I just had an idea, but not sure if it is possible, or whether it is already done. The problem i have is I keep forgetting i have programs running on my USB before i exit, as i'm sure most of you do. I know there has been a earlier post regarding an automated .bat file to kill the running processes, however i thought this maybe an alternative.
The program is run on startup (code name "Still Running" 
), from a launcher, maybe on PStart, then any apps which are run from the USB drive (or run from PStart) is added to a text file or alike list. If a app is closed then it is removed from the list. Then on exit of the launcher, a list comes up with a window stating any apps that are still running. Esspecially useful for apps in the system tray, or on desktop, such as Rainlender.
The app may even have the option of a kill function for the running apps.
I can see it working in theory, by making sure all apps are run from a launcher, and everytime the launcher is run, it adds the app to the list. And everytime the program is closed, it removes the app from the list.
I'd love to develop this concept, but my programing is very (i mean very) limited to none.
Whats everyones thoughts about this? is it even possible?
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Doesn't sound too hard. I'll have a chat with Renè about integrating it with AutoStart.
----
R McCue
PortaBlog Home and My Website
And before anyone complains about the grammar, I'm so jetlagged that my
hands aren't even in the same time zone...
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
let me know if i can help out, even if its only with beta testing.
Apps running from the host computer's hard drive can use your USB drive. Remember that. Explorer locks up the drive sometimes. A better solution would be do develop a utility that finds what resources on the drive are being used.
Vintage!
Good you brought this to my attention. I thought about it a while back in relation to getting Eject/Unplug working in autostart. For AutoStart I needed to get it to eject while running and I had to move the program to the PC and run it there to get that working. This is different though. There's two sides to this problem:
1. Apps started from a usb flash drive.
2. Apps having documents open on a flash drive.
You'd probably want to close the first kind and get the second kind to perhaps save their changes.
I think it is an important feature we should support if at all possible. So I'll look into it further. I thing solving 1 is doable, I'm not sure about 2.
----
R McCue
PortaBlog Home and My Website
And before anyone complains about the grammar, I'm so jetlagged that my
hands aren't even in the same time zone...
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I currently use PStart. When PStart exits it runs a batch file that
- prompts me to close all programs using the flash drive
- copies another batch file and the deveject and unmount utilities to the temps directory.
-It then starts the other batch file and exits.
The 2nd batch:
- ejects and unmounts the flash drive
- deletes the utility programs and itself
- exits
The only thing to do at that point is to close the DOS window that's left open. But that's OK because it shows the output of the deveject and unmount commands so I can see if something is still accessing the drive.
I posted an example script here:
https://portableapps.com/node/3160
Handle from Sysinternals can list all open files and it can close them.