Formerly, when I found the duration correction factor (DCF) for a project to be too large, which resulted in the initial time to completion (TTCi) for the just completed WU being greater than the final CPU time (CPUf), I would do the following: I would exit BOINC, open client_state.xml using Notepad, make note of DCF for that project, and multiply that DCF (DCF0) by the ratio of CPUf/TTCi, giving a new DCF (DCF1), with which I would edit client_state.xml, and which I assumed would be used when I allowed a new WU to download. What I found, however, if I immediately exited BOINC following download and opened client_state.xml, was that DCF was greater than DCF1, and in fact was closer to DCF0. This resulted in TTCi for the new WU to be too large, and not reflective of the CPUf for that WU. So, apparently, BOINC ignored DCF1 and calculated it's own DCF, which was a much smaller change from DCF0. This recalculation of DCF by BOINC appears to occur throughout the processing of the WU, as can be seen by exiting BOINC and opening client_state.xml at various times during the processing of the WU. At present, I am not making any changes to DCF, since it is futile. I should have known, since "Resistance is futile", but the scientist and frustrated mathematician in me longs for an accurate TTCi. Can anybody tell me how to conquer this beast?

Steve

Edit: I didn't mean to post this on Questions and Problems, so I have also posted it on Projects.

Pardon my ignorance, but I can't find cc_config.xml, and I don't know what you mean by 'switch on /'.

Pardon my ignorance, but I can't find cc_config.xml, and I don't know what you mean by 'switch on /'.

He ment 'Switch on' / 'Insert' the line in your cc_config.xml
To switch on a logging entry, you change the '0' in the line to a '1',
and if you haven't got the the line in a cc_config.xml you'd need to insert the line,
You won't have a cc_config.xml by default, you have to make it, just copy and paste the following using Notepad (It's Important to use Notepad),
and save the file as cc_config.xml making sure it doesn't have a .txt extension,
then drop the file in your Boinc Data directory, (you can find the location from your Boinc start up messages)
you might have to unhide it, as it's Normally a hidden folder.

<cc_config>
<log_flags>
	<sched_op_debug>0</sched_op_debug>
	<dcf_debug>1</dcf_debug>
</log_flags>
</cc_config>

Boinc Wiki's client configuration page

BOINC FAQ Service's client configuration page

Claggy

Thanks, everybody, for the explanations. I'll try it and see how it goes. But I still have a question (and obviously a lot to learn): Where do I read these log files?

Steve

My brain must have taken a short vacation. Here is the 1st line of my messages tab after I created cc_config.xml, and restarted BOINC:

12/8/2009 4:08:42 PM Missing start tag in cc_config.xml

I do know where the BOINC data directory is, though (C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\BOINC), and I don't have any hidden directories. I just can't explain this error message. Here is my cc_config.xml file.

<cc_config>
<log_flags>
<sched_op_debug>0</sched_op_debug>
<dcf_debug>1</dcf_debug>
</log_flags>
</cc_config>

Copy the text from the cc_config.xml file you posted and paste it in your file, replacing all content. Make sure there are no blank lines in front of the text, or any hyphens (-) anywhere. save the file, then open BOINC Manager-Advanced view->Advanced->Read config file.

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I did what you said. In Notepad there were no blank lines in front of the text, and no hyphens. I saved the file in the BOINC data directory, then opened cc_config.xml. There is a blank line above the text, and hyphens before the first two lines of the text, but these are just for expanding and contracting the lines that come after them. If I click on the hyphen before <cc_config> the hyphen turns into a +, and all the other lines of text disappear, leaving +<cc_config>. Even after I clicked on the bar at the bottom of the IE header to allow scripts and activex controls to run (I don't normally allow it) and again clicked on Read config file, I got the same result.

Oh, you are using IE to open cc_config.xml? Don't do that.

