On OS X (10.4.8 Intel), installation 5.8.11 goes fine, but BOINCManager fails to start with the following error...

BOINC ownership or permissions are not set properly; please reinstall BOINC.
(Error code -1010)

Reinstallation has no effect. Have also cleared out all BOINC-related files throughout the system and retried to no avail.

One possibly relevant data point: installing user account is not an administrator, but authenticated as one during installation.

5.4 series previously worked fine on this same machine.

The 5.8.11 core client is unusable on my Mac OS X box. It is apparently creating pipes and not releasing them, so that it exhausts the available filehandles (confirmed with lsof). This causes the client to fail in opening the state files.

Recent changes:

Charlie 14 Feb 2007
    - MAC: If relaunching AppStats due to an error, close any open
        file descriptors (we communicate with AppStats via a bidirectional
        pipe.)

    lib/
        procinfo_mac.C

Should be available on next release.

The 5.8.11 core client is unusable on my Mac OS X box. It is apparently creating pipes and not releasing them, so that it exhausts the available filehandles (confirmed with lsof). This causes the client to fail in opening the state files.

Answer from Charlie Fenton:

I asked David Anderson about this, and he replied
At 8:42 AM -0800 2/14/07, David Anderson wrote:
> No ideas; we haven't made any changes that
> would affect file handles, as far as I know.
> BOINC doesn't use pipes.
> Maybe this guy is confused.

I set BOINC 5.8.11 to Run Always, and ran lsof with the command:
sudo lsof -cboinc -cBOINC

This lists all open file descriptors (file handles) for BOINC Manager and BOINC Client. It shows no open file handles of type PIPE. (The bi-directional pipe used to communicate with the AppStats helper application actually uses sockets, not pipes.)

---

On OS X (10.4.8 Intel), installation 5.8.11 goes fine, but BOINCManager fails to start with the following error...

BOINC ownership or permissions are not set properly; please reinstall BOINC.
(Error code -1010)

Reinstallation has no effect. Have also cleared out all BOINC-related files throughout the system and retried to no avail.

One possibly relevant data point: installing user account is not an administrator, but authenticated as one during installation.

5.4 series previously worked fine on this same machine.

Answer from Charlie Fenton:

"This is a problem with the new sandbox security. As explained in the ReadMe file and at http://boinc.berkeley.edu/sandbox_user.php:

Starting with version 5.5.4 of BOINC for the Macintosh, the BOINC installer creates 2 new 'hidden' users boinc_master and boinc_project, and two new 'hidden' groups, also named boinc_master and boinc_project (unless they were created by a previous installation of BOINC.)

Error -1010 means that user boinc_project does not exist. For some reason, the installer apparently failed to create it. The Netinfo Manager application in the /Application/Utilities directory can be used to examine, create and delete users and groups.

I cannot reproduce this. After deleting BOINC and the users and groups created by the installer, I successfully installed from a non-administrator user account. Does he have the problem when he installs from an administrator accoount? Does Netinfo Manager show the users and groups boinc_master and boinc_project?"

---
Could you please report more on this?

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The short story:
the postinstall script was failing, and it looks like a path problem with that script.

Details:
I cleaned up again and tried to install using an administration account this time. No improvement, and the boinc users and groups mentioned above were not visible to NetInfo Manager. The install log (viewable with /Applications/Utilities/Console) had this to say...

: 	run postinstall script for BOINC Manager
: postinstall[315]: csh: Contents/Resources/PostInstall.app/Contents/MacOS/PostInstall: Command not found.
: postinstall[315]: 
: postinstall[315]: [1] 317
: postinstall[315]: 
: 	Performing post-extraction actions
: postinstall[315]: csh: Contents/Resources/PostInstall.app/Contents/MacOS/PostInstall: Command not found.
: postinstall[315]: 
: 	Assembling receipt

So I drilled down into the packages to have a look for this PostInstall stuff, and with my
current directory well down into the installation app, at...

   "boinc_5.8.11_macOSX_universal/BOINC Installer.app/Contents/Resources/BOINC.pkg"

..I was able to manually sudo these two commands to complete the install...

$ sudo Contents/Resources/Postinstall.app/Contents/MacOS/Postinstall -part1 
$ sudo Contents/Resources/Postinstall.app/Contents/MacOS/Postinstall -part2

After this, BOINC worked fine from either user account.

