AlwaysUp Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Answers

AlwaysUp is an advanced service wrapper that runs any executable, batch file, or shortcut as a Windows Service, starting it at boot and monitoring it constantly to ensure 100% uptime.

AlwaysUp will automatically restart your application if it crashes, hangs, or uses too much memory. It will dismiss "Application error" dialogs, and run customized "sanity checks" to ensure that your application is available 24/7. Regular, detailed email from AlwaysUp will alert you of crashes, scheduled restarts and other relevant events.

AlwaysUp leverages the Windows Services architecture to provide robust, low-level application control in a secure environment. As a Windows Service, your application can start automatically when the computer boots, survive user logons/logoffs, and run entirely in the background without user intervention.

Additional information:

• Watch a short video showing how to setup an application with AlwaysUp (2m 45s)

• Take a deeper technical dive into how AlwaysUp works

• Learn why AlwaysUp is better than free alternatives

• Get the AlwaysUp Information Packet — everything you need to know about the software in a single email that you can forward to others

From the Microsoft Developer's Network (MSDN):

Microsoft Windows services, formerly known as NT services, enable you to create long-running executable applications that run in their own Windows sessions. These services can be automatically started when the computer boots, can be paused and restarted, and do not [necessarily] show any user interface. This makes services ideal for use on a server or whenever you need long-running functionality that does not interfere with other users who are working on the same computer. You can also run services in the security context of a specific user account that is different from the logged-on user or the default computer account.

Windows Services were introduced as a part of the Windows NT operating system in the 1990's and are supported by all current versions of Windows.

To find out more about Windows Services, check out the MSDN Services page or the in-depth technical article, Inside Win32 Services.

Most Windows applications will operate flawlessly as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp. Indeed, AlwaysUp supports hundreds of popular applications like Dropbox, Java, VirtualBox, and Google Drive for desktop.

However, there are occasional exceptions. Some legacy desktop applications don't work when run invisibly in the background as a service.

Your best way forward is to try AlwaysUp for the free 30-day trial period, to see if your application performs as expected. If you do encounter a problem, please review our troubleshooting advice or get in touch. We'll do our best to get you up and running ASAP!

Setting up your application with AlwaysUp should be very straightforward.

For some popular programs — such as Dropbox and OneDrive — the Application Advisor will help you create a Windows Service in less than a minute!

This short video shows how easy it is to install and run the popular Notepad application as a Windows Service:

And check out our step-by-step application tutorials showing how to configure over 160 applications with AlwaysUp:

Applications placed in a user's Startup folder are only run when that user logs on. If the user never logs on, the programs in the Startup folder are never launched.

Thus, the Startup Folder is the ideal solution for interactive applications that should start when you log in. Your webcam software, email client, to-do list and other interactive desktop utilities are great candidates for the Startup Folder.

In contrast, AlwaysUp creates a true Windows Service that starts your application immediately after your computer boots. No one needs to log on to run your program. This makes AlwaysUp the better choice for applications that must run 24x7 — quickly bouncing back from power failures and other unexpected restarts of your PC.

Furthermore, running your application with AlwaysUp offers several other advantages:

1. Crash protection / 100% uptime: If your application terminates for any reason, AlwaysUp will quickly start it again.

2. Memory & CPU monitoring: AlwaysUp can restart your application if it hogs the CPU, uses too much memory, or hangs. You set the thresholds.

3. Scheduled restarts: AlwaysUp can restart your application (or reboot your computer) at a "quiet" time to cure memory leaks, etc. and keep your application "fresh" to do its work.

4. Email alerts: AlwaysUp will notify you by email when your program fails and has to be restarted.

5. Reports: AlwaysUp will let you know how your application has been performing (CPU, memory, uptime).

6. Remote access/Web service: Start/stop/manage your application from any web browser with our free add-on, AlwaysUp Web Service.

Srvany is free and functional but it's not supported by Microsoft and lacks some major features:

Our page comparing AlwaysUp and Srvany reviews the details.

No, AlwaysUp is not vibe coded.

In fact, AlwaysUp was created in 2004, long before powerful vibe coding tools were available.

The version history shows how our team of senior engineers has consistently improved AlwaysUp over the years, the traditional way.

A scheduled task is the perfect choice for running a maintenance script at specific times. But it comes up short in 24/7, mission-critical situations better suited for Windows Services.

Dig into the details on our page comparing AlwaysUp and Task Scheduler.

