how to restart OSX every 3 hours automatically

Hi dgd,

I think you're going to have to try to SSH remotely into it & issue a Restart...

http://www.macgasm.net/2008/05/07/restarting-os-x-from-the-command-line/

But maybe setting up an iCal event to run a Script would work.

Have at look at this, It is no longer being supported but I have used it for a number of years with no problem.
http://tuppis.com/lingon/
You could probably reboot the machine with this from a terminal script or perhaps a cleaner mode would be to check using a script every so often if Skype is running then do nothing, if not running start Skype.

I used it to backup the OD database every night, never failed.

Just to clarify, when the Skype program crashes, does the whole machine also crash and you have to restart the computer, rather than just relaunch Skype? Are you running the latest version of Skype for Tiger?

If nobody is around, why do you need to leave Skype running if it is crash prone on that machine? Just trying to understand the situation a little better to see if there might be any alternative approaches to consider.

Try this - tested on Leopard but will probably work in Tiger.

Copy the following into the AppleScript Editor:

property rstr : ""
on run
set rstr to 1
repeat until rstr is greater than 180
set cdwn to (181 - rstr)
tell me
activate
display dialog "Press Cancel to quit" & return & " " & return & "Restart in " & cdwn & " minutes" buttons {"Cancel"} default button "Cancel" giving up after 60
end tell
set rstr to (rstr + 1)
end repeat
tell application "Finder"
restart
end tell
end run


(end of script)
Save it as an Application, making sure 'Run only', 'Startup Screen' and 'Stay open' are not checked. Place the script somewhere convenient, then go to System Preferences>Accounts>Login items and set it as a startup item (so that it will survive the restart).

It will display a dialog box with a countdown in minutes and a cancel button to quit it. It will run in the foreground, but Skype will run happily in the background.

At the end of 3 hours it will restart the computer: of course if you have any unsaved documents open (which it appears you don't plan on) that would hang the restart.

If you don't like the dialog box in the foreground, this script should work:

delay (10800)
tell application "Finder"
restart
end tell

however note that you can't quit it: you can only do so by using command-option-escape to force quit it; but it will run in the background.

Thanks for the details, here's a couple of suggestions that might help you deal with this situation:

Okey Dokey can dismiss the dialog box after a specified amount of time
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macos/16438

If you want to use Skype like a monitor, then you just need the ability to connect to the computer and get Skype up and running again, so maybe try Chicken of the VNC or Tight VNC. These Virtual Network Computer clients let you open a window on any remote computer (PC/Mac/Linux) and view/control the home computer.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/chickenofthevnc.html
http://www.tightvnc.com/

Will the script you gave still do the restart even though there is an open dialog box from Skype having quit and wanting to report to Apple?

I don't know: possibly not - it's possible that just quitting Skype will clear the box. As my Skype isn't crashing I can't test it. If you want a quick test just wait for it to crash and then run

tell application "Finder"
restart
end tell

you could add

tell application "Skype" to quit

before that but it may not be necessary.

Incidentally, QuicKeys would be able to check for the presence of the 'report to Apple' at short intervals and if it found it could close the box and reboot Skype without needing to reboot the computer: of course it costs money.

Applications>AppleScript>Script Editor

Just paste the script in, from the File menu choose 'Save As'. Give it a name and choose a location: Set 'File Format' to 'Application', and make sure 'Run Only'. 'Startup Screen' and 'Stay Open' are not checked. You don't need Automator.

When you'ved saved the script somewhere, you can set it to run on startup as I described above.

i know this is a bit of a cave-man approach, but if you can't find a 'proper' way to do this, couldn't you just plug the computer into an electronic timer which switches off and on again every 3 hours (the kind you use for lights to keep burglars away) then you can set the preference for computer to automatically restart every tie the power cuts out.

you'd also need to probably unplug the battery if it's a powerbook rather than a desktop.