I personally use NotesMedic Pro (at http://www.cassetica.com/cassetica/notesmedic.asp) from Cassetica, and it works fine on my computer which has both Notes R5 and 6 loaded. After it kills all Notes-related processes, it even asks me if I want to launch Notes R5 or 6, which is very handy. The other programs should work for you as well, so choose which ever one strikes your fancy (although NotesMedic Pro is the standard to compare them by).

Here's a few more you should definitely try out:

• ZapNotes 3.4 from LDD Sandbox, at http://lotus.com/ldd/sandbox.nsf/0/8aa14311cb0c51c388256aa400804e4e

• Killnotes.exe, also from LDD Sandbox at http://lotus.com/ldd/sandbox.nsf/0/7b70d2411b8dec9688256acb005c433f

• StopNotes is tool that stops processes on a Domino server from LDD Sandbox. It's available from http://lotus.com/ldd/sandbox.nsf/0/2842da78ef0a921385256a6c00490778

Also, check out Jake Howlett's excellent article entitled "What to do when Notes crashes" on Codestore.net at http://codestore.net/A55692/store.nsf/all/BBF86425B1EAB02380256A300058CDC5

Now you don't have any reason to suffer through the pain of having to restart your computer after Notes crashes. And if you already have one of these programs installed on your computer, forward this tip to other people who don't so they can save time and avoid pain as well. You'll be creating good Notes karma.

Dan Velasco is a Senior Technical Editor for WebSpherePower Magazine and DominoPower Magazine. He's a Sun Certified Java Programmer, Sun Certified Web Component Developer and an IBM Certified Solution Developer for WebSphere Studio V5.0. He's also a Principal CLP Application Developer (R4, R5 and ND6) as well as a CLP System Administrator (R4 and R5). You can reach him via email at dvelasco@webspherepower.com or on the Web at http://DanVelasco.com.