I have recently started getting a couple of error messages in the BOINC log

System clock was turned backwards; clearing timeouts

Project yyy | Task xxxx exited with zero status but no 'finished' file


I can find nothing pertaining to either of them. I have reset all three projects that were giving the second one, and they still throw that error periodically. As far as I can tell, all tasks are completing normally (except for a few random "computation errors"

Any help or explaination gratefully received
ken

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I have recently started getting a couple of error messages in the BOINC log

That aren't error messages; they are simply informational.

System clock was turned backwards; clearing timeouts

The previous message explains why the following occurred:

Project yyy | Task xxxx exited with zero status but no 'finished' file

Possible keywords for a search are "missing heartbeat / heartbeat detection", as the project applications expect a regular signal from the BOINC client (every 30 seconds?). So, if the system clock is changed for more than that period of time in the "wrong" direction, the application terminates without error (with zero status) but also without creating a 'finished' file.

I have reset all three projects that were giving the second one,

Absolute overkill. ;-)

and they still throw that error periodically. As far as I can tell, all tasks are completing normally (except for a few random "computation errors"

Yes, they will. As long as those exits happen only sporadically, ignore them. Since my system clock is adjusted twice a day by a time server, those exits could happen every twelve hours on my machine without meaning anything (besides system clock problems:-). Of course they happen much less frequently (some games seem to influence the system clock:-).

Gruß,
Gundolf

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Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)

Yes, it's a nuisance that the zero status but no finished file message advises people that if this happens repeatedly they may need to reset the project. If anyone running a long climate model resets CPDN they will lose the model; this could mean losing days or even weeks of computation time. If people try to avoid losing the model by backing up the Boinc Data folder before resetting and then restoring it they may wonder whether this negates the effect of resetting the project.

At CPDN we advise members to ignore the resetting part of this message.

Gundolf,

The developers did make the defer counters reset, but that did not do anything to the zero state occurrences. With that clock set backwards, it does not kill the jobs permanently, merely drops them back to the last checkpoint ('Terminate' sounds so terminal ;>). This is at least the experience with all WCG sciences and 6.12.33/34.

-- SekeRob

OK

Thanks All!

I did check my Event Viewer and saw nothing about resetting the System Clock. Maybe I need to setup TimeSrv on my machine

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Followup

I've downloaded and installed NISTime32 and am updating twice a day
(I like it because it tells you how much the clock is being reset)

I'm now down to an average of less than one of the messages a day, (From about 8 a day)

Thanks all

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Suspect if the adjustment is less than 30 seconds each time the clock is synched, you should be fine. My W7 laptop is set to sync internet time every 7th day and never see these clock warnings in BOINC i.e. the system clock is accurate enough and not slowed by other system processes.

-- SekeRob