AlwaysUp creates a true/native Windows Service for each of your applications. Like other services, these show up in the Services Control Panel application and can be started and stopped with the Windows NET Command.

For example, if your application is called "Spider" in AlwaysUp, this command will start the service and your application:

This short video shows how to use the NET command to start and stop Windows Services:

This can be due to several reasons, the most common of which are:

• Your application accesses files on one or more network drives. These drives are probably only available in the account that you have logged in to. This entry goes over the problem and solutions.

• Your application accesses user-specific items from the registry. These items are usually put in place when a user installs a program, and may not be accessible to other users/accounts. This entry goes over the problem and the solution.

• Your application needs specific environment variables to be set to work properly. These items are usually put in place when a user installs a program, and may not be accessible to other users/accounts. Please configure AlwaysUp (via the Logon tab) to run your application in a user account that has the proper environment variables set.

We recommend that you:

1. Consult the AlwaysUp Troubleshooter, which will help you work through common errors, try various configuration options, etc.

2. Set up the command prompt as a Windows Service, running visibly on your desktop, and launch your application from there. Hopefully it will tell you what is going wrong.

Please contact us if you are still having trouble. We'll be happy to help.

First, please ensure that your application is set to run Automatically, when the computer boots and NOT Manually, from AlwaysUp. This setting is available on the General tab when creating/editing your application.

As your computer boots, Windows starts your computer's services in sequence, one after another. Some of these are essential services that provide important functionality such as networking, file sharing or printing. Your application may fail to run if it's started too soon, before those essential services are fully loaded.

The easiest way to fix the problem is to have AlwaysUp start your application a couple of minutes after the computer boots — after all essential services are up and running. Do that by choosing Automatically, but shortly after the computer boots in the Start the application field on the General tab:

AlwaysUp is starting your application but it's exiting soon afterwards (within 1-2 seconds). This probably means that your application does not have access to something that it needs (for example, a network drive or access to the registry), and it closes quickly without doing anything.

Please see this entry for some tips on how to resolve this problem.

Also, if you are a developer and have access to the internals of your application then we suggest adding some debugging statements to the application to reveal why it's exiting early.

Please contact us if you are still having trouble and we'll be happy to help.

Without a user set on the AlwaysUp Logon tab, your application will run in the LocalSystem account, which has its own country/regional settings.

You have a couple of options to resolve the discrepancy in format:

1. Specify a user on the Logon tab. That's often an improvement, as your application will run in the context that you have been using before!

2. Change the regional settings of the LocalSystem account to whatever works for your application. Of course, this change will be visible to all your Windows Services running in the same account, so please proceed with appropriate caution.

AlwaysUp is running your application as a Windows Service — Microsoft's technology of choice for long-running, administrative programs that support your computer.

For security reasons, Windows Services do not run on your desktop. They operate in the isolated Session 0 — a separate screen/desktop/context dedicated to services.

Applications run as a Service by AlwaysUp are bound by these restrictions. When your computer boots, only Session 0 is available and AlwaysUp will start your application there. Any windows your application needs to show will be displayed on Session 0.

But fortunately, that's not the end of the story for AlwaysUp...

How to Show Your Windows on Your Desktop

After logging in, you can instruct AlwaysUp to run your application in the current session/desktop and make its windows and tray icons available to you by selecting Start "app" in this session (or Restart "app" in this session) from the Application menu. Note that restarting will temporarily stop your application.

AlwaysUp will continue to run your application on your desktop until you log out and the session closes, at which point your application is restarted in Session 0.

All Windows Services run in Session 0 — the session automatically created when your machine boots.

Session 0 Isolation is a security measure that prevents any user from logging into or accessing Session 0.

Because of Session 0 Isolation, all GUI elements from a Windows Service are confined to the "isolated" Session 0 desktop. Fortunately though, AlwaysUp is often able to get around those restrictions and run your applications outside of Session 0 — visibly, on your own desktop.

When your PC boots, only Session 0 is available and AlwaysUp will run your application there. If you want to start your application in a regular interactive session instead, we suggest that you configure your PC to automatically log in to a designated user account (to create a viable user session) and then have AlwaysUp automatically start your application in that session. Your users can then connect to that session via RDP to see your application's GUI and interact with it normally.

