The latest version of PTFB Pro (v4.4) brings a much requested new capability: it can monitor the cpu utilization of particular programs/process on your computer and restart them automatically if they become “unwell” and start eating up all available processing power.
For some time now PTFB Pro’s program monitor or “ProgMon” items have been able to restart programs that crash or fall into a “not responding” state, but they haven’t been able to help with another equally unwelcome symptom of “unwell” programs: cpu hogging. It’s not at all uncommon for some programs to randomly enter a state where they cease to work properly and consume cpu cycles like an army of mice devouring a block of cheese. In some cases this can cause the whole computer to slow down; in others, the biggest loss is simply that the crucial program is no longer doing its job. Either way the only remedy is typically to manually kill the program in Task Manager and re-launch it. Starting in version PTFB Pro v4.4, ProgMon items can now do this for you automatically, 24/7.
It’s very simple to set up: create a new ProgMon item then let the wizard guide you through the remaining configuration steps. You get to choose the program/process you want to monitor, set the maxium level of cpu usage you’re prepared to tolerate before action is taken, and specify what that action should be. What’s more, you can tell PTFB Pro to turn a blind eye to a short period of high cpu (since this may occur for legitimate reasons) so that action is only taken when the process really has irretrievably slipped into an unwell state.
In addition to this new feature, the v4.4 release also contains a number of welcome bug fixes. Get the new release from our download page now: