Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander

Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander (CAD Commander) takes control of the boot services of an OS/2 Warp system and prevents accidental rebooting of OS/2 from within any type of OS/2, DOS, or Windows session. In addition, it also allows "rebooting" of the Workplace Shell without stopping any running applications. Finally, it gives complete command over all applications' status (including their priorities), and allows selective shutdown of errant applications which cannot normally be shutdown via OS/2's Ctrl-ESC key sequence.


 * What does it do for me? : The Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander can save you from losing data and make using OS/2 an even more enjoyable experience. It can prevent you from accidentally rebooting your system by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del from within any OS/2, DOS, or Windows session.


 * What kind of user interface does it have?: The Ctrl-Alt-Del Commanders user interface is very easy to master. Using either your mouse or keyboard you can quickly select any command from the pull down menus (which are CUA compliant), access online help, or view details on any running application in your system. Information and commands are only a mouse click away. The online help explains all operations and the online documentation further enhances the ease of using the Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander for OS/2 Warp.


 * What versions of OS/2 are supported? : All versions of OS/2 Warp, including OS/2 Warp Server, OS/2 Warp Connect, OS/2 Warp with Win-OS/2 and OS/2 Warp for Windows. All fixpack levels up through fixpack 17 are compatible.
 * It does not work with any version of OS/2 prior to OS/2 Warp. If demand allows it we may produce an OS/2 2.11 version


 * How does it work with WFP 17's SIQ mode? : IBM introduced with Warp Fixpack # 17 the ability to modify the way the Single Input Queue (SIQ) is handled by OS/2. It provides greater ability for OS/2 to handle OS/2 applications that hang up the desktop. However, it still is limited in its abilities. It is our belief that with a combination of both the Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander and the WFP 17 virtually no desktop hangups should cause you to lose data again.


 * Is the demo fully functional? : Yes, this is a fully functional demonstration using code at the same level as the demonstration version will be shipped with the OS/2 Warp 4.0 (Merlin) in the fall. It is not at the same level as the retail Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander 1.5 (since when this demo was created, that retail version had not yet been released). It has been tested with all versions of Warp through the first non-public Merlin Beta.


 * Can it terminate any program I want? : Beginning with verson 1.5, and when combined with OS/2 Warp with Fixpack 17 or later (including OS/2 Warp 4.0 - codenamed "Merlin"), Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander can kill applications even at the "Kernel" level. This means that there will be virtually no programs that cannot be killed, even when the system appears completely frozen.


 * What are its limitations? : The Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander can be activated at almost any time. However, some system failures are non-recoverable due to the nature of the operating system. Trap errors (black text screens with lots of numbers displayed) are never recoverable.


 * Some PM queue hangups are not recoverable depending on the type of hangup. Generally these kind of desktop freezes can be handled by activating the Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander and then killing the offending application. Sometimes, however, an application will refuse to die. This is almost always because a background thread in the application has latched onto the Presentation Manager and won't let go. The Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander can help you overcome these problems by letting you shutdown other applications gracefully. Version 1.3 and later of the Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander virtually eliminates this problem and works on nearly every hang generated by errant PM applications.


 * Some applications also refuse to let the Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander switch to the foreground. Generally this is because they have locked access to the physical video buffer used by PM. Currently the only solution is to try to press Ctrl-Alt-Del 3 times - this will terminate the current foreground application (usually the one causing the trouble). Beginning with Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander 1.5 this is almost guaranteed to terminate the offending program - if it is the "foreground" application. However, if the application does not terminate pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del two more times will reboot the desktop. This often solves the problem. If that still doesn't fix everything, you are left with only one alternative - pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del five more times and rebooting your system. Version 1.3 and later of the Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander virtually eliminates this problem using a new technique that has yielded far greater success than previous versions.


 * Can it make my DOS/Win Fullscreen games go faster? : Beginning with version 1.5 the Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander adds a new option to your DOS and Window's program objects, in the "DOS Settings" page, which lets you toggle on the "Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander Game Boost" option. This option will modify the way OS/2 runs the DOS/Win fullscreen session so that it basically "hogs" the entire system - not necessarily a good thing if you're downloading things in the background, but boy does it make certain DOS games really fly!


 * Is it reliable? : In a word - YES! It has been thoroughly tested for several months of beta testing and is rock solid. As new versions of OS/2 Warp are released we will immediately test it for compatibility and release patches, if necessary.


 * Does it support multiple languages? : Yes. The currently shipping version only supports the English language. A planned free update will support French, German, and Spanish.

Features:


 * Workplace Shell Support: It can overcome most OS/2 Workplace shell desktop hangs, without your applications having to shutdown your OS/2 system. It shows you the resources used by OS/2 (including memory, drives, etc.). It also shows you details on your hardware and the OS/2 environment.


 * Application Support : It lets you increase (or decrease) priority on any application running in your system. Using it you can terminate programs that do not work correctly. You can also access an OS/2 command prompt at any time even if the Workplace Shell desktop is frozen. The Ctrl-Alt-Del Commander also lets you view details on specific applications, including thread priorities, DLL's used, and other important information.

Links

 * BMT Micro Page