AlwaysUp includes native support for automatically logging you in and starting your GUI applications when your PC boots. Simply select Autologon... from the Tools menu to bring up the Autologon window, enter the credentials of the user to be logged on and check the Launch all auto-start applications... checkbox:

Once set up, your PC will boot, log you in, and AlwaysUp will fire up your application in the interactive user session. RDP'ing to the computer as the auto-loogged-in user takes you to the already open session where your application's windows and tray icons are available as normal.

You can also move your AlwaysUp application at logon

If you don't want to setup automatic logon, you can have AlwaysUp "pull" your application onto your desktop when you log on. Please see How to Start your AlwaysUp Application In Session at Logon for the details.

Yes. AlwaysUp can work with popular automation utilities to automatically:

• dismiss popups/dialogs (such as the error messages unique to your application)
• fill in forms (such as a prompt for login information),
• click buttons (such as the common 'are you sure' prompts)
• perform almost any interactive task that a user sitting at the keyboard would normally have to do.

If all you need to do is to click a button to dismiss a popup window, then you may use our free ClickButton program. If your window is named "Confirm?" and you wish to click the "Yes" button, then you would specify this command line on the Automate tab when configuring AlwaysUp:
      <full-path-to-clickbutton.exe> ClickButton.exe "Confirm?" "Yes"

For more sophisticated demands, we recommend using the free and powerful AutoIt. Find out about using AutoIt with AlwaysUp, and please contact us if you need help setting up this feature.

Yes, AlwaysUp will automatically dismiss any of the main crash dialogs that Windows throws up when an application fails.

For example, AlwaysUp handles:

• Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library crash reports

  

• Application Error notifications

  

• Visual Basic runtime error dialogs

  

• Legacy Windows crash reports

  

In addition to dismissing those prompts, AlwaysUp will capture the text displayed and report it to the Windows Event Logs. That way you can troubleshoot problems later, without holding up your application in production.

By default, AlwaysUp runs your application in the LocalSystem account which has restricted access to the network. Even worse, drive letters mapped for normal users aren't usually available in the LocalSystem account.

To access a network drive from your application, you should:

1. Configure AlwaysUp to log in as a user that has access to the mapped drive, and

2. Check the Attempt to automatically reconnect all network drives box on the Startup tab.

Those changes will allow your program to see persistent mapped drives (the ones that appear each time you log in) and UNC paths that you have permission to access. However, your program still won't see mapped drive letters that are not persistent.

Of course, you could fix the problem by mapping the drive as persistent with the NET USE command. Once you do that, the drive should be available to your program when it runs as a service with AlwaysUp.

However, to use a drive letter that's not persistent, you can map the drive using the NET USE command before your application starts by specifying it on the Startup tab. For example, to map the N drive to \\myserver\data, create a batch file with the following command:

and specify that batch file on the Startup tab. Note that you may have to specify a password to the NET command if your environment requires one.

By default, AlwaysUp runs your application under the LocalSystem account. In that case, the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER is associated with the LocalSystem account — not any user currently logged in normally/interactively. To access a specific user's profile, AlwaysUp should be configured to run your application as that specific user (by completing the Logon tab when setting up your application).

Please ensure that the user has "Log on as a Service" privileges in the "Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Settings" application:

By default, no user accounts have the privilege to log on as a service.

Note that AlwaysUp will automatically try to grant this privilege at installation time, but it's not always successful when the user installing the service has limited permissions.

A user-specific ODBC data source (a "user DSN") is only available to the user who created it.

To have your application access a user DSN, AlwaysUp should be configured to run your application as the user who created the DSN by specifying his username and password on the Logon tab.

This is most likely because the user set up to run your application (via the Logon tab) doesn't have full access to the AlwaysUp registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Core Technologies Consulting\AlwaysUp

Follow the instructions on this page to grant the user full access to the AlwaysUp registry key.

Please review our tutorial showing how to run any Java executable/application as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp.

Please review our tutorial showing how to run Outlook 2021 as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp. The steps there work for previous versions of Outlook as well.

Please review our tutorial showing how to install Dropbox as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp. And be sure to check out our blog article (linked from that page too) showing how to get around Dropbox's automatic updates which can be a real headache when operating in a 24x7 environment!

This short video shows you the settings to provide when using a Gmail account:

To send email from using your Gmail account, please specify the following settings (after clicking on the "Configure..." button on the Email tab):

Note: If your Gmail account uses 2-Step Verification, you will have to create an app password to send email from AlwaysUp.

