Description

Sometimes customers experience inexplicable system crashes.
SiteKiosk has been installed on more than 100,000 systems (Sep/2006) and apparently runs steadily on most of them, for we receive only few support questions with regard to system crashes.

Crashes have mostly been due to other imponderabilities rather than to SiteKiosk itself.
And, always remember: Never change a running system!

Should you wish to install more than one system, we recommend to perform a test with one system for 1 week.
If everything runs faultlessly, mirror the hard disk and use the same hardware components for all other devices.

Please consider the following notes in case you have problems:

System is getting too warm:
If they get hot, e.g. in the summer, the systems will quite often crash. Always provide sufficient cooling for your systems.

Not enough RAM memory:
If you are using, for example, 32 MB of RAM, there will be memory problems. Provide at least 64 MB or, even better, 128 MB of RAM.

No-name memory chips:
In connection with no-name memory chips you might come across the problem that some memory sectors are defective. These chips will lead to system crashes on a regular basis. There are diagnosis tools with the help of which you can verify if your chips are working correctly.

Hardware of inferior quality:
A system that runs 24 hours a day should be equipped with high-quality components. The additional costs will often amortize soon owing to the fewer maintenance problems.

Conflicts with other software:
Do not install unnecessary software. The slimmer you keep your system, the fewer system crashes you will provoke.

The computer is not booting:
Configure SiteKiosk in such a way that the computer (especially Win98/ME) will be rebooted at least once a day. Otherwise the system will become slower and will crash more often.

Faulty Internet Explorer:
SiteKiosk is based on Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Make sure to use the current version of IE including the service packs. Especially special editions of IE for computers like DELL or Compaq or also for the AOL Browser are mostly less stable than the version available on Microsoft.com. In using the official version, you will not only avoid crashes but also other errors that might occur on web pages.

Faulty SiteKiosk Installation:
Make sure that you have installed SiteKiosk correctly. Deinstall old SK versions before installing the current one and avoid mixing different versions under all cirumstances. Make also sure to always use the current version of SiteKiosk.
SiteKiosk or computer were configured incorrectly:
Make sure that you have followed our notes concerning the configuration. Most hacker attacks take place while the system is booting. Employ shell replacement and intercepting the critical key combinations on startup. Carry out the MSDOS.SYS adjustments (consult the Help menu) under Win95/98/ME.

Use clean system:
Should the computer crash on a regular basis, reformatting the computer completely will also work sometimes. In order to do so, perform FORMAT C: rather than an installation on top of the existing system.
The Plug-In SiteDog in combination with a watchdog card can remedy system crashes. This will ensure that your computer can be operated fairly trouble-free.