Which BOINC questions do you have that you can not get answered?

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Profile Jord
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Message 72372 - Posted: 10 Sep 2016, 20:58:18 UTC

As some of you know I am doing a rewrite of the BOINC FAQs, and while I have work enough to do on then, I can use more and more material. I'm asking for your help on what errors you see, or unknown messages that you can't easily get answered.

I have amassed quite a bit of error messages already, but can always use more. So I'm looking at you. Gather your errors and dump them here. Preferably a direct copy & paste of the error, but if you feel the need to type them, that's all right. Make sure to look for typos though. Images are also welcome.

I don't mind if they're errors that BOINC throws or that you see on erred tasks, but please don't post Windows, Linux or OS X errors. I am not looking for those.

e.g.
Process exited with code 1 (0x1, -255)
Process exited with code 2 (0x2, -254)
Process exited with code 4 (0x4, -252)
Process exited with code 5 (0x5, -251)


or
(Unknown error) - exit code -198 (0xffffff3a)
(unknown error) - exit code -1073740940 (0xc0000374)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741205 (0xc000026b)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741676 (0xc0000094)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741788 (0xc0000024)


or
Cannot create a symbolic link in a registry key that already has subkeys or values. (0x3fc) - exit code 1020 (0x3fc)
Graphics are disabled due to configuration...
Incorrect function. (0x1) - exit code 1 (0x1)


With thanks. :)
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Richard Haselgrove
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Message 72384 - Posted: 11 Sep 2016, 14:33:54 UTC - in response to Message 72372.  

please don't post Windows, Linux or OS X errors. I am not looking for those.

(unknown error) - exit code -1073740940 (0xc0000374)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741205 (0xc000026b)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741676 (0xc0000094)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741788 (0xc0000024)

Not quite sure how those statements go together - I'm assuming that you are aware that the list I've picked out are all Windows application runtime errors, defined in ntstatus.h, found in most Microsoft Visual Studio products?

We had a specific recent problem with one of those - exit code -1073741205 (0xc000026b) - earlier this year, resulting in the SETI thread 1073741205 Error Code (Unknown Error). Note that even the thread title is misleading, because the real exit code 0xc000026b is the unsigned long 3221226091, and it was BOINC that was interpreting numbers over two billion as negative.

At the time, BOINC was actually displaying the codes as 64-bit negative hex strings (0xffffffffc000026b), which completely defeated google lookups. Christian Beer found that David's attempt at a fix didn't work for Einstein, because it mis-formatted and mis-identified some of their application-specific codes. After working together for a while, we ended up with 572c0e46f0e83564de410dec9d5eb1a0fc321e22 - I provided Christian with a list of the codes I'd found discussed on BOINC Message Boards, and those are the ones he picked out as being of general relevance.

0xc0000094 and 0xc000026b will be reported meaningfully on the websites of projects which have updated their BOINC website sources recently: 0xc0000024 is STATUS_OBJECT_TYPE_MISMATCH, and 0xc0000374 is STATUS_HEAP_CORRUPTION.

The one which started us off, 0xc000026b, should be less of a problem in the future: BOINC client v7.6.33 and later contains a bugfix to treat this as a recoverable temporary exit, rather than a hard error.
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Profile Jord
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Message 72386 - Posted: 11 Sep 2016, 15:15:17 UTC - in response to Message 72384.  
Last modified: 11 Sep 2016, 15:18:24 UTC

(unknown error) - exit code -1073740940 (0xc0000374)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741205 (0xc000026b)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741676 (0xc0000094)
(Unknown error) - exit code -1073741788 (0xc0000024)

These aren't Windows errors, they're application errors. These may run in Windows, Linux or whatever, but when they give the error, they're thrown by the application.

With Windows errors I meant the BSOD information. No need for those.
And the same for their counterparts in Linux and OS X.

The one which started us off, 0xc000026b, should be less of a problem in the future: BOINC client v7.6.33 and later contains a bugfix to treat this as a recoverable temporary exit, rather than a hard error.

Not everyone runs the latest client, be it by choice or because their OS/hardware can't do it. So even errors that would have been eradicated in later clients still have a place in this FAQ.