I got these commands from the postinstall script at...

  "boinc_5.8.11_macOSX_universal/BOINC Installer.app/Contents/Resources/BOINC.pkg/Contents/Resources/postinstall"

...and as to why they were not found by that script, I do not know for certain, but it looks like the cd "$1" isn't getting to BOINC.pkg, as the remainder of the script suggests that it should. In retropect, I don't know the commands above needed to be sudo-ed, but that's what I happened to have done.

Forwarded to Charlie. It may well be that this person has the same problem. I asked Charlie to check the install scripts.

Either I'll answer back here, or he will do it. With thanks already for the report.

---

The short story:
the postinstall script was failing, and it looks like a path problem with that script.

I've still not been able to reproduce your problem. What is the full path to your BOINC Installer application? Have you tried running it from the Desktop folder?

Cheers,
--Charlie

---

Charlie Fenton
BOINC / SETI@home Macintosh & Windows Programmer

Dunno if that's related but I just 'installed' boinc 5.8.11 on my osx box (overwritten my previous 5.4.9 files) and started boinc (no gui) with:
./boinc -return_results_immediately -allow_remote_gui_rpc -daemon -insecure &

stdoutae.txt shows this:
2007-02-17 14:26:44 [---] [error] Process 1630 not found
2007-02-17 14:26:55 [---] [error] Process 1631 not found
2007-02-17 14:27:05 [---] [error] Process 1632 not found
2007-02-17 14:27:15 [---] [error] Process 1633 not found
2007-02-17 14:27:25 [---] [error] Process 1634 not found
2007-02-17 14:27:35 [---] [error] Process 1635 not found
2007-02-17 14:27:45 [---] [error] Process 1636 not found
2007-02-17 14:27:55 [---] [error] Process 1637 not found
2007-02-17 14:28:05 [---] [error] Process 1638 not found
2007-02-17 14:28:15 [---] [error] Process 1645 not found

ie: this message is displayed every 10s, and the PID number seems to be incremented in a relatively steady way.

stderrae.txt contains:
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader

The projects are running (ie, using CPU) but don't seem to be making much progress...

HTH

The projects are running (ie, using CPU) but don't seem to be making much progress...

BOINC eventually sort of crashed:

2007-02-17 17:17:30 [---] [error] Process 3782 not found
2007-02-17 17:17:40 [---] [error] /AppStats: pipe error 24: Too many open files
2007-02-17 17:17:50 [---] [error] /AppStats: pipe error 24: Too many open files
2007-02-17 17:18:00 [---] [error] /AppStats: pipe error 24: Too many open files
2007-02-17 17:18:10 [---] [error] /AppStats: pipe error 24: Too many open files
2007-02-17 17:18:20 [---] [error] /AppStats: pipe error 24: Too many open files
2007-02-17 17:55:12 [---] [error] No HTTP input file acct_mgr_request.xml
2007-02-17 17:55:12 [---] [error] Can't open client_state_next.xml: system fopen2007-02-17 17:55:12 [---] [error] Couldn't write state file: system fopen
2007-02-17 17:56:12 [World Community Grid] Task B24010_0086_YTMA71-103-12-4_2 exited with zero status but no 'finished' file
2007-02-17 17:56:12 [World Community Grid] If this happens repeatedly you may need to reset the project.
2007-02-17 17:56:12 [---] [error] Can't get task disk usage: system opendir
2007-02-17 17:56:12 [World Community Grid] [error] Failed to open init file slots/1/init_data.xml
2007-02-17 17:56:12 [World Community Grid] [error] Signature verification error
for wcg_hdc_tma_5.15_powerpc-apple-darwin
2007-02-17 17:56:12 [World Community Grid] Deferring communication for 1 min 0 sec
2007-02-17 17:56:12 [World Community Grid] Reason: Unrecoverable error for result B24010_0086_YTMA71-103-12-4_2 (Can't write init file)
2007-02-17 17:56:12 [---] [error] Can't open client_state_next.xml: system fopen2007-02-17 17:56:12 [---] [error] Couldn't write state file: system fopen
2007-02-17 17:57:12 [World Community Grid] Task B24008_0131_YTMA71-102-3-21-c1_2 exited with zero status but no 'finished' file
2007-02-17 17:57:12 [World Community Grid] If this happens repeatedly you may need to reset the project.
2007-02-17 17:57:12 [World Community Grid] Deferring communication for 1 min 0 sec
2007-02-17 17:57:12 [World Community Grid] Reason: Unrecoverable error for result B24008_0131_YTMA71-102-3-21-c1_2 (app_version download error: couldn't get input files:
<file_xfer_error>
<file_name>wcg_hdc_tma_5.15_powerpc-apple-darwin</file_name>
<error_code>-120</error_code>
<error_message>signature verification error</error_message>
</file_xfer_error>
)
2007-02-17 17:57:12 [World Community Grid] Computation for task B24010_0086_YTMA71-103-12-4_2 finished
2007-02-17 17:57:12 [---] [error] Can't open client_state_next.xml: system fopen2007-02-17 17:57:12 [---] [error] Couldn't write state file: system fopen

