Posts by BOINC Atlantic Team

21) Message boards : Projects : News on Project Outages (Message 41395)
Posted 29 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
@ Gundolf, You have to start a new thread to to relay updates on the same outage?
22) Message boards : Projects : News on Project Outages (Message 41389)
Posted 29 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
Barry, I agree. Not the first time I've felt that way. Having all the eggs in one basket isn't a good plan. It's very easy (and free) to set up Facebook and Twitter accounts that are linked. You don't even need access to a computer to keep folks updated on a problem since one SMS text from a cell phone can immediately update Facebook and Twitter status. There are also a number of active BOINC users on G+ so setting up a circle there would be easy enough for projects to do. (I've not linked a cell/sms to G+ yet so I'm not sure if they allow updating that way.)

Of course, the problem there is that every project should use the same method for updates so that crunchers know where to "tune in" when there are issues.

No offense to the folks that run the BOINC forums, but this wasn't the first place I thought to look when the Milkyway site went down.
23) Message boards : Questions and problems : is BOINC damaging my PC? (Message 41306)
Posted 25 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
@Richard, You're right, my bad. As CPU intensive as their projects are it seems that they would benefit from GPU crunching.
24) Message boards : Questions and problems : is BOINC damaging my PC? (Message 41276)
Posted 23 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
I use canned air to dislodge the dust bunnies while holding the vacuum cleaner nozzle nearby to suck them outta the air. (So they don't just re-circulate and go right back in...)

Some sites caution against letting your fans spin when blowing canned air into them and suggest only doing this while the computer is off. (good advice)

You will be suprised as how much dust gets in and around the fan.

I guess it's possible that the folks that built your computer didn't put any heat sink paste (not sure what it's really called) between the CPU and heat sink. Was it built on a Monday? ;)

You might also want to re-consider running CPDN. I thought that was geared mainly for systems equipped with GPU's.

Also, look at the top of the forums under "Automatic Temperature Regulation." Fred has a neat temperature regulating program that interfaces with the BOINC project manager. http://efmer.eu/boinc/index.html

Instead of waiting until your CPU thermal protection kicks in, you can set the software to shut down BOINC, suspend, or even shut down your computer. It's a nice piece of software, unfortunately I can't use it 'cause I run Linux now, but it should work for you.

Good luck!

25) Message boards : Questions and problems : BOINC runs 'lazy'. (Message 41274)
Posted 22 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
On your Windows box, assuming that you have projects available do you see "suspended" as the status (in the "tasks" window)?

Assuming that there is work ready, under preferences/processor use do you have the box next to "While computer in use" checked? (Not the one about GPU, the one above it.)

It's possible that depending on your settings, every time you "look" at your Windows system it suspends work until you "go away." ;)

The layouts for the Windows and Linux screens are a little different, so take a closer look and make sure you have your preferences set properly.

And, as Dagorath said... some projects may not have work so join a few that way you are always crunching something. And, certain projects have different types of work available... Like World Community Grid or CPDN which might not run on a specific type of system. You can customize those projects to give you work that's suited to your particular system.
26) Message boards : Questions and problems : Does BOINC run better on Windows compared to Linux? (Message 41024)
Posted 6 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
Next time assemble your own computer with off the shelf components for half the price of an HP.

The upside of that is that you are then allowed to open the PC case as well, without a) throwing your warranty in the bin and b) requiring some fancy newfangled screwdriver that no one else on this world uses.


My Dell laptop was under warranty when it's keyboard died (ages ago). Dell sent me the keyboard kit, and actually allowed me to put it in! I was honored. And yes, it included the tiny screwdriver.

I won't even give breath to the unspeakable horrors that HP customer support put me through. I still have PTCSD from that. (Post Traumatic Customer Service Disorder).

Oh, Dagorath... burning the Microsoft campus would create a lot of carbon emissions. Instead, let's go green and turn it into a commune for homeless folks!
27) Message boards : Questions and problems : Boinc fetches too much or not enough work (Message 41022)
Posted 6 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
(@Dagorath)...Projects allot you a certain number of tasks per day. When your computer reaches that quota you get no more tasks. Some projects set that quota so high there is no effective quota, other projects set it fairly low. One of the reasons for the quota is to cut off computers that crash one task after another and try to burn up 1,000 tasks per day...


