Boinc start on boot using Linux Mint.

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syrphid

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Message 95199 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 15:48:27 UTC
Last modified: 16 Jan 2020, 15:51:01 UTC

Hi,
I installed Boinc 7.9.3 (x64) successfully on a new Linux Mint Cinnamon (19.4) from its software package repository and then using my BAM account got my previous projects. Everything fine.

But now I want Boinc as in Win7 to start automatically when computer boots, because it so far it never did it, though this website https://boinc.berkeley.edu/wiki/Installing_BOINC_on_Ubuntu tells a different story (could not find Boinc in the control centre).
I then added the BoincMgr to the list of programs to be started when computer is booting. Anyway the manager remains empty and tells that he cannot find the client.
Therefore my questions: Which Boinc I've to add to the program start list and where can I find it on the harddisc?
Thanks for any comments (and sorry for the partly inaccurate Linux and Boinc program part translations as they're all in a different langauge here ;-) )
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Profile Dave
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Message 95200 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 16:01:38 UTC - in response to Message 95199.  
Last modified: 16 Jan 2020, 16:02:15 UTC

Never used Mint but I would start by looking in /var/lib/boinc which is the default location.
Have you checked to see if the client is running? Try running

sudo/etc/init.d/boinc-client start
and see if this gets it going.
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syrphid

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Message 95201 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 16:18:32 UTC - in response to Message 95200.  

Never used Mint but I would start by looking in /var/lib/boinc which is the default location.
Have you checked to see if the client is running? Try running

sudo/etc/init.d/boinc-client start
and see if this gets it going.


Thanks. In the location there's a Boinc and Boinc client folder. anyway (sorry I quite new with Linux and still think in Windows patterns) which is the executable file then?
When I start Boinc Manager manually from the start menu everything works and projects are loaded and computed. But the automatic start of the manager fails.
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Profile Dave
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Message 95202 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 17:25:46 UTC - in response to Message 95201.  

Never used Mint but I would start by looking in /var/lib/boinc which is the default location.
Have you checked to see if the client is running? Try running

sudo/etc/init.d/boinc-client start
and see if this gets it going.


Thanks. In the location there's a Boinc and Boinc client folder. anyway (sorry I quite new with Linux and still think in Windows patterns) which is the executable file then?
When I start Boinc Manager manually from the start menu everything works and projects are loaded and computed. But the automatic start of the manager fails.


I think you need to make sure the client is one of the programs that runs at start up. On my Ubuntu box that is under setttings>session and startup which is slightly easier than editing the init file. (In my opinion.)
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syrphid

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Message 95203 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 17:52:26 UTC - in response to Message 95202.  

Never used Mint but I would start by looking in /var/lib/boinc which is the default location.
Have you checked to see if the client is running? Try running

sudo/etc/init.d/boinc-client start
and see if this gets it going.


Thanks. In the location there's a Boinc and Boinc client folder. anyway (sorry I quite new with Linux and still think in Windows patterns) which is the executable file then?
When I start Boinc Manager manually from the start menu everything works and projects are loaded and computed. But the automatic start of the manager fails.


I think you need to make sure the client is one of the programs that runs at start up. On my Ubuntu box that is under setttings>session and startup which is slightly easier than editing the init file. (In my opinion.)


so when I select manually in the startup menu the boinc-client in the init.d folder this should (hopefully) work?
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Profile Dave
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Message 95204 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 17:55:35 UTC - in response to Message 95203.  

so when I select manually in the startup menu the boinc-client in the init.d folder this should (hopefully) work?


I think so, it has always started by default on my Ubuntu machines. Certainly when I wanted to be able to run the windows version under WINE removing it stopped the problems of it starting up and preventing the windows client from running.
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syrphid

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Message 95205 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 18:10:09 UTC - in response to Message 95204.  

so when I select manually in the startup menu the boinc-client in the init.d folder this should (hopefully) work?


I think so, it has always started by default on my Ubuntu machines. Certainly when I wanted to be able to run the windows version under WINE removing it stopped the problems of it starting up and preventing the windows client from running.


I tried now, but it did not work. Also tried it in combination with the Boinc manager (with and without delay in startup), but only the empty manager starts then. Though at the moment nothing is working anymore...hopefully no reinstall necessary.
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Les Bayliss
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Message 95206 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 18:27:40 UTC

What does the Event Log say at line 4?
That's where you can tell if it's running as a daemon.

And just to be picky, the latest version of Mint is 19.3, Tricia
(Which I don't like as much as the version 18s.)
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syrphid

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Message 95210 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 18:54:10 UTC - in response to Message 95206.  

What does the Event Log say at line 4?
That's where you can tell if it's running as a daemon.