If not, you may get an error like this when you try to send a test email from AlwaysUp:

We recommend using one of the many free email-to-SMS gateway services to send email from AlwaysUp directly to your cell phone. Here are a few that we have come across (a search will turn up many others):

1. How to Send Text Messages Via Email for Free (SMS & MMS)
2. ipipi.com: Signup for free email to SMS Forwarding

Remember that many cell phone users are charged for incoming SMS messages so please be polite!

It's a one-time purchase of a specific version, with upgrade rights to the next major version of the software. There are no annual or recurring charges — except for maintenance on Site, OEM and Enterprise licenses, which is entirely optional.

For example, let's say you buy AlwaysUp today. In that case, you'll get a perpetual license to the latest version (17). And with that, you can install and run any version 17 (or future version 18) of AlwaysUp for as long as you like, at no additional charge.

However, if you absolutely insist on sending us a payment each year, who are we to refuse?

After you purchase AlwaysUp from one of our payment partners, we are notified of your purchase shortly after your credit card has passed all the necessary checks (to protect you against fraud). This initial process usually takes a few minutes but can take up to 24 hours if the order must be handled manually by a payment processor.

Once we receive your order, we'll email the address specified in your order within 24 hours (but typically within 5 minutes). Unfortunately though, our message may occasionally fall victim to aggressive Spam filtering, so please check your Spam folder.

If you have not received the registration email in a timely manner, please feel free to email us (at support@CoreTechnologies.com) or give us a call at (888) 881-CORE/2673 (toll free in the USA) or +1 510 343-3565. Please provide us with an alternate email address if you have one, and a phone number where we can reach you.

Sure. Please contact us to request an extension (for another 30 days).

AlwaysUp is licensed on a per-machine basis. Each computer (physical or virtual) needs its own license.

After you buy a license, you will enter the unique serial number for your installation and the system will generate the unique registration code that "unlocks" AlwaysUp for that installation. That registration code will not work on a different machine.

Enterprise, Site and royalty-free OEM licensing — where serial numbers do not need to be managed for each machine — are also options.

Right here: AlwaysUp EULA, for a single computer

Additional agreements for Enterprise, Site and OEM volume licenses are available from the AlwaysUp licensing options page.

AlwaysUp costs $49.99 USD (one time) for use on a single machine. In volumes of 2-9, the cost falls to $44.99 USD (a 10% discount), and additional discounts kick in if you buy larger quantities.

Please see the AlwaysUp licensing page for complete pricing details.

Click here to buy AlwaysUp now.

Certainly. Click here to create a PDF quote now.

You can create a receipt from your order page.

To access your order page, click the Manage your order button in the email thanking you for your order.

From there, click the Create a receipt (PDF) link:

And follow the self-explanatory prompts to generate your PDF receipt:

A receipt should also be available from the company that processed your payment:

• 2Checkout: If you have an account with 2Checkout, enter your order number and a few digits from your credit card to retrieve your order.
• PayPal: If you don't have the receipt emailed to you from PayPal, login to your account to access your transaction history.

If you can't find an acceptable receipt, please get in touch and we'll generate one for you. Be sure to provide your order number.

Yes, we'll happily accept a purchase order (Net-30 terms) and payment by USD check or bank/wire transfer.

Please create an official PDF quote to get the ball rolling.

Please email your PO to sales@CoreTechnologies.com.

Yes. We have relationships with many established resellers serving the USA, Europe and beyond. Contact your desired reseller to start the purchase process.

Our company has priced AlwaysUp at a level that serves both the business/professional client and the casual/home customer. We feel that $50 is acceptable in both environments.

Rest assured that while the price of AlwaysUp is on the low side when compared to competing products, the quality is not. Be sure to try it free for 30 days to find out why our customers tell us that AlwaysUp is more reliable that the rest.

A single AlwaysUp installation can run as many applications as you like. There are no built-in restrictions or additional costs to run multiple applications.

Yes, the full GUI application and more discreet command-line components are all available for OEM use. We offer Limited and Unlimited licenses; distribution is royalty-free.

Please see the AlwaysUp Licensing page for more details.

 Why purchase AlwaysUp OEM?

 Why Should I Buy AlwaysUp Instead of Writing My Own Windows Service?

Yes. Site licensing allows you to distribute an unlimited number of licenses of AlwaysUp throughout your organization. Furthermore, there is no need for you to track individual licenses/registration codes and send those to us.