This goes back to my question regarding penalties for aborted projects. Maybe I'm a little paranoid, but before I converted two of my computers to Linux, I aborted the remaining projects and sent them back. I figured this was better than just wiping the system. However in one case I did lose the OS and BOINC files before I could do that. So, if the projects track aborts and lost files... I worry that I'll get fewer tasks from them in the future. (@Peter, I'll check this on a couple project forums)

Since I recently completed BOINC re-installs I guess those computers have to re-build their usage history.

I also just started an experiment where I'll let two computers run 24/7 with a 360 minute interval for task switching.
28) Message boards : Questions and problems : Boinc fetches too much or not enough work (Message 41015)
Posted 6 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
I'm running on 32bit systems here so 4GB is as good as it's gonna get for me. You also have a fancier bird than me! I have a Cockateil (who likes to pull his feathers out). He also likes to pull the keys off my laptop, which is an activity that I do not condone. ;)
29) Message boards : Questions and problems : Boinc fetches too much or not enough work (Message 41011)
Posted 6 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
One reason I upgraded my system memory on three systems was to speed up swap times in Windows. I run 4GB on the two main systems and 2GB on an older laptop. I've read conflicting versions of using the "leave applications in memory while suspended" feature. But as long as I have memory to burn, it can't hurt, right?

The fan running is the feature that annoys my team member the most, so I have to tweak CPU settings and select projects that minimize fan use on her computer. ;)

I looked into BOINC Tasks a few months ago, but I don't remember why I didn't implement it now. I use BAM! as a project manager for the team, so maybe that's why... *mumbles incoherently*
30) Message boards : Questions and problems : Boinc fetches too much or not enough work (Message 41008)
Posted 6 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
Ok, here's a couple more crazy theories...

The older computer in question that got the 500 tasks is used by someone other than me. So I've had to tweak the CPU settings, etc. so that user isn't bothered by too much fan noise and perceived slowdowns, etc. In reality, I found that BOINC suspends tasks very quickly based on settings, but they like to blame BOINC as the reason that their web pages loaded slowly...

So, here is my crazy theory. BOINC benchmarks the computer and uses that information when calculating project completion times. But does BOINC also factor in CPU settings or does it just refer to the benchmark data when it downloads new projects?

Even if the project manager is factoring in CPU settings, you'll have a hard time convincing me that actual user behavior gets factored in. That would depend on the types of applications being run, how often the computer is used, etc. So unless the project manager keeps some kind of activity log, user behavior is not being factored in. (Does the project manager keep track of how many hours a day the computer actually runs? etc.)

Of course, that doesn't explain how under any circumstances BOINC would think that computer could complete 500+ tasks. So there is a glitch somewhere.

On the issue of almost completed projects... some sort of AI that looks at an almost complete project and decided to complete it would be a neat problem for the programmers to solve. First, the project manager would have to have an accurate method of predicting completion times. Just having a "go for it" parameter that pushes through projects with 5% (or user set) to completion wouldn't be reliable. I've had large projects with 1% left to go that took over an hour to complete, while other projects can complete and upload in less than an hour.

BTW, if any of the BOINC programmers is listening into this thread my comments are not intended as criticism. I've found the project manager to be a stable, reliable program, so kudos!
31) Message boards : Questions and problems : Boinc fetches too much or not enough work (Message 41006)
Posted 6 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
I've got projects that have uneven work. This way it grabs a big bundle when it becomes available.


This is the reason I maintain a large cache, but I see @Dagorath explains it doesn't work that way. Interesting. I usually don't have an issue aborting tasks even with a 10 day cache.

However, having said that I had an odd experience recently. I have an older system and I set it to 10 days and ended up with over 500+ tasks. I don't remember if I've used the 10 day setting on it before so I'm not sure if this is a new issue for that computer. I did have to abort tasks and set the work buffer to 1 day after that.

Another computer is still set to 10 days and never has issues with aborting tasks. I wonder why that is?

Which brings me to a nagging (though slightly OT question). Is there a penalty for aborting tasks? Do projects keep track of cruncher performance and penalize ones that send work back by sending less projects to them? (Am I getting paranoid?)

And while I'm going OT, another performance question:

I've been fiddling with the "switch between applications" setting for some time now. I'm wondering if its more efficient to set that to a larger time block so that projects are completed in one session. Recently I set it to 360 minutes on my dual core thinking that it's more efficient to work on projects from start to finish in a single session.(I've been using 180 mins for a default for two of my cruncher boxes.)

One reason I did this is I noticed I had a lot of projects in the 75-99% level and I figured that just making sure that projects ran to completion would do a better job getting the results returned to the projects ASAP.





