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1)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Can I reduce I/O using memory?
(Message 75402)
Posted 20 Jan 2017 by tanstaafl9999 Post: I used to have constant, very heavy hard drive activity on my computer, which I tracked back to BOINC a couple of years ago. I searched these forums and found a thread about the problem: the suggested solution was to increase the checkpoint time to 900 seconds. I did that, and the problem is solved. I don't remember the original (default) value for the checkpoint time, but it was enough to pound on the hard drive non-stop with six to ten CPU cores all running BOINC tasks. I have a feeling the default checkpoint time was set years ago when CPUs had fewer cores and weren't running enough BOINC tasks simultaneously to give the hard drive a workout even with frequent checkpointing. Note that with a longer time between checkpoints, you will lose more unsaved data when you reboot or shut down the computer or otherwise stop BOINC from running, To me, that's not an issue: I only reboot or shutdown the computer every few days, and losing a few minutes of calculations a couple of times a week is not a problem for me. So before you get involved with a RAM disk, I would suggest increasing the checkpoint time to 900 seconds (or whatever you're comfortable with) to see if that helps. |
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2)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Boinc and Norton??
(Message 74445)
Posted 28 Nov 2016 by tanstaafl9999 Post: The first thing to do with this type of problem is go to the project web site and see if there's any relevant information there. Most project web sites have a page where you can check the status of their servers. You should also check the news announcements and forums for any posts about problems. I'm by no means an expert, but I don't see anything in the log you posted that looks like a firewall problem. As far as Norton's firewall: I've been using BONC with Norton Internet Security on two computers for four yeas with no problems at all. NIS uses a very large database to automatically set firewall rules for most programs, and it's been many years since I've had to manually edit rules for any program I use. I just checked a minute ago, and the firewall rules in my NIS for BOINC were set automatically by Norton: they're not rules I edited myself, and they work just fine. You can see the firewall rules for BONC in Norton Internet Security by gong to "Settings | Firewall | Program Control" and using the search box to find the rules for BOINC. (If you're using some other Norton product, you'll have to find the firewall rules on your own.) |
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3)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Why is BOINC not actually using all processors in my computer today?
(Message 63264)
Posted 28 Jul 2015 by tanstaafl9999 Post: What about the possibility of memory limitations? Sometimes projects send out work units that need unusually large amounts or RAM, and that can limit the maximum number of work units that can run at the same time. You may have enough processors to run 32 WU's, but not enough memory to deal with that many. |
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4)
Message boards :
BOINC Manager :
CPU usage adjustable in two steps - busy / not busy
(Message 62368)
Posted 29 May 2015 by tanstaafl9999 Post: Another solution is to use the Tthrottle program. Set it to keep the CPU at a lower temperature when the computer is in use to keep the fan noise down, and allow a higher temperature when the computer is not in use to let BOINC run full speed ahead. |
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5)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Question about GPU use
(Message 62008)
Posted 1 May 2015 by tanstaafl9999 Post: Did you update your Einstein@Home and MilkyWay@Home preferences (in your account on their web sites) to use an NVidia GPU instead of an ATI GPU? I don't know anything about Seti@Home, but I'd suggest checking for a similar setting there. Also check that you new NVidia GPU is supported by the projects, especially for MilkyWay@Home which needs certain features that not all GPUs have. |
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6)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
oops boinc user ID not found
(Message 56963)
Posted 22 Oct 2014 by tanstaafl9999 Post: If you don't know what program is generating that error message, try pasting the message into a Google search. If you're lucky, that might turn up a clue to the source of the error message. |
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7)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
CPU utilization oscillates between 100 and 10%
(Message 55520)
Posted 22 Aug 2014 by tanstaafl9999 Post: If you want to reduce the amount of load BOINC places on your CPU, I would suggest reducing the number of CPU cores you allow BOINC to use. (And leave CPU utilization at 100%.) |
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8)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Use of specific/dedicated hard disk drive(s)?
