Updating the F@H guides

[MtM]

7im, this is in the gpu guides:

Note: To install the FAH client to run as a service (a bit later in the setup), the Windows XP user account running the setup must have Administrator privileges. In Windows Vista and newer, the Command Prompt used to setup the FAH client as a service must be opened with Run As Administrator privileges. Do this by clicking on the Start button. In the Search box, type command prompt. In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, enter the password or provide confirmation.

Since when is it possible to run gpu as service on vista/win7?

ps.

I'm purposly posting all this in this thread and not in the guide updates thread, if you want me to post everything there his thread will die without getting any further reads by other people, and it will not reach the goal of getting more people to be aware of the situation and how their help is needed/appriciated.

But, I will post it there if you want me to.

[MtM]

The following options require you to restart the client before they take effect
Disable CPU affinity lock (no/yes) [no]?
If you disable the affinity lock, the client will pick any free CPU core. Leave set to no if you want the client to be locked to a CPU core. If you run a NVIDIA card, you can adjust the affinity by using the NV_FAH_CPU_AFFINITY environment variable (check the NVIDIA FAQ for more details). Leave set to no if using the NV variable.

Isn't it possible to actually link to the NVIDIA faq instead of only mentioning it? Wouldn't it be easier to follow if it's a click away?

[Xilikon]

I got lured here via a PM by MtM I'm being away from the folding scene and hardly contributing due to a lot of changes in my life (new love, selling my condo, living with some friends temporarily while my new house is being build). Now that I moved to our new house since 3 days, I'm trying to get back to my regular life schedule.

I do have to agree with 7im about the scope of the official guides hosted on the Stanford servers. The main goal when I wrote them is to help beginners and "computer-illiterate" people get started with folding on CPU and GPU. The Wiki and other places is where people can learn more advanced tricks.

I would like to work updating everything but I first need to get back up to date with the new clients developments. I'm really out of the loop for almost one year (maybe a bit more). As for asking more people to get involved, I know that Vijay would prefer to allow access only to a few select people he can trust and is knowledgeable enough to write a good and concise guide. As long as my access isn't revoked, I could come back in a bit (some weeks), the time for me to get around the new developments.

[Tobit]

Good to see you around Xilikon.. check in with the [H]orde sometime soon, we miss you.

[MtM]

Look who dropped back in

One quick comment on the scope you mention, I never argued against a seperation of placement, I advocate better transparancy through all locations, more links between them when needed, and maybe an index from which all sources could be searched.

As to the rest, I for one am glad you're here. I do have to ask this; why did you not inform the rest that you had to drop out? I think there might be some 'bad blood' now, something you do not deserve when looking at your previous input. But then again, I can imagine 7im not being happy about you dissapearing without explanation beforehand ( or notice that you will be back ).

I'm glad all is well Xilikon, haven't seen you on msn for ages either

[Xilikon]

The reason I didn't inform is because there is no bad blood or anything, just a change of focus in life to more important things. I'm folding on and off but not lately since it's hard to put my farm to use without a place or internet connection (the computers is in a warehouse for the last 4 months, living only off a old laptop). However, in any public place or project, we never expect anyone to hold out or give any explanation (as if we must give a justification for each action) so live with that

I forgot to tell that I was also out partially because I wanted to help a new WCG team get started and to see what it's all about. This allow me to give a better perspective of the whole distributed computing scene and things.

[MtM]

No but it touches on the thing I just pm'd you about. The intend of this thread is to create more community awareness that people's help is needed and will be appriciated. And that people who show they can help, have other people who they can contact to offer that help. That's mostly the intent of the thread even if I'm as always not very good in communicating it.

The second part is my push for better links between information on the guide, the forum, and the wiki. But that's probably something which will resolve itself when we get more active participants, atleast that's my hope.

And no I don't want you to feel like I want justification, I bring it up again to emphasize why we need more active people, so that if/when someone leaves the hole is filled seemlesly.

[Xilikon]

A good suggestion (which may have been mentionned in this thread already) is to make a thread in the appropriate forum pointing out outdated or incorrect things and to make suggestions for improvements. Those threads are very very appreciated and that I always use as feedback to improve the guides.