And just to be picky, the latest version of Mint is 19.3, Tricia
(Which I don't like as much as the version 18s.)


Hmm, there it's written where the data directory is, or got I the wrong log file?
And yes I use Mint 19.3., as it's freshly installed.
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Les Bayliss
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Message 95211 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 19:04:36 UTC - in response to Message 95210.  

If the Log says: Data directory: /var/lib/boinc-client, then it's not a daemon, and doesn't auto start at boot up.

This is the way mine is, and I prefer it that way, so I've never looked into making it a daemon.
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syrphid

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Message 95212 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 19:07:23 UTC - in response to Message 95211.  

ah okay, thanks for the information. and yes it's that entry, so no daemon.
Anyway I'm used to it, as I don't have to care about then (and don't forget it).
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Profile Keith Myers
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Message 95213 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 20:02:46 UTC - in response to Message 95212.  
Last modified: 16 Jan 2020, 20:04:51 UTC

Don't know anything about Mint . . . . does it have something similar to Startup Applications like Ubuntu? If it does you can pass the startup of the client to the command shell via something like:
sh -c '/usr/bin/boinc'

It sounds like you already have a desktop object to start the Manager and the only thing wrong is the client is not started before invoking the manager. You can always start them manually in a Terminal session to prove things out first. Open a root Terminal session in /usr/bin and type ./boinc to get the client started. Then open another root Terminal session and start the Manager. ./boincmgr and you can see the log of the startup of the client in the Terminal window. If everything works, just get the client running via a Startup Applications entry or make a script to start it via /etc/init.d.
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Les Bayliss
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Message 95214 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 20:40:57 UTC - in response to Message 95213.  

Yes, Mint has Startup Applications, but no, BOINC Manager isn't on the desktop. The icon is in the Menu. (Bottom left corner of the screen.)
And it does have "Add to desktop" as a right-click option.

And thanks for that.
I'll bookmark this for the future, when I'm bound to have forgotten the details. Probably next Tuesday. :(
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syrphid

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Message 95215 - Posted: 16 Jan 2020, 21:37:06 UTC - in response to Message 95213.  
Last modified: 16 Jan 2020, 21:53:04 UTC

Don't know anything about Mint . . . . does it have something similar to Startup Applications like Ubuntu? If it does you can pass the startup of the client to the command shell via something like:
sh -c '/usr/bin/boinc'

It sounds like you already have a desktop object to start the Manager and the only thing wrong is the client is not started before invoking the manager. You can always start them manually in a Terminal session to prove things out first. Open a root Terminal session in /usr/bin and type ./boinc to get the client started. Then open another root Terminal session and start the Manager. ./boincmgr and you can see the log of the startup of the client in the Terminal window. If everything works, just get the client running via a Startup Applications entry or make a script to start it via /etc/init.d.


I tried this by adding the boinc-client from the init.d folder to the startup applications, actually without script but just adding it manually by selecting the file in that folder (Mint offers this in the startup appl.). This did not work.

Also tried out to first start the client and then with a few seconds delay the manager, but only the latter starts but is as described empty and does nothing (all options and buttons greyed out except quitting manager).
When I start the manager from start menu it works normal and does its job, i.e. finds client and projects.
This means when a script helps to get it running on startup are there any available, as I've no idea (as usual).

edit: the ./boinc and ./boinmgr both did work but start a manager that asks for projects (actually I killed the first terminal session "rudely" as the prompt was gone; hopefully this did not kill the client too, as now it seems to be gone too)
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Profile Keith Myers
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Message 95217 - Posted: 17 Jan 2020, 0:56:52 UTC - in response to Message 95215.  

Normally, with Linux and BOINC, just starting the Manager causes the client to start. It sounds like it is running correctly from your Start Menu selection. Does Mint have .desktop files? I would think so since is it Debian under the covers just like Ubuntu. How about creating a .desktop file for Boinc Manager. That is one of the things I had to do when I transitioned from 16.04 to 18.04, I found that in 18.04 the BOINC desktop file was not created. So I made one so that I can Dock the Manager for easy access. I don't have it autostart. This is my Boinc Manager desktop file. Don't know if this might help you. If you have a desktop file, it is just like any other desktop file you have in /usr/share/applications and can be simply added to Startup Applications. You will have to adjust directory locations for your apps.


[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=BOINC Manager
Icon=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC/boincmgr.32x32.png
Path=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC
Exec=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC/boincmgr
StartupNotify=false
StartupWMClass=Boincmgr
OnlyShowIn=Unity;
X-UnityGenerated=true
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ProDigit

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Message 95218 - Posted: 17 Jan 2020, 8:47:44 UTC

If I were you, I'd uninstall boinc, and follow the Gianfranco Costamagna's PPA page on installing a newer version of Boinc:
https://launchpad.net/~costamagnagianfranco/+archive/ubuntu/boinc

Procedure is:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:costamagnagianfranco/boinc
sudo apt-get update


Boinc will automatically start when it was running before you closed off the PC.
If you pause it, before shutting down the PC, it will boot up with Boinc paused.
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Les Bayliss
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Message 95222 - Posted: 17 Jan 2020, 9:53:59 UTC - in response to Message 95218.  

