diff --git a/scripts/dev-start.ps1 b/scripts/dev-start.ps1
index 454ddf6..7e954c0 100644
--- a/scripts/dev-start.ps1
+++ b/scripts/dev-start.ps1
@@ -14,11 +14,77 @@ $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
 $root = Split-Path -Parent $PSScriptRoot
 $stateDir = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot '.dev'
 $stateFile = Join-Path $stateDir 'state.json'
+$rootPattern = [regex]::Escape($root)
 $backendLog = Join-Path $stateDir 'backend.log'
+$backendErrLog = Join-Path $stateDir 'backend.err.log'
 $frontendLog = Join-Path $stateDir 'frontend.log'
+$frontendErrLog = Join-Path $stateDir 'frontend.err.log'
 
 New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $stateDir | Out-Null
 
+function Invoke-Compose {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string[]]$Args
+    )
+
+    $podmanCompose = Get-Command podman-compose -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($podmanCompose) {
+        & podman-compose @Args
+        return $LASTEXITCODE
+    }
+
+    $podman = Get-Command podman -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($podman) {
+        & podman compose @Args
+        return $LASTEXITCODE
+    }
+
+    throw 'Neither podman-compose nor podman was found in PATH.'
+}
+
+function Get-CommandLine {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][int]$ProcessId
+    )
+
+    try {
+        $p = Get-CimInstance Win32_Process -Filter "ProcessId=$ProcessId" -ErrorAction Stop
+        return $p.CommandLine
+    } catch {
+        return $null
+    }
+}
+
+function Get-ListeningProcessIdsOnPort {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][int]$Port
+    )
+
+    $connections = netstat -ano 2>$null | Select-String ":$Port\s+.*LISTENING"
+    $pids = @()
+    foreach ($conn in $connections) {
+        $parts = ($conn.Line -replace '\s+', ' ').Trim().Split(' ')
+        $listenerPid = 0
+        [int]::TryParse($parts[-1], [ref]$listenerPid) | Out-Null
+        if ($listenerPid -gt 0) { $pids += $listenerPid }
+    }
+    return ($pids | Select-Object -Unique)
+}
+
+function Test-LikwidProcess {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][int]$ProcessId
+    )
+
+    $cmd = Get-CommandLine -ProcessId $ProcessId
+    if (-not $cmd) { return $false }
+    if ($cmd -match $rootPattern) { return $true }
+    if ($cmd -match 'npm run dev') { return $true }
+    if ($cmd -match 'astro') { return $true }
+    if ($cmd -match 'cargo') { return $true }
+    return $false
+}
+
 # Environment
 if (-not $env:POSTGRES_USER) { $env:POSTGRES_USER = 'likwid' }
 if (-not $env:POSTGRES_PASSWORD) { $env:POSTGRES_PASSWORD = 'likwid' }
@@ -29,22 +95,54 @@ $env:DATABASE_URL = "postgres://$($env:POSTGRES_USER):$($env:POSTGRES_PASSWORD)@
 # Check if already running
 if (Test-Path $stateFile) {
     $state = Get-Content -Raw $stateFile | ConvertFrom-Json -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    $backendAlive = $false
+    $frontendAlive = $false
     if ($state -and $state.backendPid) {
         $p = Get-Process -Id $state.backendPid -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
-        if ($p) {
-            Write-Host "Already running (backend PID $($state.backendPid)). Run dev-stop.ps1 first."
-            exit 0
-        }
+        if ($p) { $backendAlive = $true }
     }
+    if ($state -and $state.frontendPid) {
+        $p = Get-Process -Id $state.frontendPid -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+        if ($p) { $frontendAlive = $true }
+    }
+
+    if ($backendAlive -or $frontendAlive) {
+        Write-Host "Already running. Run dev-stop.ps1 first."
+        exit 0
+    }
+
+    Remove-Item -Force $stateFile -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+}
+
+# Guard against duplicate starts / port conflicts
+foreach ($port in @(3000, 4321)) {
+    $pids = Get-ListeningProcessIdsOnPort -Port $port
+    if (-not $pids -or $pids.Count -eq 0) { continue }
+
+    $likwidPid = $pids | Where-Object { Test-LikwidProcess -ProcessId $_ } | Select-Object -First 1
+    if ($likwidPid) {
+        Write-Host "Already running (detected Likwid process PID $likwidPid listening on port $port). Run dev-stop.ps1 first."
+        exit 0
+    }
+
+    $pidList = ($pids -join ', ')
+    throw "Port $port is already in use by PID(s): $pidList. Stop the process or change ports before starting Likwid."
 }
 
 # Start Podman machine if needed
 try {
     $machines = podman machine list --format json 2>$null | ConvertFrom-Json
+    if (-not $machines) {
+        throw 'No Podman machines found.'
+    }
     $running = $machines | Where-Object { $_.Running -eq $true }
     if (-not $running) {
+        $name = ($machines | Select-Object -First 1).Name
+        if (-not $name) {
+            throw 'No Podman machine name found.'
+        }
         Write-Host "Starting Podman machine..."
-        podman machine start ($machines | Select-Object -First 1).Name 2>$null
+        podman machine start $name 2>$null
     }
 } catch {
     Write-Host "Podman machine check failed (may already be running)"
@@ -56,8 +154,7 @@ $composeFile = Join-Path $root 'compose/dev.yml'
 