(Message 54510)
Posted 19 Jun 2014 by tanstaafl9999 Post: When you install BOINC on a Windows-based computer, the installer shows you what drives the program and data directories will be put on, and gives you an option to change them. If you want to change the directories after installation, you need to uninstall BOINC, move the data directory to its new location, and then reinstall BOINC being sure to select the correct directories. |
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9)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
reducing the heat
(Message 51520)
Posted 25 Nov 2013 by tanstaafl9999 Post: Make sure the computer is able to adequately cool itself: 1. Are all the fans working properly and unobstructed? 2. Is the compter set up with plenty of air space around it so heat can dissapate and not build up around the computer? 3. VERY IMPORTANT: be sure to clean the dust from inside the computer on a regular basis! |
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10)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Only using half the cpus that it can
(Message 48204)
Posted 14 Mar 2013 by tanstaafl9999 Post: I do have 32 gb RAM so that should be enough. Apologies if I sound picky, but did you actually check the RAM required for the workunits? Reason I'm asking: I also have 32 GB of RAM and, as I fouond out not too long ago, that is not always enough. Running three work unites that each needed 9 GB of memory didn't leave BOINC enough available RAM to run any other workunits, even though I normally give BOINC enough cores to run eight WUSs at once. |
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11)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Only using half the cpus that it can
(Message 48198)
Posted 14 Mar 2013 by tanstaafl9999 Post: Check the propeties for the work units and see how much memory they need; in addition to free CPU cores, you also need enough RAM available for the WUs to run. This happened to me several weeks ago: one project was giving me WUs that needed 9 GB of RAM, which limited the maximum number of work units I could run at once. (I'm using Windows PCs, but I'm sure the same thing applies on a Mac.) |
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12)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
How can I increase the amount of memory my projects use?
(Message 47704)
Posted 9 Feb 2013 by tanstaafl9999 Post: I have installed a dediccated computer just for boinc projects. They use 150mb of memory and I have 100gb avail to it. Any way to increase usage? I have set prefences wide open for usage.. Richard Haselgrove made an excellent point: are you talking about RAM (memory) or hard drive space? They're two completely different things. If you're not sure: In WinXP and in Win7, double-left-click the 'My computer' (XP) or 'Computer' (Win7) icon on your desktop and choose the 'Details' view. That will display a list of your hard drives, their sizes, and the amount of free space on each drive. For the total amount of RAM (memory), right-click on the '(My) Computer' icon and choose 'Properties' from the context menu. Look through the displayed information to find the 'RAM' entry. Edit: if you're talking about the information on the 'Disk' tab in BOINC's 'Advanced' view: that is disk space (hard drive space), not memory (RAM). Just like RAM, how much of that you use depends on the individual project; it's not something you can control directly. Climate Prediction Net (mentioned by mo.v) WU's can use a large amount of disk space in addition to a lot of RAM. Basically, it's a matter of shopping around for projects that can make the best use of your available resources. |
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13)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
How can I increase the amount of memory my projects use?
(Message 47699)
Posted 9 Feb 2013 by tanstaafl9999 Post: Look for projects that have applications that need large amounts of RAM. For example, Lattice is currently giving out WUs that need 9GB of RAM. |
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14)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Task exited with zero status but no 'finished' file... (almost) all of them
(Message 47415)
Posted 20 Jan 2013 by tanstaafl9999 Post: Possible causes of the "Task exited with zero status but no 'finished' file" syndrome: Just want to double-check: from what I read in this thread, it sounds like it's necessary to completely shut BOINC down during the above operations to avoid the error. So just using BOINC's scheduler to suspend compution at specic times of day wouldn't be enough. If that's true, I think one solution would be to put BOINC's data directory on a hard drive of its own and not let anything but BOINC touch that drive. |
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15)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
BOINC powering down computer - use ended
(Message 47068)
Posted 6 Jan 2013 by tanstaafl9999 Post: The computer is not overheating. <snip> The computer does not shut off during other equally CPU intensive tasks such as video editing and compilation, and gaming. How have you deteermined that the computer isn't overheating? If you're not using a utility program to see what the actual CPU temperatures are, I would suggest that as the next troubleshooting step to find out what's going on. As far as your comment about equally CPU intensive tasks: have you actully measured CPU load with BOINC active and compared it to those other tasks? If allowed to run at full speed, BOINC and its applications can easily push a CPU to 100% load and keep it there. Most 'normal' applications may hit 100% CPU load intermittently, but they usualy won't stay there continuously. So I suggest monitoring the actual CPU loading and temperature with BOINC running to see if that's the problem: the CPU overheating due to BOINC running it with a very high load. If it is overheating when BOINC is running, in addition to dusting the computer you can use BOINC's settings and/or the Tthrottle program to reduce the load BOINC puts on your CPU. |
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16)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Temperature problem with running PC unattended.
