You are attempting to change your app to handle problems that it should not have to deal with... you should work to ensure that your server is not taken down.

With all the things available, ups, high-end server equipment, etc, this scenario should not happen.

I read where you said your server is win98 - this is an extremely bad idea. Make your client invest in a REAL server (hardware), and work to make it as fault tolerant as you can within the constraints of your client's budget($$). Don't rewrite your application.