save application state? Endless Uses!

[John117]

is it possible to write an autoit script that saves a loaded application state and saves it as file or such so that at a later time you can open the file and have the application as if it never closed?

EX. I get a 30 day trial software. Each time it loads default it checks the date before loading.

If I could freeze it in the thirty days at somepoint and load it as a state from there out, it would no longer check the date. -It would behave as a role over that was never shutdown . . .

A starting point would be a specific process hibernation with a selectable store location and callup . . .

Any takers, or anyone cleaver enough to run with it?

[Golbez]

have you tried anything?

[weaponx]

You could hard code the expire date and use _DateDiff ( $sType, $sStartDate, $sEndDate )

Compare your date to _Now(), if it's positive then SORRY YOUR TRIAL HAS EXPIRED SIR!

[John117]

Just started thinking about it tonight. So, no havent went anywhere with it. Just posted it to see if I would get any "can't be done's" before I start and hit a wall covered long ago by someone else. Considering that hibernation writes an application state to the HD for a later boot, it should be possible to write any application state to the HD, no?

as in I install a new app, and run an autoit script that selects it as a running process, and stores its state.

I then load the state later.

kinda like saving a game rom state. You don't really load the rom when you recall the state, you just recall the state and if I am correct, there would be zero boot checks.

??? Am I on the right path here?

Could be many uses, such as picking up on where you left off on virtually anything . . .

[weaponx]

Your talking about something that would probably require driver level access. You can't just save a process, most programs rely on a series of dll's...and ah crap what are you thinking

[John117]

So, how does XP hibernate? Why can you not just capture the memory used by a program? Store the Memory used and recall later? -This is not a real question, just a point the rom states can be saved . . .

Edited July 18, 2007 by Hatcheda

[John117]

A bit futher, how can you save a rom state? I dont mean a game save, but and exact state.

[weaponx]

Windows has driver level access and does cannot discriminate certain file states. When you hibernate it just dumps the contents of ram to a file and when you un-hibernate it pushes that file back into memory. This cannot be done in a scripting language especially.

[tAKTelapis]

I feel compelled to note (on the subject of using such a program to circumvent trial software expiries), that if i were writing an application that had a trial, i would be telling it to poll the system for the date every XX number of hours it is alive, as well as when it is opened and closed. It would involve minimal cpu time, and ensure that even if an application such as you are suggesting were availible, the trial could still end when its time period is up.

That said, i can think of lots of things it would be great for, such as the ability to save sessions as a user, and then log off for another to login, then restore your session once you are done, without having to have fast user switching enabled. or have it taking up user system resources.

[drlava]

This is true, most applications not only check at startup but before any major operation, too. So this would be of little/no utility even if it were done. Methinks he needs to look into paying for the program and IDA Pro.

[ptrex]

@all

If you google it Application hybernate

And there seems to be only one language do deal with it and that is Java.

Have a look.

regards

ptrex

[Windowsknowitall]

@all

If you google it Application hybernate

And there seems to be only one language do deal with it and that is Java.

Have a look.

regards

ptrex

Don't Bother

You cant Emulate any state of hibernation.

If you're referring to a Video Game ROM image

it does not hibernate. The save state created

from a ROM Image is only a bookmark that can

be modified with the right tools.

Windows hiberantes by writing the RAM contents

to the hard drive. When you restart the PC the

Hardware Abstraction Layer file begins to

reverse the hibernation process.

I'd assume that you could also re-reverse the

hibernation process and modify it from the

HAL.dll file.

I Warn you. Messing around with the HAL.dll file

could corrupt your Windows Installation.

HAL.dll is only available in Windows 2000, XP, and Vista