diff --git a/src/homemade_speedstep.c b/src/homemade_speedstep.c
index af90dce..26c4179 100644
--- a/src/homemade_speedstep.c
+++ b/src/homemade_speedstep.c
@@ -88,6 +88,17 @@ int countblanks(char line[]){
   return j;
 }
 
+void newlinetonullbyte(char string[]){
+  int i = 0;
+  while (string[i] != '\0'){
+    if (string[i] == '\n'){
+      string[i] = '\0';
+      break;
+    }
+    i++;
+  }
+}
+
 int main(int argc, char** argv){
   /* check for no arguments or help */
   if (argc == 1 || comparestrings(argv[1], "-h") == 0
@@ -153,13 +164,53 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv){
   /* free memory and close file */
   free(freqsfilec);
   fclose(freqsfile);
+  /* try to open scaling_maximum_frequency, exit on fail */
+  FILE* curmaxfile = fopen(MAXSPDPATH, "r");
+  if (curmaxfile == NULL){
+    fprintf(stderr, "error: couldn't open scaling_maximum_frequency\n");
+    fprintf(stderr, "       check that you have support for cpufreq\n");
+    fprintf(stderr, "       in your kernel and that the program is\n");
+    fprintf(stderr, "       running as root\n");
+    return 5;
+  }
+  /* assign content of curmaxfile to a temporary char array */
+  char *curmaxfreq = malloc(sizeof(char) * 20);
+  getfilec(curmaxfile, curmaxfreq);
+  newlinetonullbyte(curmaxfreq);
+  /* figure out what step we're on */
+  int curstep = -1;
+  for(i = 0; i < stepc; i++){
+    if (comparestrings(steps[i], curmaxfreq) == 0){
+      curstep = i;
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+  /* free memory and close file */
+  free(curmaxfreq);
+  fclose(curmaxfile);
+  /* check if we didn't find our current step, exit on fail */
+  if (curstep == -1){
+    fprintf(stderr, "error: couldn't figure out the current frequency\n");
+    fprintf(stderr, "       check that you have support for cpufreq\n");
+    fprintf(stderr, "       in your kernel and that the program is\n");
+    fprintf(stderr, "       running as root\n");
+    return 6;
+  }
+  FILE* curtempfile;
   /* from here onwards an infinite while loop should start */
+  while((curtempfile = fopen(CURTEMPPATH, "r")) != NULL){
+    char* temperature = malloc(sizeof(char) * 8);
+    getfilec(curtempfile, temperature);
+    newlinetonullbyte(temperature);
+    if (stringtoint(temperature, stringlength(temperature)) >= maxtemp
+        && curstep <= stepc){
+    }
+    free(temperature);
+    fclose(curtempfile);
+  }
   /* cleanup for graceful exit */
   free(steps);
-  FILE* curmaxfile = fopen(MAXSPDPATH, "r");
-  FILE* setspeedfile = fopen(SETSPDPATH, "r");
-  FILE* curtempfile = fopen(CURTEMPPATH, "r");
-  fclose(curmaxfile);
+  FILE* setspeedfile = fopen(SETSPDPATH, "w");
   fclose(setspeedfile);
   fclose(curtempfile);
   return 0;