32) Message boards : Questions and problems : is BOINC damaging my PC? (Message 40994)
Posted 5 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
Thanks for the replies. It seems that 100C is excessive then. I'll try reducing the amount of CPU it's allowed to use and see if that helps. If it cuts out again I'll take the cover off and give it a good clean out. (It's a tower and was purchased from a well regarded supplier BTW.)


I'd recommend doing the cleaning anyway. At 18 months you're probably due and if it's a nice system you wanna take care of it, right?

Do you change the oil in your car regularly or do you wait until the engine explodes?


33) Message boards : Questions and problems : How do I install the BOINC upgrade in Linux Mint? (Message 40993)
Posted 5 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
...I helped a friend install Ubuntu 11.10 the other day. There is a BOINC 6.12.33 repo package available for 11.10. If your Version of Mint is not up to date then you might be able to get 6.12.33 by updating Mint.


I checked again: 6.10.59+dfsg-0ubuntu1 is what is available from the software manager and package manager.

I should have the latest mint (11/Gnome) I just installed it from CD a week ago and every time the little box tells me I have updates, I get them. I don't know alot about packages yet, but maybe the Mint versions have to be assembled differently and haven't been updated yet?


34) Message boards : News : Unplanned server outage (Message 40992)
Posted 5 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
@Ageless, I misread what you said about the account key.

There used to be a link in the change password screen about having your account key sent to you, but since David's fix the screen is different.

...so it's working, thanks for the help.

35) Message boards : News : Unplanned server outage (Message 40985)
Posted 5 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
Thanks David, just tested it and it's working now.

@Ageless, how would I get a temporary link if I didn't have an account? Hmmm?

There is the potential for confusion though since the Teams logon page and Forums logon page are almost identical. Maybe a banner graphic would be helpful?

Thanks for the help. It's all working now.
36) Message boards : News : Unplanned server outage (Message 40973)
Posted 5 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
Try using the "forgot password" link and see what you think.

You get a temporary (1day) link emailed but no temporary password. And when I try to change my password, it requires the old password... which I guess I forgot or it didn't work.

If I try to get my account key sent to me, it sends the identical email with the temporary link... so again, no way to reset the password.

37) Message boards : Questions and problems : How do I install the BOINC upgrade in Linux Mint? (Message 40972)
Posted 5 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
@Dagorath, I did get it using the GUI package manager. I'd rather keep things simple so perhaps it's best to stick with that version. I guess the version available from the repositories runs a little behind the current version available from Berkeley.

I was just figuring that sooner or later I would have to learn how to do this, but if the repositories get updated periodically I'll just wait until they get the package.

38) Message boards : Questions and problems : How do I install the BOINC upgrade in Linux Mint? (Message 40969)
Posted 4 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
Thanks. All the different names for the distros get me confused.

Trying it now...

Ok, this is what happens...


