how to reboot computer that is stuck?

[electroRF]

Hi,

I got a PC connected to Power and LAN in a remote station.

When it gets stuck from time to time (like a certain application causes it to get stuck), I have to ask for someone in that station to restart it via the Power/Reset button.

I wanna be able to do it myself remotely, and I was wondering that would be the best way to do it.

You got an idea?

Thank you.

 

[ericgibbs]

Hi,

I got a PC connected to Power and LAN in a remote station.

When it gets stuck from time to time (like a certain application causes it to get stuck), I have to ask for someone in that station to restart it via the Power/Reset button.

I wanna be able to do it myself remotely, and I was wondering that would be the best way to do it.

You got an idea?

Thank you.

hi,
One way would be to add a 'watch dog' timer to an output on the PC, which if activated resets the PC

The PC output could be via USB, UART or another port and it would trigger an external hardware reset unit.

 

[dougy83]

What does "stuck" mean? Can other applications still run? Can you access the device through the LAN?

If other applications can still function and the LAN is still available, then you could force a reset remotely by logging in using TeamViewer or Remote Desktop, etc. Another method is to put a small web server on the PC and have some CGI (or ASP.NET etc.) scripts that you can access through your browser to restart the PC.

If the computer isn't running anything anymore, you could look at a hardware watchdog type solution. e.g. you could reset the external circuit every minute or so by sending a character to it via the serial port; if the device doesn't receive anything for more than 10 minutes or so, it could trigger a reset by closing relay contacts across the reset switch (or more tackily by pressing the reset switch with a solenoid or servo motor).

 

[gabeNC]

What is the o/s? winblows? linux? What is the application? Can the PC respond to ping? If not then the o/s is probably hung, if yes then it is the application. You should be able to use RDP or ssh and be able to restart the offending application and/or bounce the machine.