How to Create Auto-Restart Script for MU Server

Why Automate Server Restarts

A MU Online private server runs several processes simultaneously — ConnectServer, DataServer, GameServer, and EventServer — and any one of them can crash or terminate unexpectedly due to memory leaks, database errors, or connection spikes. Without automation, the server stays offline until an administrator notices and acts manually.

This tutorial covers two complementary approaches:

• Watchdog Script: monitors processes in real time and restarts them immediately after a crash
• Task Scheduler: restarts all services at a scheduled time, such as during off-peak hours

MU Server Directory Structure

Before creating the scripts, confirm your server's directory layout:

C:\MuServer\
├── ConnectServer\
│   └── ConnectServer.exe
├── DataServer\
│   └── DataServer.exe
├── GameServer\
│   └── GameServer.exe
├── EventServer\
│   └── EventServer.exe
└── Scripts\
    ├── start_all.bat
    ├── stop_all.bat
    └── watchdog.bat

Create the Scripts\ directory if it does not exist:

mkdir C:\MuServer\Scripts

Part 1 — Full Startup Script

Step 1: Create the start script

Create the file C:\MuServer\Scripts\start_all.bat:

@echo off
title ViciadosMU - Starting Server
cd /d C:\MuServer

echo [%date% %time%] Starting ConnectServer... >> C:\MuServer\Scripts\startup.log
start "ConnectServer" /D "C:\MuServer\ConnectServer\" ConnectServer.exe
timeout /t 5 /nobreak > nul

echo [%date% %time%] Starting DataServer... >> C:\MuServer\Scripts\startup.log
start "DataServer" /D "C:\MuServer\DataServer\" DataServer.exe
timeout /t 8 /nobreak > nul

echo [%date% %time%] Starting GameServer... >> C:\MuServer\Scripts\startup.log
start "GameServer" /D "C:\MuServer\GameServer\" GameServer.exe
timeout /t 10 /nobreak > nul

echo [%date% %time%] Starting EventServer... >> C:\MuServer\Scripts\startup.log
start "EventServer" /D "C:\MuServer\EventServer\" EventServer.exe

echo [%date% %time%] All processes started. >> C:\MuServer\Scripts\startup.log

Step 2: Create the shutdown script

Create the file C:\MuServer\Scripts\stop_all.bat:

@echo off
title ViciadosMU - Stopping Server
echo [%date% %time%] Initiating shutdown... >> C:\MuServer\Scripts\startup.log

taskkill /F /IM EventServer.exe /T 2>nul
timeout /t 3 /nobreak > nul
taskkill /F /IM GameServer.exe /T 2>nul
timeout /t 3 /nobreak > nul
taskkill /F /IM DataServer.exe /T 2>nul
timeout /t 3 /nobreak > nul
taskkill /F /IM ConnectServer.exe /T 2>nul

echo [%date% %time%] Shutdown complete. >> C:\MuServer\Scripts\startup.log

The shutdown order is the reverse of startup: EventServer → GameServer → DataServer → ConnectServer. This avoids abrupt disconnection errors in the database.

Part 2 — Watchdog Script (Real-Time Monitoring)

The watchdog continuously checks whether each process is running and restarts any that have stopped unexpectedly.

Step 3: Create watchdog.bat

Create the file C:\MuServer\Scripts\watchdog.bat:

@echo off
title ViciadosMU - Watchdog Active
set LOGFILE=C:\MuServer\Scripts\watchdog.log
set INTERVAL=30

:LOOP
echo [%date% %time%] Checking processes... >> %LOGFILE%

:: Check ConnectServer
tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq ConnectServer.exe" 2>nul | find /I "ConnectServer.exe" > nul
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo [%date% %time%] WARNING: ConnectServer.exe not found. Restarting... >> %LOGFILE%
    start "ConnectServer" /D "C:\MuServer\ConnectServer\" ConnectServer.exe
    timeout /t 5 /nobreak > nul
)

:: Check DataServer
tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq DataServer.exe" 2>nul | find /I "DataServer.exe" > nul
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo [%date% %time%] WARNING: DataServer.exe not found. Restarting... >> %LOGFILE%
    start "DataServer" /D "C:\MuServer\DataServer\" DataServer.exe
    timeout /t 8 /nobreak > nul
)

:: Check GameServer
tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq GameServer.exe" 2>nul | find /I "GameServer.exe" > nul
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo [%date% %time%] WARNING: GameServer.exe not found. Restarting... >> %LOGFILE%
    start "GameServer" /D "C:\MuServer\GameServer\" GameServer.exe
    timeout /t 10 /nobreak > nul
)