 $composeExitCode = 0
 try {
-    podman-compose -f $composeFile up -d 2>$null
-    $composeExitCode = $LASTEXITCODE
+    $composeExitCode = Invoke-Compose -Args @('-f', $composeFile, 'up', '-d')
 } catch {
     $composeExitCode = $LASTEXITCODE
 }
@@ -70,22 +167,32 @@ if ($composeExitCode -ne 0) {
         $containerExistsExitCode = $LASTEXITCODE
     }
     if ($containerExistsExitCode -ne 0) {
-        throw "Failed to start PostgreSQL via podman-compose (exit code: $composeExitCode)."
+        throw "Failed to start PostgreSQL via Podman Compose (exit code: $composeExitCode)."
     }
-    Write-Host "Warning: podman-compose returned exit code $composeExitCode, but likwid-postgres exists. Continuing."
+    Write-Host "Warning: Podman Compose returned exit code $composeExitCode, but likwid-postgres exists. Continuing."
 }
 
 # Wait for PostgreSQL to be ready
 $maxWait = 30
 for ($i = 0; $i -lt $maxWait; $i++) {
-    $pg = netstat -ano 2>$null | Select-String ':5432.*LISTENING'
-    if ($pg) { break }
+    podman exec likwid-postgres pg_isready -U $env:POSTGRES_USER -d $env:POSTGRES_DB 2>$null | Out-Null
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { break }
     Start-Sleep -Seconds 1
 }
 
+podman exec likwid-postgres pg_isready -U $env:POSTGRES_USER -d $env:POSTGRES_DB 2>$null | Out-Null
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+    Write-Host "PostgreSQL did not become ready."
+    podman logs --tail 60 likwid-postgres 2>$null
+    throw "PostgreSQL startup timed out."
+}
+
 Write-Host "Running database migrations..."
 Push-Location (Join-Path $root 'backend')
 try {
+    if (-not (Get-Command sqlx -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+        throw "sqlx CLI not found in PATH. Install with: cargo install sqlx-cli --no-default-features --features postgres"
+    }
     sqlx migrate run --ignore-missing
     if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
         throw "Failed to run database migrations (sqlx migrate run)."
@@ -97,18 +204,20 @@ try {
 # Start backend
 Write-Host "Starting backend..."
 $backend = Start-Process -FilePath 'cmd.exe' `
-    -ArgumentList '/c', 'cargo', 'run', '2>&1' `
+    -ArgumentList '/c', 'cargo', 'run' `
     -WorkingDirectory (Join-Path $root 'backend') `
     -PassThru -WindowStyle Hidden `
-    -RedirectStandardOutput $backendLog
+    -RedirectStandardOutput $backendLog `
+    -RedirectStandardError $backendErrLog
 
 # Start frontend
 Write-Host "Starting frontend..."
 $frontend = Start-Process -FilePath 'cmd.exe' `
-    -ArgumentList '/c', "set PUBLIC_API_BASE=http://127.0.0.1:3000&& npm run dev", '2>&1' `
+    -ArgumentList '/c', "set PUBLIC_API_BASE=http://127.0.0.1:3000&& npm run dev" `
     -WorkingDirectory (Join-Path $root 'frontend') `
     -PassThru -WindowStyle Hidden `
-    -RedirectStandardOutput $frontendLog
+    -RedirectStandardOutput $frontendLog `
+    -RedirectStandardError $frontendErrLog
 