and then dozen of "couldn't write state file: system fopen" lines until I killed the daemon and eventually reverted to 5.4.9.

HTH

The projects are running (ie, using CPU) but don't seem to be making much progress...

BOINC eventually sort of crashed:

[...]

and then dozen of "couldn't write state file: system fopen" lines until I killed the daemon and eventually reverted to 5.4.9.

HTH

See my posting here. Should be fixed on 5.8.12 (and 5.8.13 coming soon).

BulletZ wrote:

[quote]The projects are running (ie, using CPU) but don't seem to be making much progress...

Please try BONC 5.8.12 and let me know if that solved your problem. You can find it at
http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download_all.php

---

Charlie Fenton
BOINC / SETI@home Macintosh & Windows Programmer

BulletZ wrote:

Dunno if that's related but I just 'installed' boinc 5.8.11 on my osx box (overwritten my previous 5.4.9 files) and started boinc (no gui) with:
./boinc -return_results_immediately -allow_remote_gui_rpc -daemon -insecure &

What are the group, user (owner) and permisisons of:
- boinc client?
- the switcher directory
- the contents of the switcher directory, especially the Appstats application?

---

Charlie Fenton
BOINC / SETI@home Macintosh & Windows Programmer

Also, did you run the Mac_SA_Insecure.sh script after copying all the files into your BOINC Data directory?

In general, we do not recommend installing BOINC in this way. It is better to use the BOINC Installer and then disable auto-start of the manager. For details, please see
url=http://boinc.berkeley.edu/mac_admin_tools.php]http://boinc.berkeley.edu/mac_admin_tools.php[/url]

Why do you need to run with sandbox security disabled?

BulletZ wrote:

Dunno if that's related but I just 'installed' boinc 5.8.11 on my osx box (overwritten my previous 5.4.9 files) and started boinc (no gui) with:
./boinc -return_results_immediately -allow_remote_gui_rpc -daemon -insecure &

What are the group, user (owner) and permisisons of:
- boinc client?
- the switcher directory
- the contents of the switcher directory, especially the Appstats application?

---

Charlie Fenton
BOINC / SETI@home Macintosh & Windows Programmer

Please try BONC 5.8.12 and let me know if that solved your problem. You can find it at
http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download_all.php

I can't find 5.8.12 at the above mentioned URL. Should I try 5.8.14?

Also, did you run the Mac_SA_Insecure.sh script after copying all the files into your BOINC Data directory?

No. And reading it, there's no way I'm gonna have some unknown binary (AppStat) setuid root on my machine (the Mac_SA_Secure.sh script does the same, that certainly doesn't qualify as "secure" in my eyes).

In general, we do not recommend installing BOINC in this way. It is better to use the BOINC Installer and then disable auto-start of the manager.
[...]
Why do you need to run with sandbox security disabled?

I enjoyed the fact that boinc could be run 'as-is' by any user without hassle. I don't want to have to have to create a new user for boinc on this particular system. The fact that the binary was running as user <foo> where foo is the owner of all files and the user which started the executable was absolutely fine with me. I can handle ACLs and restrictions on my own.

If that means I have to stick with 5.4.9 that's fine with me.

[quote]
> Maybe this guy is confused.

I set BOINC 5.8.11 to Run Always, and ran lsof with the command:
sudo lsof -cboinc -cBOINC

This lists all open file descriptors (file handles) for BOINC Manager and BOINC Client. It shows no open file handles of type PIPE. (The bi-directional pipe used to communicate with the AppStats helper application actually uses sockets, not pipes.)