I have material comprising BOINC 5, BOINC 6 and BOINC 7. If it were your FAQs, I suppose you'd do away with the earlier material, which is fine if you feel that way. I do not.
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Richard Haselgrove
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Message 72400 - Posted: 11 Sep 2016, 19:40:12 UTC - in response to Message 72386.  

If it were your FAQs, I suppose you'd do away with the earlier material

No, no - I fully agree with giving information about errors that may be encountered, and the form of words that may be used, when running older clients. But I thought you might also be giving advice about what errors might be cured (or, for that matter, caused) by running a later client - when, in this case, it eventually emerges from Alpha testing.

I did have a longer list of application errors, but I sent it to Christian by PM at Einstein, before they upgraded their website to the Drupal version that maintains (or so I believe - not used it yet) an outbox. I looked for a local copy today, but couldn't find it - I may have to ask Christian to send it back to me.
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Profile Jord
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Message 72408 - Posted: 11 Sep 2016, 21:04:14 UTC - in response to Message 72400.  

I did have a longer list of application errors

Well, to give an idea. The old FAQs had 28 error codes all together, the new FAQs sport already 80. Not all with an explanation yet, but that'll come.

But I thought you might also be giving advice about what errors might be cured (or, for that matter, caused) by running a later client - when, in this case, it eventually emerges from Alpha testing.

In the case of science applications this depends on the project, I think. Because while it's very possible the new client kills the occurrence of the error at one project, it doesn't necessarily kill it at all. The trouble here that I saw in the past is even that an explanation for one project of this error doesn't necessarily mean the same for a next project.

But in my searches I also come across completely new errors like Process exited with code 1282 (0x502) and (Unknown error) - exit code -529697949 (0xe06d7363). I think both were at Gridcoin.
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SekeRob2

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Message 72507 - Posted: 17 Sep 2016, 8:33:55 UTC - in response to Message 72408.  

So happened to stumble on a 225 as exit code (WCG API extract from the result listing), but the log claiming the "Output file xyz for task abc absent". Not in my DB went to look and stumbled on http://boinc.berkeley.edu/error_numbers.h. No idea how current, but it's far more extensive than what I had before.
Coelum Non Animum Mutant, Qui Trans Mare Currunt
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Richard Haselgrove
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Message 72508 - Posted: 17 Sep 2016, 9:21:24 UTC - in response to Message 72507.  
Last modified: 17 Sep 2016, 9:50:41 UTC

It would probably be better to refer to that as

https://github.com/BOINC/boinc/blob/master/lib/error_numbers.h

- that's the current repository which developers will download from for new projects/applications, and where any future changes will be made.

The GIT file was lasted updated five months ago - 3 May 2016 - and your copy is identical.

Afterthought - I'm sure that Jord will be explaining that 99% of the time 'Output file absent' simply means that the application crashed before it could create the file - it's a consequence of a previous problem, not a problem in itself, although that's how users present it at help desks.

Very, very, rarely it turns out that a project administrator has told BOINC to expect an output file in every case, but the application concerned doesn't create it, or only creates it under certain circumstances.
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Profile Jord
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Message 72525 - Posted: 17 Sep 2016, 15:53:18 UTC - in response to Message 72507.  

SekeRob2 wrote:
So happened to stumble on a 225 as exit code

In what context?
Was it a Exit code -225, Exit code 225, Process exited with code 225, (Unknown error) - exit code -225 or (Unknown error) - exit code 225?

These would in theory all be possible and all with a different outcome.

Richard Haselgrove wrote:
... I'm sure that Jord will be explaining that 99% of the time 'Output file absent' simply means that the application crashed before it could create the file

There are still positions free on the writers team, care to join? ;-)
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SekeRob2

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Message 72527 - Posted: 17 Sep 2016, 17:10:08 UTC - in response to Message 72525.  

The can print (contained in the exit code status field of the WCG API) says '225', nothing more, nothing less. The result log claims "process exited with code 225 (0xe1, -31)".
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Message boards : Questions and problems : Which BOINC questions do you have that you can not get answered?

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