Subject: Running BOINC Project (SETI@home) for 48 Hours Killed My Galax GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB GDDR5 GPU

Good day from Singapore,

I bought my Galax GeForce GTX1650 4 GB GDDR5 GPU on 29th September 2019 Sunday.

REFERENCES:

[1] http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1909.3/04148.html

[2] http://lists.linuxfromscratch.org/pipermail/lfs-chat/2019-September/029039.html

[3] https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-chat/2019-September/007361.html

[4] https://lkml.org/lkml/2019/10/1/200

[5] http://lists.linuxfromscratch.org/pipermail/lfs-chat/2019-October/029040.html

[6] https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-chat/2019-October/007363.html

At the time of this writing, it is 5th October 2019 Saturday.

Over the past 48 hours, I have been running BOINC project (SETI@home) on my Windows 10 Home Edition home desktop computer. This morning, my home desktop computer suddenly gave me a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with the error code: "Windows System Exception".

I thought my Windows 10 had become corrupted. ***Every time Windows 10 boots up, it would show me a BLANK SCREEN after a few seconds.***

I have tried the following resolution methods for about 2 hours on a Saturday morning but NOTHING worked.

1. I tried to perform Windows Startup Repair but it would not run.

2. I tried to start Windows in SAFE mode but it would show me a BLANK SCREEN as well.

3. I tried to start Windows in SAFE mode with Networking but it would show me a BLANK SCREEN as well.

4. I tried to start Windows with low video resolution but it would show me a BLANK SCREEN as well.

5. I tried to start Windows with Driver Signature Signing disabled but it would show me a BLANK SCREEN as well.

6. I tried to run "sfc /scannow" on a command prompt but it would not run.

7. I tried to uninstall Windows quality updates but it would still show me a BLANK SCREEN.

8. I tried to uninstall Windows feature update but it would still show me a BLANK SCREEN.

9. I tried to perform System Restore but Windows would still show me a BLANK SCREEN.

In short, none of the resolution methods which I have tried above worked.

Exasperated, I tried to reset Windows 10 while retaining personal data. After resetting Windows 10, I *successfully* booted into Windows with a Basic Microsoft Display Adapter Driver. Then I tried to install NVIDIA drivers. When NVIDIA drivers started to load, my Windows showed me a BLANK SCREEN AGAIN. At this point, I realized that my Galax GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB GDDR5 GPU has been killed/fried by BOINC project (SETI@home).

On 5th October 2019 Saturday afternoon, I took my Galax GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB GDDR5 GPU to the 4th story computer shop in Sim Lim Square in Singapore for a 7-day 1-to-1 exchange, citing that the Galax GPU has malfunctioned. The shop keeper gave me a MSI GeForce GTX 1650 Ventus XS OC 4 GB GDDR5 GPU as replacement but I have to top up SGD$10.

When I brought the replacement MSI GeForce GTX 1650 Ventus XS OC 4 GB GDDR5 GPU home, I plugged it into my home desktop computer and Windows 10 booted up *SUCCESSFULLY*. I proceeded to reinstall NVIDIA drivers again. Everything went well and everything is working fine now.

Conclusion: BOINC project (SETI@home) fried my Galax GeForce GTX1650 4 GB GDDR5 GPU after 48 hours. Now I am actually afraid of running SETI@home again for fear of frying my replacement MSI GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB GDDR5 GPU again.

Question: Will BOINC project (SETI@home) be able to work towards ensuring that it will not fry anyone's GPU again? I had my whole Saturday wasted. It was only Saturday evening when I returned home and got everything working again.

Thank you very much.

Mr. Turritopsis Dohrnii Teo En Ming
Republic of Singapore
5th October 2019 Saturday 10.56 PM Singapore Time

I haven't personally run any projects using graphics cards but am a bit surprised. I thought unless overridden, thermal protection should cut in and throttle the speed of the graphics card. Makes me wonder if there was a problem with the card itself?

May have been a GPU with a fault already in it. Or perhaps it had no fan, or you didn't plug in (enough) Pcie power connectors for the GPU and fans to have enough power.

In any case, from https://setiathome.berkeley.edu/info.php


Is it safe to run SETI@home?

Any time you download a program through the Internet you are taking a chance: the program might have dangerous errors, or the download server might have been hacked. SETI@home has made efforts to minimize these risks. We have tested our applications carefully. Our servers are behind a firewall and are configured for high security. To ensure the integrity of program downloads, all executable files are digitally signed on a secure computer not connected to the Internet.

The applications run by SETI@home may cause some computers to overheat. If this happens, stop running SETI@home or use a utility program that limits CPU usage.

SETI@home was developed by University of California. BOINC was developed at the University of California.
Liability

SETI@home and University of California assume no liability for damage to your computer, loss of data, or any other event or condition that may occur as a result of participating in SETI@home.

From https://boinc.berkeley.edu/wiki/Usage_rules

Is it safe to run BOINC?

Any time you download a program through the Internet you are taking a chance: the program might have dangerous errors, or the download server might have been hacked.
Liability

The BOINC project and the University of California assume no liability for damage to your computer, loss of data, or any other event or condition that may occur as a result of participating in BOINC-based projects.

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I've been running SETI@Home for over ten years on GPUs. In that time I've had two "dead on arrival" - GPUs that failed within the first couple of days of 24hrs/day operation. One suffered a fan destroying itself, and the other "just failed".
If we lay aside the two GTX690s that got drowned by a domestic water pipe bursting and spraying water all over them I've had another three fail, after several years of 24/7, but quite a few fans have failed - again after years of service not hours/days.

I suspect your GPU suffered a premature failure - it does happen, but is very rare.