Shell Programming and Scripting

Running bash in cygwin under 2003 Server. I run about 6 shell windows. Every now and then when I check the machine, all of the scripts are scrolling and returning /usr/bin/whatever: command not found.

I checked the event log for a windows event that would cause it, but there was nothing. I would say that it happen once in 3 weeks of running. CPU is minimal, lots of memory. Machine is serving files via ftp and running my script to parse files. No heavy activity.

Thanks.

windows sometimes reacts badly to running lots and lots of external commands in too short a time, even under good conditions. If you reduce the number or at least the speed at which you use shell externals, there will be less chance of error. Can you show the script?

what do you mean by external commands, calling another script, running a windows parser (exe), bash commands or all of the above?

Many 'bash commands' are not actually bash commands. A few like echo and printf are builtin, but cp, mv, ls, awk, sed, cut, and all of those are not 'bash commands'. They're exe files which must be run individually.

So, yes. Probably all of the above.

M$ Windows Server 2003 is unstable (even after Service Pack 2). When posting Microsoft Windows questions, please post the exact version. Run the winver command.
Maybe try scheduling a reboot once-a-week. We do this because Windows Server 2003 rarely stays up for 4 weeks without a hang or a crash.

As @Corona688 requested, please post the script concerned and the exact method of invoking the script. Sometimes the simple addition of a sleep command can reduce the impact of recursive scripts.
If you have the system set for "Automatic Updates" beware that it will reboot whenever Microsoft feel like it.

what's the strategy behind slowing things down, because I'm grepping and awking, parsing, copying, etc. Switch to Linux

The strategy behind slowing things down is because Windows is slow in releasing System Resources.
If you cannot post any detail about this problem, then we must close the thread.