That version is missing some of the menu options for controlling BOINC, and there are those of us who don't want to go down that path.
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syrphid

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Message 95232 - Posted: 17 Jan 2020, 18:46:13 UTC - in response to Message 95217.  
Last modified: 17 Jan 2020, 18:54:41 UTC

Normally, with Linux and BOINC, just starting the Manager causes the client to start. It sounds like it is running correctly from your Start Menu selection. Does Mint have .desktop files? I would think so since is it Debian under the covers just like Ubuntu. How about creating a .desktop file for Boinc Manager. That is one of the things I had to do when I transitioned from 16.04 to 18.04, I found that in 18.04 the BOINC desktop file was not created. So I made one so that I can Dock the Manager for easy access. I don't have it autostart. This is my Boinc Manager desktop file. Don't know if this might help you. If you have a desktop file, it is just like any other desktop file you have in /usr/share/applications and can be simply added to Startup Applications. You will have to adjust directory locations for your apps.

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=BOINC Manager
Icon=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC/boincmgr.32x32.png
Path=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC
Exec=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC/boincmgr
StartupNotify=false
StartupWMClass=Boincmgr
OnlyShowIn=Unity;
X-UnityGenerated=true

Now I wonder, if a desktop file is the same as the desklets available for Mint? Sorry, perhaps more a question for Less Bayliss.
Anyway I'll try and try...
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syrphid

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Message 95241 - Posted: 17 Jan 2020, 21:45:21 UTC - in response to Message 95232.  
Last modified: 17 Jan 2020, 21:47:41 UTC

Normally, with Linux and BOINC, just starting the Manager causes the client to start. It sounds like it is running correctly from your Start Menu selection. Does Mint have .desktop files? I would think so since is it Debian under the covers just like Ubuntu. How about creating a .desktop file for Boinc Manager. That is one of the things I had to do when I transitioned from 16.04 to 18.04, I found that in 18.04 the BOINC desktop file was not created. So I made one so that I can Dock the Manager for easy access. I don't have it autostart. This is my Boinc Manager desktop file. Don't know if this might help you. If you have a desktop file, it is just like any other desktop file you have in /usr/share/applications and can be simply added to Startup Applications. You will have to adjust directory locations for your apps.

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=BOINC Manager
Icon=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC/boincmgr.32x32.png
Path=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC
Exec=/home/keith/Desktop/BOINC/boincmgr
StartupNotify=false
StartupWMClass=Boincmgr
OnlyShowIn=Unity;
X-UnityGenerated=true

Now I wonder, if a desktop file is the same as the desklets available for Mint? Sorry, perhaps more a question for Less Bayliss.
Anyway I'll try and try...

Forget the last question, it's not the same.
When creating such a desktop file I found an already exiting one in that directory, I guess it's the one I use when starting boinc manually from startup applications (it's in system administration menu) This works as it should except that it's not starting automatically.
Content is:
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Version=1.0
Exec=boincmgr
Path=/var/lib/boinc-client
Icon=boincmgr
Categories=System;Monitor;GTK;
Keywords=computation;science;
Name=BOINC Manager
GenericName=BOINC monitor and control utility
GenericName[cs]=Monitorovací a ovládací nástroj pro BOINC
GenericName[de]=BOINC Ãœberwachungs- und Kontrollprogramm
GenericName[pt]=Monitorização BOINC e utilitário de controlo
GenericName[pt_BR]=Utilitário de controle e monitoramento do BOINC
Comment=Configure or monitor a BOINC core client
Comment[cs]=Monitoruje a nastavuje klienta BOINC
Comment[de]=BOINC Basis Client konfigurieren oder überwachen
Comment[pt]=Configurar ou monitorizar o cliente básico do BOINC
Comment[pt_BR]=Configure ou monitore o cliente básico do BOINC


Would it be a solution to move it to startup applications?
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Profile Dave
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Message 95250 - Posted: 18 Jan 2020, 6:49:06 UTC - in response to Message 95241.  

With Ubuntu, the client is normally in start up applications by default meaning any tasks already downloaded start running shortly after login. I have taken to only starting the manager when I want to have a look at what is happening, on the basis that it frees up as much memory as possible. So moving into start up applications would seem to me the logical thing to do.
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Message boards : Questions and problems : Boinc start on boot using Linux Mint.

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