Is it possible that we're seeing different behaviors then, for some reason. I'm getting a continuous stream of errors from the BOINC client like this:

SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
2007-02-18 12:35:35 [---] [error] Process 26867 not found

BulletZ wrote:

No. And reading it, there's no way I'm gonna have some unknown binary (AppStat) setuid root on my machine (the Mac_SA_Secure.sh script does the same, that certainly doesn't qualify as "secure" in my eyes).

I certainly understand your concern. For what it's worth, BOINC is open source. The source code for AppStats is available here

AppStats must run as root to have access to information about running applications, for the same reason such standard utilities as usr/bin/top and bin/ps run setuid root. We don't like to have to do this either, which is why we are using a separate tiny helper application for these functions. If you can suggest a way to obtain the necessary information without running as root, we would love to know about it.

---

Charlie Fenton
BOINC / SETI@home Macintosh & Windows Programmer

Brent N wrote:

Is it possible that we're seeing different behaviors then, for some reason. I'm getting a continuous stream of errors from the BOINC client like this:

SIGPIPE: write on a pipe with no reader
2007-02-18 12:35:35 [---] [error] Process 26867 not found

Are you running the bare client rather than using the full BOINC installer? If so, please make sure you've run either the Mac_SA_Secure.sh script or the Mac_SA_Insecure.sh script after copying all the files into your BOINC Data directory. As I wrote in my earlier post to BulletZ:

[quote]In general, we do not recommend installing BOINC in this way. It is better to use the BOINC Installer and then disable auto-start of the manager. For details, please see
url=http://boinc.berkeley.edu/mac_admin_tools.php]http://boinc.berkeley.edu/mac_admin_tools.php[/url]
/quote]

Please let me know if this solves your problem.

---

Charlie Fenton
BOINC / SETI@home Macintosh & Windows Programmer

BulletZ wrote:

[there's no way I'm gonna have some unknown binary (AppStat) setuid root on my machine (the Mac_SA_Secure.sh script does the same, that certainly doesn't qualify as "secure" in my eyes).

I'm pleased to tell you that, in response to your concerns, we have found a way to eliminate the need for the AppStats helper application starting with BOINC version 5.8.15. You should now be able to drag-install the bare client and its associated applications without needing to set any permissions or ownership, as long as you run the bare BOINC client with the -insecure option.

There is no longer the need to run anything as root.

Version 5.8.15 is currently in alpha test, and there may be further changes before the next public release. But you can download it from the "All versions" page. (There is a link to this page from the standard download page.)

Please let me know if you have any further problems with version 5.8.15.

---

Charlie Fenton
BOINC / SETI@home Macintosh & Windows Programmer

Boincer wrote:

The short story:
the postinstall script was failing, and it looks like a path problem with that script.

[ snip ]

The install log (viewable with /Applications/Utilities/Console) had this to say...

: 	run postinstall script for BOINC Manager
: postinstall[315]: csh: Contents/Resources/PostInstall.app/Contents/MacOS/PostInstall: Command not found.

I would greatly appreciate your help in trying to figure out why you have been having problems.

I have added some debugging statements to the BOINC Installer's postinstall and postupgrade scripts. Please do the following:

• Download and run the BOINC 5.8.15 Macintosh installer. Version 5.8.15 is currently in alpha test, and there may be further changes before the next public release. But you can download it from the "All versions" page. (There is a link to this page from the standard download page.)
• As soon as you see the installer's window, type command-L and command-3. This should open an Installer Log window and set it to "Show everything."
• Continue running the installer.
• Before you close the installer, save the log to a file by clicking "Save" on the Installer Log window.
• Look for 3 lines in the saved Installer Log which include something like:
: postinstall[27266]: initial directory =
: postinstall[27266]: argument 1 =
: postinstall[27266]: new directory =
• Please copy these entire lines into a reply to this post. (There may be additional lines between these three.)
• Also, please tell me the full path to your BOINC Installer application.

You may need to run the scripts again. If so, you might find it easier to run this script. Just look at the script with TextEdit; it has directions for running it. (Please let me know if this script doesn't work for you.)

Thank you for your assistance.

---

Charlie Fenton
BOINC / SETI@home Macintosh & Windows Programmer