August 7 2008)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Fixed a problem with weekly reports not being sent out when daily reports were not selected.
  • Fixed an error with HTML mail not being properly formatted in some mail systems (Outlook, yahoo mail).

6.7.3.45 (July 12 2008)

New Features
  • Support new command line flags, "-start-all", "-stop-all", and "restart-all" for starting, stopping and restarting all services.
  • Added the ability to start, stop and restart all applications from the "Application" menu.
  • Added a tooltip showing details of running applications.
  • Added support for sending email in plain text instead of HTML.
  • Added support for drag-and-drop with Windows Explorer/the desktop.
  • Support easily adding a copy of an existing application/service.
  • Added support for Windows Server 2008 (all editions).
Fixes & Improvements
  • Don't redirect the standard input stream when capturing output.
  • Fixed a problem where AlwaysUp would sometimes stop when it was run in a remote session and that session would close.
  • Fix for not writing out statistics in advance of a reboot.
  • Fixed a situation where hang detection did not work for hidden applications.
  • Improved the "ConnectToSocketSanityCheck" program to retry several times before declaring failure.
  • Fix for not running the automation script or the stop-program on the same desktop as the application when hidden.
  • Don't warn when adding services to run Microsoft Common Console files (with extension .msc).
  • Don't always prompt for the password when making changes to applications running in a user account.
  • Prevent AlwaysUp from closing while it is busy (to avoid crashes).
  • Fixed a bug where an activity report could fail because of "insufficient space".
  • Improved the error message when registration fails because of insufficient privileges.
  • Improved the always-on-top placement for applications with multiple top-level windows.
  • Fixed a situation where hang detection would occasionally fail on Vista.

6.5.9.28 (November 25 2007)

New Features
  • Added support for starting an application in the current session. This enables visual elements to be displayed on systems supporting multiple sessions, such as those with remote desktop connections and terminal services capabilities.
  • Added support for running the startup program whenever the application is restarted.
  • The main window can now be placed "always on top" of other windows (via the entry on the View menu).
  • Added the ability to easily restart a service (via a new menu entry & toolbar button), and also to restart in the current session.
  • Added the ability to make the application's main window "always on top" of other windows.
  • Added the ability to show the application's main window minimized, maximized or normally when it starts.
  • Added "Task Manager" to the Tools menu.
  • Running a batch file as the sanity check utility is now supported.
  • Added the ability to create windows shortcuts to start, stop and restart your applications without having to open AlwaysUp.
  • Added the F5 keyboard accelerator for refreshing the list of services.
  • Added support for using a special command to stop the application.
  • The output from console-based applications can now be captured to a file.
  • Added the ability to "detach" from the application. This stops the service (and the monitoring) and leaves the application running on its own.
  • The application now features a tray icon, where basic functionality (stop, start, etc.) can be performed.
  • "Zombie" processes are now detected and restarted.
  • Added the ability to pause for a number of seconds before starting the application.
Fixes & Improvements
  • The sanity check program is now run in the application's session.
  • Fixed a misleading error message when AlwaysUp does not have access to its key in the registry.

6.0.15.42 (September 12 2007)

New Features
  • (None)
Fixes & Improvements
  • Gracefully close the application on scheduled stops.
  • Fixed a bug where specifying the "hide windows" setting would lead to an error when adding a new application.
  • Improved performance on Vista.
  • Improved the graceful closure of the application on system shutdown.
  • Fixed a problem importing an application from an XML file with non-ASCII characters.
  • Removed an errant message logged when rebooting the PC.
  • Fixed a bug with XML export not handling restart delay options nor mail passwords properly.

6.0.9.74 (March 25 2007)

New Features
  • Allow OEM and Site licensees to brand the application (with a toolbar logo, an application name, about box text, etc.).
  • Allow for specifying the minute and second when restarting the application regularly.
  • On multi-processor systems, applications can now be restricted to run on selected CPUs.
  • Made various enhancements to fully support Windows Vista.
  • Redesigned the Edit-Application windows to isolate the monitoring and restarting functionality.
Fixes & Improvements
  • Dialogs from sub-processes are now dismissed.
  • Fixed a bug where testing email to multiple recipients would fail (only when testing -- real notification emails didn't have the problem).
  • Fixed a bug where an activity report could fail because of "insufficient space".


Version 5

5.7.2.18 (November 5 2006)

  • Introduced the option not to show the application's windows when a user logs on.
  • Standard VB crash dialogs are now handled.
  • Introduced the ability to import/export each application from/to a file.
  • Added support for applications that must be run periodically instead of all the time. For example, an application can now be run every 15 minutes, or every hour on the hour.
  • Improved the format/precision of numbers in reports.

