Hi there, is it possible to start a batch-program, that always writes something into a logfile and runs in background, while another application is running ? I have to add this job, because an applications crashes sometimes, when there is for 15 minutes nothing to be done. So I want, that a batchjob writes always something in a file to let the harddisk something to do. Is it possible ? Or what else can I do ? Greetinxx JENS

hello-thank you for kindness

That's only possible under Windows, since multitasking isn't possible under DOS. Here's a sample a batch file which would write a little bit to the hard disk every 60 seconds: @echo off echo Type X to exit. :loop CHOICE /c-X /n /t-,60 > nul if errorlevel=2 goto end dir |REM goto loop :end The amount which is written is very small. You could change that, mayky on the line with the pipe (|). For instance, change that line by "dir/s \ |REM". That batch will fail under NT system. If you want the batch to make a continuos task, try this second one: @echo off echo To exit, hit CTRL+BREAK repeatedly. :loop dir/s \|REM goto loop About running it on batckground, right-click on the file and select "properties". From there, you'll be able to make it run minimized. -- Leonardo Pignataro - Secret_Doom -- secret_doom@hotmail.com www.batch.hpg.com.br

Ooops, Jens said "15 minutes". So, this script should do it: @echo off echo Type X to exit. set T= :loop CHOICE /c-X /n /t-,60 > nul if errorlevel=2 goto end set T=.%T% if not "%T%"=="..............." goto loop dir/s \ |REM set T= goto loop :end set T= That won't work under NT systems. -- Leonardo Pignataro - Secret_Doom -- secret_doom@hotmail.com www.batch.hpg.com.br