:: Check EventServer
tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq EventServer.exe" 2>nul | find /I "EventServer.exe" > nul
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo [%date% %time%] WARNING: EventServer.exe not found. Restarting... >> %LOGFILE%
    start "EventServer" /D "C:\MuServer\EventServer\" EventServer.exe
)

timeout /t %INTERVAL% /nobreak > nul
goto LOOP

Part 3 — Scheduled Restart via Task Scheduler

For servers that benefit from a daily scheduled restart — for example at 04:00 for memory cleanup and maintenance:

Step 4: Create the scheduled restart script

Create C:\MuServer\Scripts\scheduled_restart.bat:

@echo off
title ViciadosMU - Scheduled Restart
set LOGFILE=C:\MuServer\Scripts\scheduled.log

echo [%date% %time%] Starting scheduled restart... >> %LOGFILE%

:: Stop all processes
call C:\MuServer\Scripts\stop_all.bat
timeout /t 15 /nobreak > nul

:: Delete log files older than 7 days
forfiles /p C:\MuServer\Scripts\ /m *.log /d -7 /c "cmd /c del @path" 2>nul

:: Restart all processes
call C:\MuServer\Scripts\start_all.bat

echo [%date% %time%] Scheduled restart complete. >> %LOGFILE%

Step 5: Register tasks in the Windows Task Scheduler

Run the following commands in an elevated Command Prompt (Run as Administrator):

:: Create daily restart task at 04:00
schtasks /create /tn "MuServer_DailyRestart" /tr "C:\MuServer\Scripts\scheduled_restart.bat" /sc daily /st 04:00 /ru SYSTEM /f

:: Create watchdog startup task (runs on every system boot)
schtasks /create /tn "MuServer_Watchdog" /tr "C:\MuServer\Scripts\watchdog.bat" /sc onstart /delay 0002:00 /ru SYSTEM /f

Step 6: Verify the created tasks

schtasks /query /tn "MuServer_DailyRestart" /fo LIST
schtasks /query /tn "MuServer_Watchdog" /fo LIST

Both tasks should show Status: Ready in the output.

Part 4 — Crash Logging in SQL Server

To maintain a restart history in the database and identify instability patterns over time:

Step 7: Create the log table

USE MuOnline
GO

CREATE TABLE T_ServerRestartLog (
    LogID       INT IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY,
    RestartTime DATETIME DEFAULT GETDATE(),
    ProcessName NVARCHAR(50)  NOT NULL,
    RestartType NVARCHAR(20)  NOT NULL,  -- 'CRASH', 'SCHEDULED', 'MANUAL'
    Notes       NVARCHAR(255) NULL
)
GO

CREATE INDEX IX_ServerRestartLog_Time
    ON T_ServerRestartLog (RestartTime DESC)
GO

Step 8: Integrate sqlcmd into the watchdog

Inside each restart block in watchdog.bat, add a sqlcmd call immediately after the start command:

:: GameServer block as example:
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo [%date% %time%] WARNING: GameServer.exe not found. Restarting... >> %LOGFILE%
    start "GameServer" /D "C:\MuServer\GameServer\" GameServer.exe
    sqlcmd -S localhost -d MuOnline -E -Q "INSERT INTO T_ServerRestartLog (ProcessName, RestartType) VALUES ('GameServer', 'CRASH')"
    timeout /t 10 /nobreak > nul
)

To query the crash history for the last 24 hours:

SELECT ProcessName, RestartType, RestartTime
FROM MuOnline..T_ServerRestartLog
WHERE RestartTime >= DATEADD(HOUR, -24, GETDATE())
ORDER BY RestartTime DESC

Troubleshooting

Process restarts but closes immediately: Check the executable's own error log. GameServer.exe writes to C:\MuServer\GameServer\Log\. Database connection failures are the most common cause — verify the connection string in C:\MuServer\GameServer\Data\GameServerInfo.ini, specifically ServerAddress, ServerPort, and DbName.

Watchdog does not detect that the process has stopped: Confirm the exact executable name with tasklist | findstr /I "server". Some builds use different names such as MuGameServer.exe or gs.exe. Update the script to match what you find.

Task Scheduler does not run the script: The SYSTEM account needs read and write access to C:\MuServer\. Fix the permissions with:

icacls C:\MuServer /grant "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)F" /T

Watchdog log file grows indefinitely: Use daily log rotation by embedding the date in the filename:

set LOGFILE=C:\MuServer\Scripts\watchdog_%date:~6,4%%date:~3,2%%date:~0,2%.log

GameServer fails to connect to the database after an automatic restart: SQL Server may not have finished starting. Increase the boot delay from 0002:00 to 0005:00 and add a service check before launching the MU processes:

:WAIT_SQL
sc query MSSQLSERVER | find "RUNNING" > nul
if errorlevel 1 (
    timeout /t 10 /nobreak > nul
    goto WAIT_SQL
)
call C:\MuServer\Scripts\start_all.bat

Perguntas frequentes