mark@nx6310 ~ $ sudo apt-get update
[sudo] password for mark:
Ign file: binary/ InRelease
Ign file: binary/ Release.gpg
Ign file: binary/ Release
Ign file: binary/ Translation-en_US
Ign file: binary/ Translation-en
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security InRelease
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya InRelease
Ign http://ppa.launchpad.net natty InRelease
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty InRelease
Hit http://packages.medibuntu.org natty InRelease
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates InRelease
Ign http://archive.canonical.com natty InRelease
Get:1 http://packages.linuxmint.com katya Release.gpg [198 B]
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security Release.gpg
Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com natty InRelease
Hit http://ppa.launchpad.net natty Release.gpg
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty Release.gpg
Hit http://archive.canonical.com natty Release.gpg
Get:2 http://packages.linuxmint.com katya Release [16.5 kB]
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security Release
Get:3 http://extras.ubuntu.com natty Release.gpg [72 B]
Hit http://ppa.launchpad.net natty Release
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates Release.gpg
Hit http://archive.canonical.com natty Release
Hit http://extras.ubuntu.com natty Release
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty Release
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/main i386 Packages
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates Release
Hit http://ppa.launchpad.net natty/main Sources
Hit http://archive.canonical.com natty/partner i386 Packages
Hit http://extras.ubuntu.com natty/main i386 Packages
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/multiverse i386 Packages
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/main TranslationIndex
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/multiverse TranslationIndex
Get:4 http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/main i386 Packages [8,581 B]
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/main i386 Packages
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/multiverse i386 Packages
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/main TranslationIndex
Hit http://ppa.launchpad.net natty/main i386 Packages
Ign http://ppa.launchpad.net natty/main TranslationIndex
Ign http://archive.canonical.com natty/partner TranslationIndex
Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com natty/main TranslationIndex
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/restricted TranslationIndex
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/universe TranslationIndex
Get:5 http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/upstream i386 Packages [16.0 kB]
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/multiverse TranslationIndex
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/restricted TranslationIndex
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/universe TranslationIndex
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/main i386 Packages
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/multiverse i386 Packages
Get:6 http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/import i386 Packages [5,967 B]
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/import TranslationIndex
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/main TranslationIndex
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/upstream TranslationIndex
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/main TranslationIndex
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/multiverse TranslationIndex
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/restricted TranslationIndex
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/universe TranslationIndex
Hit http://packages.medibuntu.org natty/free i386 Packages
Hit http://packages.medibuntu.org natty/non-free i386 Packages
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/main Translation-en_US
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/main Translation-en
Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com natty/main Translation-en_US
Ign http://archive.canonical.com natty/partner Translation-en_US
Ign http://ppa.launchpad.net natty/main Translation-en_US
Ign http://packages.medibuntu.org natty/free TranslationIndex
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/multiverse Translation-en_US
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/multiverse Translation-en
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/restricted Translation-en_US
Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com natty/main Translation-en
Ign http://archive.canonical.com natty/partner Translation-en
Ign http://ppa.launchpad.net natty/main Translation-en
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/restricted Translation-en
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/universe Translation-en_US
Ign http://security.ubuntu.com natty-security/universe Translation-en
Ign http://packages.medibuntu.org natty/non-free TranslationIndex
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/main Translation-en_US
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/main Translation-en
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/multiverse Translation-en_US
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/multiverse Translation-en
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/restricted Translation-en_US
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/restricted Translation-en
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/universe Translation-en_US
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty/universe Translation-en
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/main Translation-en_US
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/main Translation-en
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/multiverse Translation-en_US
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/import Translation-en_US
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/multiverse Translation-en
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/restricted Translation-en_US
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/restricted Translation-en
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/universe Translation-en_US
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/import Translation-en
Ign http://archive.ubuntu.com natty-updates/universe Translation-en
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/main Translation-en_US
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/main Translation-en
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/upstream Translation-en_US
Ign http://packages.linuxmint.com katya/upstream Translation-en
Ign http://packages.medibuntu.org natty/free Translation-en_US
Ign http://packages.medibuntu.org natty/free Translation-en
Ign http://packages.medibuntu.org natty/non-free Translation-en_US
Ign http://packages.medibuntu.org natty/non-free Translation-en
Fetched 47.3 kB in 7s (6,728 B/s)
Reading package lists... Done

mark@nx6310 ~ $ sudo apt-get install boinc-manager
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
boinc-manager is already the newest version.
boinc-manager set to manually installed.
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
libmono2.0-cil libdbus-glib1.0-cil librsvg2-2.18-cil python-mpd
python-mutagen libmono-system-data-linq2.0-cil libmono-system-web2.0-cil
libwnck2.20-cil dockmanager libdbus1.0-cil libmono-wcf3.0-cil libgdiplus
libgnomedesktop2.20-cil
Use 'apt-get autoremove' to remove them.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 18 not upgraded.
mark@nx6310 ~ $

The Help/About displays version 6.10.59.

Maybe I've got this wrong... but wouldn't apt-get update get the updates from the package manager servers? The same place that I would be checking if I used the software manager or package manager? It doesn't get the latest version directly from boinc(dot)berkeley(dot)edu does it?
39) Message boards : Questions and problems : is BOINC damaging my PC? (Message 40966)
Posted 4 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
My dual core laptop runs just shy of 70c... but I guess laptops run at higher temps from what I read online.

40) Message boards : Questions and problems : is BOINC damaging my PC? (Message 40963)
Posted 4 Nov 2011 by BOINC Atlantic Team
Post:
I found this link where the author concludes 100c as the max and recommends running under 80c.

http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2009/02/26/intel-core-i7-temperatures/

I suggest you read the whole article, lots of info there.

Personally, I would never ignore any error messages about CPU temp. I hear the CPDN projects are CPU intensive. You can change settings in the BOINC project manager to reduce the amount of CPU time the projects get. You can also change the % Processors used setting. Don't run all of the processors, cut it back for a while and see what happens.

Dust is definetly an issue too. I don't know what your environment is like but it doesn't take long for fans to get clogged. That's a lot of heat you need to dissipate so you gotta keep that air flowing.

Also, make sure that your computer is placed in a spot where it can get fresh air. If you have it jammed into a cabinet it can't breathe.

Just some ideas to start with...


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