But I do agree there should be more community awareness that we need help with the guides updates. Very often, when people see them on the Stanford pages, they assume the team hired professional guide writers, which is wrong. As we make them aware that those guides/faqs are community driven, they will be more willing to volunteer to Vija Pande. It's up to him who get the required access.

[MtM]

That's the thing, those threads are not used enough or at all ( I am going by 7im assesment here, he has been doing the updates ).

My bet is that you just mentioned/repeated the main reason for it, not enough awareness. So, how do we increase it?

How to increase the people actively involved with this process?

Those are the main questions, and as I said in the last post I made, I think when those points are solved my other gripe with the current situation will resolve itself.

[7im]

...

I would like to work updating everything but I first need to get back up to date with the new clients developments. I'm really out of the loop for almost one year (maybe a bit more). As for asking more people to get involved, I know that Vijay would prefer to allow access only to a few select people he can trust and is knowledgeable enough to write a good and concise guide. As long as my access isn't revoked, I could come back in a bit (some weeks), the time for me to get around the new developments.

Hello Xilikon, welcome back to the forum.

I welcome any assistance you would like to offer updating the guides. Please take as much time as you need getting back up to speed, as your assistance is not urgently needed. I have been making updates and improvements during your absence.

For example, I've added a section for installing multiple CPU Systray clients, based loosely on the multiple GPU Systray section. I also added a new SMP install guide for the revamped v6.30 client.

And I just added this paragraph to the Main Guides page to drive further improvements to the guides...

I found a better way to install a client, where can I make a suggestion?
The install guides are written and updated by the folding community, and managed by the Pande Group. Please post any suggestions, corrections, or update recommendations to the corresponding Guides topic in the Folding Forum. And thank you for helping to improve the install guides.

•Official CPU Install Guides topic
•Official GPU Install Guides topic
•Official Linux Install Guides topic
•Official MAC Install Guides topic
•Official SMP Install Guides topic

edit for spelling

[7im]

...

Why is there an exclamation mark after FAH here?

Installation (Console version)

First, download the console client from the Download page (There is 2 distinct packages, one for Windows XP and 2003 and one for Vista so make sure to pick the correct one for your OS). If you wanted to use a installer, the Console client doesn't come with one so it's suggested to use the Systray client instead. After you are done downloading the package, unzip the package in any place except the Program Files folder (due to potential permissions issues). A good suggestion is to create a new folder on C:\Users\[username]\FAH! for Vista or C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\FAH for XP. You can also place it on the desktop or on a custom folder like C:\FAH\. After you are done unzipping, it's suggested you rename the executable file name to fah6.exe to make the following steps easier to do.

I don't know. Xilikon wrote it, ask him.

If you want that changed, just say so.

And the reason I recommend people should post in the Guides topic for each install guide is so that when people post a suggestion, we know which guide to update. Lumping them altogether here in this topic makes the job harder when we have to go digging for the page to be updated.

Thanks.

[MtM]

Ok I will make suggestions in the proper threads from now on. This thread's purpose was not to point out flaws, I just used it as examples

Should I repost the other things there as well?

[7im]

I think that is best, to ask people to post in the related thread. I think that is what Xilikon intended, and I agree with that idea.

No need to repost. I'll take a look at FAH! a bit later.

And by the way, I also added a new section at the bottom each Guides page. Here is the example from the CPU guide.

Install Guide Updates

I found a better way to install the CPU client, where can I make a suggestion?
The install guides are written and updated by the folding community, and managed by the Pande Group. Please post any suggestions, corrections, or update recommendations to the corresponding Guides topic in the Folding Forum. And thank you for helping to improve the install guides.

• Official CPU Install Guides topic

[MtM]

I didn't comment on it, thought it wasn't needed. I love that addition

The exclamation mark is just a spelling issue and not important, the question wether it would be handy to link to the nvidia faq instead of just mentioning it is a more important one, just as the post I made about service install references for gpu clients ( or am I outdated again, and the gpu3 client for instance will run as service ). And while most people know that when vista is referenced, it also entails windows 7, but as windows XP and 2003 are mentioned seperatly I thought it might be better to name vista/windows 7 seperatly as well.

Thanks for not totally putting me down 7im, reading the thread back the way I presented myself and 'my case' was a prime example of my communication problems

[7im]

Thanks for summarizing, but dude, I'm on it. Just not right now. Take your meds and chill.