(Message 46882)
Posted 22 Dec 2012 by tanstaafl9999 Post: The problem is that when returning back to the PC a little later on, I find it to have power been turned off - mains is still connected on the motherboard. A small movement of the mouse is enough to get the system started up once again. It tells me that the system is locked and that I have to log in again. After that I am able to return directly back to BOINC. To me, that doesn't really sound like the PC shut down due to overheating. It sounds more like it just blanked the screen or went to sleep because it wasn't used for a while. 1. Check your Windows screen saver setting: is it configured with the 'blank' screensaver and password protection (ie., login screen on resume)? 2. Check your Windows power management settings: do you have the computer configured to sleep or to turn off the display after a certain period of time not being used, and to also require a password when it wakes up? If the computer were actually shutting down due to overheating, you'd be getting some sort of error message, not just a normal login screen. And you would probably have to use the power button to turn it back on; just moving the mouse wouldn't be enough to power it back up. |
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17)
Message boards :
BOINC client :
Feature Request: Separate GPU work period
(Message 46798)
Posted 14 Dec 2012 by tanstaafl9999 Post: I didn't find a way to specify a time period that will allow CPU but not GPU to compute. I leave my computer on with BOINC running at night, but my GPU is extremely noisy. Currently I have to manually flip GPU activity control every night and morning. Don't know if this will work for you, but what I do is set Tthrottle to keep the CPU and GPU at a lower temperature when the computer is not in use for a while. That keeps the fans at their lowest speed and makes it easier to sleep at night (my computer is in my bedroom). This is really only practical if you use the compuuter regularly during the day, so that Tthrottle will let BOINC run at full speed most of the time. |
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18)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Project weight
(Message 46715)
Posted 11 Dec 2012 by tanstaafl9999 Post: Chris, I just found out about that. A few days ago (after my previous post), I signed up with WCG and quickly discovered that the GPU work units also uses one CPU core. I'm used to projects where the GPU applications don't take over a full CPU core, which makes allocating resources a lot easier. |
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19)
Message boards :
BOINC Manager :
dedicated disc for boinc processing
(Message 46602)
Posted 5 Dec 2012 by tanstaafl9999 Post: The data directory used by BOINC is not chosen randomly. During the installation process, one screen shows you the default location for BOINC's data directory and tells you to click the 'Advanced' button (on the same screen) to change it if you want. If you want to have BOINC use a data directory other than the one it's currently using, you'll need to uninstall BOINC, move the data from the old directory to the new one, and then reinstall BOINC and chose the new location for the data directory. I did this earlier this year and it was relatively painless: after the reinstall, BOINC picked up right where it left off. (You didn't mention what operating system you're using; my cooments are for Windows.) ------------------------- Also, the BOINC preferences let you control how much hard drive space BOINC is allowed to use. Advanced view is a little more configurable than Simple view. Edit: here's a link to a FAQ that lists the default data directories for various operating systems. http://boincfaq.mundayweb.com/index.php?language=1&view=376 |
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20)
Message boards :
Questions and problems :
Project weight
(Message 46543)
Posted 1 Dec 2012 by tanstaafl9999 Post: The way I do it: if a project has both GPU and CPU applications, I don't take the CPU workunits and only do the GPU WUs for that project. That leaves more CPU time for the projects that don't have any GPU applications. To me, a project that doesn't have any GPU apps needs all the CPU time I can give it. But if my GPU is doing work for a project, any additional contribution from my CPU would be relatively minor, because my GPU can work so much faster than my CPU. So, on my system: Einstein@Home and MilkyWay@Home are only doing GPU applications and getting tons of work done. That leaves more CPU time for Cosmology@Home to plod steadily along (as well as Rosetta@Home, once they get the current bugs worked out). That seems to work very well for me: no idea if my logic makes sense to anybody else. :) Edit: just want to add that I started doing this with BOIHC 6.x; it's not something I started in response to the scheduling changes in V7.x. |
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