Below in the first block is the information on my computer. In the 2nd block is the information from when I start Boinc.

The problem I encounter is that Boinc appears to run fine for a while, then my computer starts to act strange. It will lock up completely, either with a blank screen or not (Not the BSD). Also, I will lose internet connectivity and only regain it if I reboot. If I suspend Boinc, all runs well. I am getting to the point of just uninstalling, but I would really like to run this! Any suggestions?

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name IBM-9409F4EC8BC
System Manufacturer IBM
System Model 23736YU
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 13 Stepping 6 GenuineIntel ~1694 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date IBM 1RETDPWW (3.21 ), 6/2/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.33
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
DirectX version 9.0c
Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 503.12 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 3.85 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys


9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Starting BOINC client version 6.10.58 for windows_intelx86
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Libraries: libcurl/7.19.7 OpenSSL/0.9.8l zlib/1.2.3
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Data directory: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\BOINC
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Running under account Dan Davies
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Processor: 1 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.70GHz [Family 6 Model 13 Stepping 6]
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Processor features: fpu vme de pse tsc msr mce cx8 sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss tm tm2 pbe
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM OS: Microsoft Windows XP: Professional x86 Edition, Service Pack 3, (05.01.2600.00)
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Memory: 2.00 GB physical, 3.85 GB virtual
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Disk: 69.80 GB total, 44.81 GB free
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM Local time is UTC -7 hours
9/4/2010 6:48:37 PM No usable GPUs found
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM climateprediction.net URL http://climateprediction.net/; Computer ID 1013925; resource share 100
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Einstein@Home URL http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/; Computer ID 2105127; resource share 100
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Milkyway@home URL http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/; Computer ID 109335; resource share 100
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM orbit@home URL http://orbit.psi.edu/oah/; Computer ID 36541; resource share 100
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM SETI@home URL http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/; Computer ID 5122766; resource share 50
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Cosmology@Home URL http://www.cosmologyathome.org/; Computer ID 77872; resource share 100
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Cosmology@Home General prefs: from Cosmology@Home (last modified 06-Jan-2010 12:56:05)
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Cosmology@Home Host location: none
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Cosmology@Home General prefs: using your defaults
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Reading preferences override file
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Preferences:
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM max memory usage when active: 614.08MB
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM max memory usage when idle: 1637.54MB
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM max disk usage: 3.00GB
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM don't use GPU while active
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM suspend work if non-BOINC CPU load exceeds 25 %
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM (to change preferences, visit the web site of an attached project, or select Preferences in the Manager)
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Cosmology@Home Task wu_081210_011721_1_1_0 is 8.18 days overdue; you may not get credit for it. Consider aborting it.
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Not using a proxy
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Running CPU benchmarks
9/4/2010 6:48:38 PM Suspending computation - running CPU benchmarks
9/4/2010 6:49:09 PM Benchmark results:
9/4/2010 6:49:09 PM Number of CPUs: 1
9/4/2010 6:49:09 PM 1394 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) per CPU
9/4/2010 6:49:09 PM 2805 integer MIPS (Dhrystone) per CPU

Check in your Event Viewer (Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Event Viewer) for possible causes. (In the system and applications logs).

If your network card is integrated into the motherboard, you may well be looking at a damaged motherboard. Running BOINC will stress all hardware in the computer, through which minimum problems can come to light. You can use prime95 as an equal stress test. When your computer halts running that as well, it's definitely hardware.

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I have a similar problem.It started after installing Xp Pro sp3. About that time that I had to change, mb, video card and ram. (first two died, ram was of different type to mb DDR2 vs ddr3.

My options are to untick "use GPU whilst computer is in use" (GPU apps never start) or putting the tick in and Windows crashing if I do anything else requiring the GPU.

What is needed is a box to tell Boinc not to use GPU when GPU is required for something else,
Boinc 6.10.58 Windows XP pro sp3, Pentium Dual 3.4ghtz, 4g DDR3 ram NVidia 240gt video card with latest nvidia drivers.

What is needed is a box to tell Boinc not to use GPU when GPU is required for something else

Which then is never. Do you know what the GPU is doing when BOINC isn't using it? It shows the desktop, amongst other things. So even if it were possible to have BOINC detect that the GPU is needed for something else, this would result in the GPU never being used by any BOINC project, since the GPU is always in use. As long as the computer is powered on, the GPU is in use. It's only not in use by anything else, when you have powered down completely.

In the mean time, you can use the <exclusive_gpu_app> options in cc_config.xml for a workaround.

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Was reading how developments are ongoing to offload [more] computational activity of the OS onto the GPU. The GPU crunchers will be needing an option to tell the OS not to do that as BOINC BOSS is using it. I've seen real funny behavior with Office 10 which makes me think there's a whole lot more to be smarting up on, effectively, GPU use limiting to being when the screen blanks and the display goes into energy saving mode.

The option is there, as said, the <exclusive_app> and <exclusive_gpu_app> options in the core client configuration file, cc_config.xml.

<exclusive_app> will suspend both CPU and GPU (since no GPU program can run without the CPU program).
<exclusive_gpu_app> will suspend GPU only (and its CPU program) but leave normal CPU only apps alone.

Telling the OS anything is very difficult, what with the differences between Linux versions, and now even the differences in how Windows addresses drivers and accounts.

The biggest problem today is that people buy a computer and install BOINC, without sufficiently understanding anything about their computer or the program they just installed. To explain that any slowdown they see is due to a videocard that's in their computer, needs patience. People think their tin can consists of a case, a monitor and an OS. Everything else is magic.

And that's why the developers add certain options, which the established user base then guffs about and tells everyone - including the people it was intended for - (how) to disable. But whatever they do, it's never good enough. An option already there isn't enough, no it needs to be automated. if such an option is automated, it's not good enough for the users already using BOINC, so they want it disabled. Vicious circle of never good enough.

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I was unwilling to install prime95 just to test my equipment, so I ran PC-Doctor which came installed. It reports no problems. However, just running Boinc long enough to get the information for my original post caused my wifi connection to lock up again! I have run into this ever since I upgraded to SP3, on this and my other computer. I wonder if this is the commonality?

Dan

I tried allowing Boinc to run briefly and then paused it. All the same problems occurred - lock up, loss of Internet connectivity. I have uninstalled Boinc and all the problems went away. Nothing else gives me problems, and I do use this computer quite intensively sometimes.

I will try again when a new version of Boinc is released or if I get a new machine - I really do want to run it. But until then, I will not install it on any of the machines I look after.

Dan