Watchdog Timer (Score 1)

These are all great comments. One I haven't seen yet on this topic is to add a watchdog timer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchdog_timer ). I have a system (an old PII with various added I/O) that monitors via cameras and thermostats (it controls the HVAC too). The watchdog timer is wired to the PC reset input (where the reset button is normally hooked up). It does a hard reboot in the event of most software (app or OS) crashes. It even allowed me to use Windows on the monitoring system. :) It's been running over 4 years.