Please see the AlwaysUp Licensing page for more details.

Yes. The discount is based on your specific situation, so please contact us for details.

The registration window comes up when you start AlwaysUp without a license. It looks like this:

Click the Register Now button to reveal the 10-digit serial number:

Click the link below the serial number to copy it to the Windows clipboard — for easy pasting into the license assignment form (or in an email to our support team).

If you have gone through the registration process and your code has been accepted, this is probably caused by a lack of rights when accessing the AlwaysUp registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Core Technologies Consulting\AlwaysUp

Please use the regedit application to adjust permissions on that key.

Using regedit:

1. Navigate to the key on the left-hand side
2. Right-click on the key and select "Permissions..." to bring up the permissions window
3. Add the user(s) with full control if necessary

Please ensure that all accounts using AlwaysUp (including the ones configured to run your application on the Logon tab) have full access to the above registry key.

When you buy AlwaysUp, your license is valid for any release with the same major version number or the next.

For example, if you bought version 15, you are eligible to use (free of charge) any version 15 or version 16 release, but not a version 17 release.

Upgrading to the latest version of AlwaysUp (that is fully compatible with the newest versions of Windows) costs $34.99 — a 30% discount. Please purchase upgrades here.

We recommend that you upgrade from a previous version of AlwaysUp in one of two ways:

1. Uninstall the previous version of AlwaysUp then install the new.

   If you take this approach, any applications/services that you have specified in AlwaysUp will be forgotten and you will have to set them up again in the new version. You may also have to re-enter your registration code.

2. Install the new version without uninstalling the previous, which will preserve all the applications/services that you have configured using AlwaysUp.

   If you choose this option, you must stop all your applications in AlwaysUp and ensure that the Microsoft Event Viewer and Services applications are closed prior to installing or else the upgrade may fail. Also, be sure to install in the same directory as the previous installation (by default C:\Program Files (x86)\AlwaysUp). You should not have to re-enter your registration code.

The registration code that you assigned will only work on the computer where you performed the registration process (i.e. where you collected the serial number). You will need to revoke the old and assign a new registration code to activate AlwaysUp on a different computer.

To transfer your license from one computer to another:

1. From the email you received delivering AlwaysUp, click the Manage your order button. That will open your order page in your web browser.

2. On your order page, click the link telling you how many licenses have been assigned:

   

3. The section below the link will list all the licenses that you have assigned for your order. Find the installation/computer that you wish to decommission and click its revoke link:

   

4. Complete the form — indicating your reason for revoking the license — and click the Revoke button to complete the process:

   

5. Within the next 24 hours, you'll receive an email confirming that your license has been revoked. After that, you'll be free to assign your license to another installation.

If your serial number has changed, please follow these instructions to get a new registration code. (The process is the same as if you're moving your license to a new computer.)

Your Order Reference is shown at the top of your order page:

You can get to your order page by clicking the blue Manage your order button in the email sent to you after your purchase.

Yes. Microsoft has officially certified AlwaysUp to be compatible with all editions of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 (32 & 64-bit):

     

Yes, AlwaysUp is fully compatible with Windows Server 2016.

Visit the AlwaysUp compatibility page for additional details.

Yes, AlwaysUp is fully compatible with Windows 10.

Visit the AlwaysUp compatibility page for additional details.

Yes, AlwaysUp is fully compatible with Windows 11.

Our team evaluates each major, semi-annual update as soon as it's available — to catch any surprises before our customers do!

Visit the AlwaysUp compatibility page for additional details.

Yes, AlwaysUp is fully compatible with Windows Server 2019.

Visit the AlwaysUp compatibility page for additional details.

Yes. AlwaysUp is fully compatible with Windows Server 2022.

Visit the AlwaysUp compatibility page for additional details.

Yes. AlwaysUp is fully compatible with Windows Server 2025.

Visit the AlwaysUp compatibility page for additional details.

Yes. While AlwaysUp is itself a 32-bit application, it installs and works flawlessly on 64-bit versions of Windows 11/10, and Server 2025/2022/2019/2016. AlwaysUp has no trouble managing native 64-bit applications either.

Visit the AlwaysUp compatibility page for additional details.

Yes, AlwaysUp supports group Managed Service Accounts.

When entering the gMSA on the AlwaysUp Logon tab, be sure to:

• Use the full name of the account but with the $ character at the end (e.g. "domain\account$");
• Specify a blank/empty password.