Just copy the following text:
<cc_config>
<log_flags>
<sched_op_debug>0</sched_op_debug>
<dcf_debug>1</dcf_debug>
</log_flags>
</cc_config>

Open Notepad, put the text in it, save the file immediately as cc_config.xml as an All Files option. Or if Notepad adds its .txt extension, rename the file so it doesn't have that extension. Save it wherever you want to, just not in your BOINC Data directory (that's where client_state.xml file lives). Just copy this file to over there, overwriting the one that is already there.

And never open it with IE. IE puts extra code in front of the tags. If you then copy the 'text' and save it as a cc_config.xml file, it'll have the extra code, which breaks it.

---

I really appreciate your time and effort, Ageless, but I am confused. When I created cc_config.xml, I did so using Notepad. I then saved it to the BOINC data directory. I thought that was where it was supposed to go. So I don't know what you mean by

Save it wherever you want to, just not in your BOINC Data directory

And I never copied or saved any text from IE. Sometimes I use IE just to examine the contents of a file. When finished doing that I just close IE. Every time I have created and/or edited cc_config.xml I have immediately saved it to the BOINC data directory. And I don't understand what you mean by

Just copy this file to over there, overwriting the one that is already there.

I could overwrite or delete cc_config.xml from it's current location and paste it somewhere else, but you'll have to tell me where.

My intention is, that if you save the file anywhere else than in the Data directory, that you copy the file to the data directory & overwrite the one there.

If after a BOINC restart the file is still not read without errors, there is some definite corruption going on with the disk, or at least the sector, in which the cc_config.xml file is written in the data directory.

---

One simple question: After I copy your cc_config.xml to Notepad and save it to the desktop, should I copy cc_config.xml from the desktop and paste it to the BOINC Data directory, or should I drag and drop it into the directory?

You can do either.

---

Here's what I did: I ran chkdsk c: /r /x when I restarted the computer. You will recall the meanings of the optional parameters;
/r Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. The disk must be locked.
/x Use with NTFS only. Forces the volume to dismount first, if necessary. All open handles to the drive are invalidated. /x also includes the functionality of /f.
/f Fixes errors on the disk. The disk must be locked. If chkdsk cannot lock the drive, a message appears that asks you if you want to check the drive the next time you restart the computer.
You will also recall the following example (from Help and Support):
If you want to check the disk in drive D and have Windows fix errors, type:

chkdsk d: /f

If it encounters errors, chkdsk pauses and displays messages. Chkdsk finishes by displaying a report that lists the status of the disk.

When I ran chkdsk c: /r /x it never paused and displayed messages. When chkdsk finished, the report it displayed was so fleeting it could not be read.

I then booted into Windows, deleted cc_config.xml, and ran a third party app called PC Matic. Among other things, PC Matic performs defragmentation. Defragmentation involves both moving and consolidating files. I then copied cc_config.xml to the desktop using Notepad, then copied it to the BOINC Data directory. When I restarted BOINC the same error message was written. Given the lack of any error messages when I ran chkdsk, I have to assume there were no errors. And given the file moving and consolidation that occurs during defragmentation, I think the probability that cc_config.xml was written to the exact sector as before was minimized. Actually, if I understand how the OS works, saving the file to another directory, then copying it to the BOINC data directory didn't actually move the file, it just changed the file's starting and ending location in the Master File Table (MFT).

After doing all this I ran chkdsk c: from the command line in Windows, and got the following report:
CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
File verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
Index verification completed.
CHKDSK is recovering lost files.
CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3)...
Security descriptor verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the
master file table (MFT) bitmap.
CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the volume bitmap.
Windows found problems with the file system.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.

39062015 KB total disk space.
21612508 KB in 92518 files.
24488 KB in 6372 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
151979 KB in use by the system.
4096 KB occupied by the log file.
17273040 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
9765503 total allocation units on disk.
4318260 allocation units available on disk.

But I have to take into consideration the following information from Help and Support:
If you run chkdsk without the /f command-line option on an active partition, it might report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive.