5.5.6.78 (August 27 2006)

  • Introduced the ability to generate reports detailing application activities.
  • Allow the reports on application activities to be emailed daily or weekly.
  • Basic performance statistics, including CPU percentage and memory usage, are now captured and recorded in the Event Log. These are also displayed on the new activity reports (see above)
  • Introduced the option to prevent applications from closing when a user logs off the computer.
  • Improved the quality of the messages reported to the Windows Event Log.
  • Allowed applications to be updated while they are running. When updating, the application will be stopped, the changes applied, and the application restarted.
  • Fixed a bug where the domain was dropped when a domain user was selected in the "Log On" tab.
  • AlwaysUp now remembers the main window position and column layout across runs.
  • Added the ability to automatically restore all network connections at startup, on behalf of the user running the application.
  • Reduced the size of the executable and DLL files.
  • Added the ability to refresh the list of services (see "Refresh" in the View menu).

5.1.7.93 (May 1 2006)

  • Fixed a problem where a service could potentially hang while stopping.
  • Limit the number of emails that can be sent per minute to 5, to avoid sending too many messages for applications that are constantly failing.
  • Fixed a problem dismissing "application crashed" dialogs on Windows XP.
  • Improved the graceful shutdown algorithm for console applications (and applications that take a while to exit).
  • Allow users to change the security settings of services created by AlwaysUp.
  • Improved the reporting of errors when applications fail to start properly.
  • Fix for running PIF files pointing to older DOS applications.
  • Fixed a problem where applications run under a user account would sometimes fail to restart properly after a logoff/logon sequence.
  • Improved the quality and relevance of many error messages.
  • Included several enhancements to the user-interface, including summary tooltips and indicating the running applications prominently.

5.0.3.162 (April 1 2006)

  • Added support for SMTP servers supporting authentication and SSL.
  • Added the option to restart the application if it hangs.
  • Added the option of rebooting the machine regularly.
  • Added the ability to set the priority of the application. If boosting priority, there is also the ability to reduce priority when a user logs in to the computer (to ensure that it is responsive).
  • Added copy-text-to-clipboard shortcuts on several of the application windows (to make the reporting of the serial number and error messages more convenient).
  • Fixed a problem with scheduling to restart the application on a given day of the week.
  • Added the option to restart the application if it "hogs" the CPU for some time.
  • Fixed a bug where AlwaysUp would fail to run MS-DOS PIF files.
  • Fixed a problem with invoking help on Windows 2003 SP1.
  • Fixed a problem where AlwaysUp would temporarily hang when starting a service run under a domain user account.


Version 4

4.4.0.530 (2/3/06)

  • Fix for interactive services not handling log-off events properly (e.g. Outlook).

4.3.3.281 (1/1/06)

  • When terminating the application, terminate any sub-processes that the application may have launched. This option ensures that sub-programs run from a batch file are terminated.
  • Cleaned up the TAB-navigation in the dialogs.

4.3.0.175 (12/11/05)

  • Added tooltips.
  • Added keyboard accelerators for commonly used functionality.
  • Fixed a problem with escaping the ">" character on the command line; fixed an issue with quoting multiple parameters.

4.2.9.401 (12/1/05)

  • Added the option to run a program at startup, prior to running the main application.
  • Added support for specifying service dependencies that will be started prior to running your application.
  • Improved support for running and managing batch files.
  • Added support for running shortcuts.
  • Fixed a bug where AlwaysUp wasn't responding to the computer shutting down and would re-start the application one last time.
  • Fixed a bug where command lines with spaces were not being handled properly. The application to run is now specified separately from its arguments.
  • Added the Tools menu, where the administrative tools "Local Security Settings/Policy", "Desktop Security Settings", "Event Viewer", and "Services", can be opened.
  • Improved the quality of the error messages reported by the GUI.
  • AlwaysUp will now automatically set several permissions when configuring a service to run as a specific user, including the "Log on as a service" capability. It is now possible for a non-system user to "Interact with the desktop".

4.1.2.119 (9/21/05)

  • Fixed a problem with the memory-threshold email, where the memory used was not reported correctly.

4.1.1.60 (9/14/05)

  • Fixed a problem where volume licensing information was not recognized.
  • Updated documentation.

4.1.0.318 (9/12/05)

  • Integrated the Volume/Site/OEM Licensing module into the main build.

4.0.17.125 (8/30/05)

  • Improved the content of the email messages generated.

4.0.16.85 (8/29/05)

  • Fixed problem on NT4 ("The procedure entry point ChangeServiceConfig2 could not be located in the dynamic link library ADVAPI32.dll.").
  • Distribute Microsoft's "psapi.dll" module on NT4.

4.0.15.28 (8/25/05)

  • Internal improvements.

4.0.14.62 (8/19/05)

  • Added "User's Manual (PDF)" to the "Help" menu.

4.0.13.209 (8/15/05)

  • Allow applications to be run under a given user account.
  • Added the ability to monitor the application's memory and terminate it if it grows beyond a given threshold.
  • Added the ability to restart the application at a scheduled time, up to once per day.
  • Added a button to test the email settings.
  • Changed the sample "ConnectToSocketSanityCheck" program to print a response when it is run from the command line.


Version 3

3.1.8.65 (5/25/04)

  • Allows for the setting of a "Start in" directory for the application.

3.1.0.438 (3/25/04)

  • Initial public release.

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