Yes, you can rest assured that AlwaysUp is safe and secure.

That's because we take application security very seriously in our small company. Indeed, protecting our customers from bad actors is a non-negotiable aspect of all our software.

Please review these links to find out more about our steadfast commitment to security in AlwaysUp:

• Is AlwaysUp safe?

• How Do You Make Sure Your Software Is Secure?

• How do I Protect my AlwaysUp Services from Unauthorized Changes?

• Where does AlwaysUp store the Password for my Windows Account?

• AlwaysUp Feature Spotlight: Run your App Without Admin Rights

• How AlwaysUp Supports Your ISO 27001 ISMS

AlwaysUp doesn't collect any personal data. It's a simple desktop Windows utility that helps ensure that one or more nominated programs run 24/7. As such, there are no GDPR issues related to the software.

In terms of our company, we adhere to the GDPR and other data protection regulations. For example, the minimal data we collect to fulfill orders — your name and email address — can be purged at your request. Please see our privacy policy for additional details.

Yes. AlwaysUp supports customers who must adhere to the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

This article describes how AlwaysUp can help secure your commercial hardware and software products with digital elements.

The US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) focuses on protecting the privacy and security of patient health information, known as Protected Health Information (PHI). Since AlwaysUp is a straightforward desktop application that doesn't collect any PHI, HIPPA does not apply to the software.

AlwaysUp doesn't handle credit card or payment information in any way. And neither does anyone at our company, Core Technologies Consulting, LLC. That's because all payments are accepted by a payment processor — a third-party company responsible for taking your credit card details and charging your account.

As such, PCI-DSS does not apply to AlwaysUp or our company.

While our tiny company's practices are aligned with security best practices and the ISO 27001:2022 standard, we hold no official certifications.

Please review these links to find out more about our steadfast commitment to security in AlwaysUp:

• Is AlwaysUp safe?

• How Do You Make Sure Your Software Is Secure?

• How do I Protect my AlwaysUp Services from Unauthorized Changes?

• Where does AlwaysUp store the Password for my Windows Account?

• AlwaysUp Feature Spotlight: Run your App Without Admin Rights

• How AlwaysUp Supports Your ISO 27001 ISMS

No. Since AlwaysUp doesn't collect any personal data, it doesn't store any either.

Furthermore, AlwaysUp only contacts the internet to (1) check for updates or (2) send email alerts — both of which are under the control of the software's operator. Other than that, there is no communication "off the box".

Yes, AlwaysUp is compliant with the US Trade Agreements Act (TAA). Please see this article for additional details.

Yes, Core Technologies Consulting has passed the rigorous verification process and is registered with SAM.gov — the official U.S. Government system for organizations seeking to work with federal agencies.

In fact, we've been continuously registered with SAM.gov since 2015 and renew annually. You can rest assured that we have what it takes to support customers in the federal sector.

Yes. The VPAT for AlwaysUp is available here.

The US Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security has reviewed AlwaysUp and classified it as EAR99.

You can download the full report here.

Yes. Please contact us with the details and we'll send you our most recent W-9.

Yes. Please contact us and we'll send you our DUNS number.

AlwaysUp Web Service is a free add-on program for AlwaysUp that enables you to control your AlwaysUp-deployed applications from your web browser.

It allows you to manage your AlwaysUp applications without having to log on to the host machine.

The AlwaysUp Command Line Tools (CLT) package is designed for developers and application integrators looking to discreetly keep their applications available 24x7.

It delivers the full power and sophistication of the AlwaysUp GUI product, but entirely from the Windows command line. It is most suitable for OEMs.

Yes, the list of error messages logged by AlwaysUp is here.

No.

To do its work, AlwaysUp must ask Windows about all running processes every few seconds. Unfortunately that operation generates a handful of page faults (for the processes not fully mapped into memory management units), but those are the inexpensive minor page faults that don't hit the disk.

So even though you may see the number of page faults climbing steadily every few seconds, rest assured that these page faults have zero performance impact on your system. As such, you can safely ignore them.

No.

The AlwaysUp components that manage and monitor your application are designed to be extremely frugal with machine resources. They almost always consume less than 1% of the CPU, less than 6 MB of RAM, and don't fall victim to the "memory growth" characteristic of many applications today.

AlwaysUp can periodically run a failure detection program (a "sanity check") to check if your application has failed and should be restarted. This capability allows you to extend the monitoring capabilities of AlwaysUp to cover your own unique requirements.