I am truely grateful for the help individuals have extended to me on this message board, but I have to ask for feedback on what I have reported in this post.

Steve

Are you sure that you posted the exact content of your cc_config.xml earlier?

There shouldn't be any blanks inside the angle brackets. To be sure, you could remove all blanks (and empty lines) from the file.

If that doesn't apply, you could strip down the file to

<cc_config>
</cc_config>

then expand to

<cc_config>
<log_flags>
</log_flags>
</cc_config>

and

<cc_config>
<log_flags>
<unparsed_xml>1</unparsed_xml>
</log_flags>
</cc_config>

You don't need to restart BOINC each time. Just select "Read config file" from the Advanced menu.

I've copied those lines from my functioning cc_config.xml.

Gruß,
Gundolf

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Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)

I did exactly what you suggested, even creating cc_config.xml in a stepwise manner, using the cc_config.xml you provided. I then saved it to the BOINC Data file, and ran Read config file, which I present below:

12/11/2009 1:18:59 PM Re-reading cc_config.xml
12/11/2009 1:18:59 PM Missing start tag in cc_config.xml
12/11/2009 1:18:59 PM Re-read config file
12/11/2009 1:18:59 PM log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task

One nice thing this time is that no line was in red.

Steve

I think you're jinxed. :-)

---

Just to make sure it isn't that, can you do a chkdsk /f on the disk that your BOINC Data directory is on? You may need to reboot the computer to have Checkdisk run at the start of Windows. (So don't go pressing any key there to speed things up, we're doing this deliberately).

Also, please check in Notepad that you actually have Control Return Line Feeds after each end tag in cc_config.xml
In computer English English, that's an Enter.

So that you don't have all on one line, but actually did do:
<cc_config> Enter
<log_flags> Enter
etc.

Just checking. If you did that and chkdsk doesn't find anything, I really don't know. Then you may consider uninstalling BOINC, moving your BOINC Data directory to a different drive or partition and reinstalling BOINC, making sure you set the path to the Data directory to the new location and trying from there.

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I really appreciate your patience with me, Ageless, as well as the input by others. But to be certain no stone was left unturned, I did run chkdsk c: /f at reboot after reading your last post, although it didn't seem to be necessry, since

/x also includes the functionality of /f.

I was not made aware of any errors. I don't know how to check that Control Return Line Feeds after each end tag in cc_config.xml is active, but I can ensure you that I pressed Enter after each end tag. In my last copy/print activity I just copied the text provided by Gundolf Jahn on 11 Dedember.

My current activity is reinstalling Window from c:\i386, since I know my OS contains corruption, and my install CD was lost in a fire in 2005. Would you know anything about reinstalling the OS from c:\i386? We could PM each other if you feel that topic doesn't belong in this message board.

Steve

My current activity is reinstalling Window from c:\i386, since I know my OS contains corruption, and my install CD was lost in a fire in 2005. Would you know anything about reinstalling the OS from c:\i386? We could PM each other if you feel that topic doesn't belong in this message board.

Actually, long before I started the BOINC FAQ Service, I was using Neil's software already to make another FAQ, for a British PC Magazine.

In it I had lots of similar FAQs, among one of which is Install Windows XP from DOS, which you can use to your advantage on this.

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I don't know how to check that Control Return Line Feeds after each end tag in cc_config.xml is active, but I can ensure you that I pressed Enter after each end tag. In my last copy/print activity I just copied the text provided by Gundolf Jahn on 11 Dedember.

I just had an epiphany :-)

Do you happen to have saved the cc_config.xml file in UTF-8 encoding? If so, three bytes (EF BB BF) are prepended to the file, which are invisible to notepad. I didn't try it out (don't want to mess up my statistics:-), but that would explain the error message of "Missing start tag in cc_config.xml".

To be sure they aren't there, use the "save as" dialog in notepad and choose "ANSI" for encoding.

Gruß,
Gundolf

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Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)