 # Save state
 @{
diff --git a/scripts/dev-stop.ps1 b/scripts/dev-stop.ps1
index ab79528..26e1a66 100644
--- a/scripts/dev-stop.ps1
+++ b/scripts/dev-stop.ps1
@@ -1,71 +1,119 @@
-<#
-.SYNOPSIS
-    Stops the Likwid development environment.
-.DESCRIPTION
-    Gracefully stops backend, frontend, and PostgreSQL container.
-#>
-[CmdletBinding()]
-param()
-
-$ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue'
-
-$root = Split-Path -Parent $PSScriptRoot
-$stateDir = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot '.dev'
-$stateFile = Join-Path $stateDir 'state.json'
-
-function Stop-ProcessSafely([int]$ProcessId, [string]$Name) {
-    if (-not $ProcessId) { return $false }
-    
-    $proc = Get-Process -Id $ProcessId -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
-    if (-not $proc) { return $false }
-    
-    Write-Host "Stopping $Name (PID $ProcessId)..."
-    Stop-Process -Id $ProcessId -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
-    Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 500
-    
-    # Force kill if still running
-    $proc = Get-Process -Id $ProcessId -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
-    if ($proc) {
-        Stop-Process -Id $ProcessId -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
-    }
-    return $true
-}
-
-function Stop-ProcessOnPort([int]$Port) {
-    $connections = netstat -ano 2>$null | Select-String ":$Port.*LISTENING"
-    foreach ($conn in $connections) {
-        $parts = ($conn.Line -replace '\s+', ' ').Trim().Split(' ')
-        $procId = [int]$parts[-1]
-        if ($procId -gt 0) {
-            Stop-ProcessSafely -ProcessId $procId -Name "process on port $Port" | Out-Null
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-Write-Host "=== Stopping Likwid Dev Environment ==="
-
-# Stop from saved state
-if (Test-Path $stateFile) {
-    $state = Get-Content -Raw $stateFile | ConvertFrom-Json -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
-    if ($state) {
-        Stop-ProcessSafely -ProcessId $state.frontendPid -Name 'Frontend' | Out-Null
-        Stop-ProcessSafely -ProcessId $state.backendPid -Name 'Backend' | Out-Null
-    }
-}
-
-# Cleanup any orphaned processes on the ports
-Stop-ProcessOnPort -Port 4321
-Stop-ProcessOnPort -Port 3000
-
-# Stop PostgreSQL container
-Write-Host "Stopping PostgreSQL container..."
-$composeFile = Join-Path $root 'compose/dev.yml'
-podman-compose -f $composeFile down 2>$null
-
-# Clean up state file
-if (Test-Path $stateFile) {
-    Remove-Item -Force $stateFile
-}
-
-Write-Host ""
-Write-Host "All services stopped."
+<#
+.SYNOPSIS
+    Stops the Likwid development environment.
+.DESCRIPTION
+    Gracefully stops backend, frontend, and PostgreSQL container.
+#>
+[CmdletBinding()]
+param()
+
+$ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue'
+
+$root = Split-Path -Parent $PSScriptRoot
+$stateDir = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot '.dev'
+$stateFile = Join-Path $stateDir 'state.json'
+$rootPattern = [regex]::Escape($root)
+
+function Invoke-Compose {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string[]]$Args
+    )
+
+    $podmanCompose = Get-Command podman-compose -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($podmanCompose) {
+        & podman-compose @Args
+        return $LASTEXITCODE
+    }
+
+    $podman = Get-Command podman -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($podman) {
+        & podman compose @Args
+        return $LASTEXITCODE
+    }
+
+    throw 'Neither podman-compose nor podman was found in PATH.'
+}
+
+function Get-CommandLine {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][int]$ProcessId
+    )
+
+    try {
+        $p = Get-CimInstance Win32_Process -Filter "ProcessId=$ProcessId" -ErrorAction Stop
+        return $p.CommandLine
+    } catch {
+        return $null
+    }
+}
+
+function Stop-ProcessSafely([int]$ProcessId, [string]$Name) {
+    if (-not $ProcessId) { return $false }
+    
+    $proc = Get-Process -Id $ProcessId -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if (-not $proc) { return $false }
+    
+    Write-Host "Stopping $Name (PID $ProcessId)..."
+    Stop-Process -Id $ProcessId -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 500
+    
+    # Force kill if still running
+    $proc = Get-Process -Id $ProcessId -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($proc) {
+        Stop-Process -Id $ProcessId -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    }
+    return $true
+}
+
+function Stop-ProcessOnPort([int]$Port) {
+    $connections = netstat -ano 2>$null | Select-String ":$Port.*LISTENING"
+    foreach ($conn in $connections) {
+        $parts = ($conn.Line -replace '\s+', ' ').Trim().Split(' ')
+        $procId = [int]$parts[-1]
+        if ($procId -gt 0) {
+            $cmd = Get-CommandLine -ProcessId $procId
+            $looksLikeLikwid = $false
+            if ($cmd) {
+                if ($cmd -match $rootPattern) { $looksLikeLikwid = $true }
+                if ($cmd -match 'npm run dev') { $looksLikeLikwid = $true }
+                if ($cmd -match 'astro') { $looksLikeLikwid = $true }
+                if ($cmd -match 'cargo') { $looksLikeLikwid = $true }
+            }
+
+            if ($looksLikeLikwid) {
+                Stop-ProcessSafely -ProcessId $procId -Name "process on port $Port" | Out-Null
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+Write-Host "=== Stopping Likwid Dev Environment ==="
+
+# Stop from saved state
+if (Test-Path $stateFile) {
+    $state = Get-Content -Raw $stateFile | ConvertFrom-Json -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($state) {
+        Stop-ProcessSafely -ProcessId $state.frontendPid -Name 'Frontend' | Out-Null
+        Stop-ProcessSafely -ProcessId $state.backendPid -Name 'Backend' | Out-Null
+    }
+}
+
+# Cleanup any orphaned processes on the ports
+Stop-ProcessOnPort -Port 4321
+Stop-ProcessOnPort -Port 3000
+
+# Stop PostgreSQL container
+Write-Host "Stopping PostgreSQL container..."
+$composeFile = Join-Path $root 'compose/dev.yml'
+try {
+    Invoke-Compose -Args @('-f', $composeFile, 'down') | Out-Null
+} catch {
+}
+
+# Clean up state file
+if (Test-Path $stateFile) {
+    Remove-Item -Force $stateFile
+}
+
+Write-Host ""
+Write-Host "All services stopped."