Visit the sanity check page for additional details.

You can configure a daily stop of your application in the Every section on the Monitor tab:

Once stopped, your application will restart as specified on the Restart tab (which is immediately, by default).

AlwaysUp features basic scheduling on the Restart tab, where your application can be set to run every hour, every half-hour, or periodically at your choosing.

To run your application in a specific time interval, use the built-in Windows Task Scheduler. For example, if your application named MyApp in AlwaysUp should only run between 9 AM and 5 PM daily, you will need to set up two daily scheduled tasks — one to start the service at 9 and another to stop it at 5. Each task should consist of a simple batch file.

To start the AlwaysUp-created service (and your application), the batch file should contain this command:

Be sure to replace MyApp with the name of your application.

This tutorial (with screenshots) describes how to use the Windows Task Scheduler.

Please let us know if you need help setting this up.

When shutting down, Windows will wait a few seconds (usually 20) for all services and the applications managed by AlwaysUp to complete. If AlwaysUp is unable to close your application in that time frame, Windows will forcibly terminate AlwaysUp and your application. That may lead to undesirable results.

To give your application more time to safely shut down, simply enter the desired duration in the Wait for up to field on the Extras tab:

        

This is a false alarm. AlwaysUp does not contain any viruses or malware.

Indeed, AlwaysUp is safe and secure. You can dig into the details in this blog article.

Furthermore, we thoroughly test our software before release and those packages are consistently certified free of all malware by several reputable third parties. Please click the icons above to see some recent results.

Please contact us with the details and we'll work with the makers of your virus protection software to resolve the false alarm.

To export your application's settings to an XML file, highlight your application in AlwaysUp and select Application > Export from the menu. You will be prompted to enter the file name in which to save the settings:

Note that for security purposes, any passwords you specified when setting up your application with AlwaysUp will not be saved in the file.

You can later import the XML file (by choosing Application > Import) to re-create your application's setup on any machine with AlwaysUp installed. Exporting and then importing is a good way to copy settings from one machine to another.

You can move one or more AlwaysUp applications between computers by first exporting each service to an XML file, then later importing the file on the destination machine.

To export your application's settings to an XML file, highlight your application in AlwaysUp and select Application > Export from the menu. You will be prompted to enter the file name in which to save the settings. Note that for security purposes, any passwords you specified when setting up your application with AlwaysUp will not be saved in the file.

You can later import the XML file (by choosing Application > Import) to re-create your application's setup on any machine with AlwaysUp installed.

If that option is selected on the General tab, Windows will start AlwaysUp and your application only after starting all the automatic services.

In practice, this means that your application will start a couple of minutes after the computer boots — after all critical systems are up and running.

By default, only administrators have the rights to manipulate the Windows Service created by AlwaysUp. To allow other users to start and stop the service:

1. Ensure that your application is stopped in AlwaysUp

2. Highlight your application in AlwaysUp and select Application > Advanced > Service Security Settings from the menu to open the Service Security Settings window:

   

3. Click the Add button and select the non-administrative account

4. Check the permissions boxes as necessary.

The AlwaysUp installer is built with the excellent Inno Setup, which supports silent or unattended installs via several command line switches.

We recommend using either:

AlwaysUp_installer.exe /silent /norestart

AlwaysUp_installer.exe /verysilent /norestart

Note that silent installation will hang and eventually time out if an AlwaysUp component is actively running on the machine. Before installing, you should:

1. Stop all AlwaysUp services. You can use the Windows NET command, as described here.

2. Terminate all processes named "AlwaysUp.exe".

Please use the /LOG="filename" option to troubleshoot if you run into problems installing AlwaysUp silently.

The uninstaller (unins???.exe) can also be run silently, as described in the Uninstaller Command Line Parameters section.

While we only support releases with the current major version and the one before, we've saved a few old builds for your convenience.

• AlwaysUp Version 16.5.4.33 (June 6 2025; the last version 16 release)
• AlwaysUp Version 15.5.0.86 (October 4 2024; the last version 15 release)
• AlwaysUp Version 14.5.1.68 (May 12 2023; the last version 14 release supporting Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012)
• AlwaysUp Version 13.3.8.92 (April 16 2022; the last version 13 release)

The AlwaysUp Version History documents what's new in each release.

Of course! Please get in touch via email or phone or fill in our contact form. We'll get back to you ASAP, within one business day.