How Do I Keep Instiki Running After I Log Out (of Windows 2000)?

September 23, 2004 8:43 AM

Instiki on Windows 2000 -- how do I keep the Instiki application (or any app) running after I've logged out?
posted by joaquim to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Scheduled Tasks, I believe.
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:56 AM on September 23, 2004

You want to install Instiki as a Windows 'Service'. This means it'll run in the background regardless of whether someone's logged in or not, and can be set to automatically run at system startup.

I don't know anything about Instiki in particular, but a Google search for 'instiki windows service' should set you on the right track.
posted by chrismear at 9:05 AM on September 23, 2004

I have had some luck with srvany. The link goes to an NT reference, but I have found the same app in 2000 Server Resource Kit as well. Not unlike chrismear, I don't know diddly about Instiki, but, I think srvany should help out.
posted by Richat at 10:01 AM on September 23, 2004

Check out this page at instiki.org

http://www.instiki.org/show/RunningAsAService

Should get you going I'd say.
posted by auzten at 11:13 AM on September 23, 2004

Thanks, everyone. I started out with Smart Dalek's suggestion and that seems to do the trick. I know I should have googled, but I didn't know that "service" was the term for what I needed.
posted by joaquim at 12:25 PM on September 23, 2004

I found this method to be the most useful in running Instiki as a service. It requires the win32-service Ruby library. However, I've found that while running it as a service I'll frequently encounter errors when loading pages. Sometimes its nothing more than the CSS not being applied but sometimes its an error page that says something about a "bad file descriptor" That's especially annoying if you've just gone to post something and lose it when it errors out. Never happens at all when Instiki is just launched from a command prompt.
posted by shinji_ikari at 12:32 PM on September 23, 2004

Does Instiki for windows have a standalone installer for dummies, like the Mac version?
posted by mecran01 at 12:54 PM on September 23, 2004

mecran01, it's a two-step process: Ruby and then Instiki. Get the Ruby installer here (1.8.1 is the stable release). Install Ruby, then double-click on the instiki.rb file in the Instiki package to start Instiki.
posted by joaquim at 6:01 PM on September 23, 2004