Recommended Linux Installation & Configuration

[NRT_AntiKytherA]

Arch is easier to configure folding with than Ubuntu and the Arch Wiki has instructions for F@H specifically too. The only reason I switched back to Ubuntu is because I got tired of the maintenance involved (you can expect higher maintenance due to the nature of using cutting edge rolling distribution - you really must refer to the Arch Linux homepage's latest news feed before applying any updates, never do a partial one and then you shouldn't run into too many problems) and the machines I run Linux on probably won't last more than the next five years now anyway.

[sap.dell.inspiron]

Hi MeeLee,

I am running FAHClient in my ubuntu 20.04 latest since last 15 days but I dont know how to launch GUI.
I have another PC which has windows 10 and in that I have configured by identity etc. things and it has nice GUI control as well.
But here in ubuntu, I see the CPU usage is always 100% for all cores but I have NVIDIA GPU with 4GB memory as well so I am not sure if anything I should configure for the optimal usage of my laptop ubuntu resources?

BTW, would you please suggest how to launch GUI in ubuntu like Windows so we can see usage, stats etc.?

Thanks.

Seeing you're a beginner,
Ubuntu/Debian derived Linux versions are much more beginner focused.
If you're just starting out, and want a GUI, Ubuntu (mac-like interface), Xubuntu (Windows-like interface), Lubuntu (Windows XP/Vista-looks interface), Kubuntu (older interface), or Mint (Windows-7-like interface) are the easiest to start out with. You will want to stay with 18.04 for FAHControl to be working correctly; or, run 20.04 through some hoops.

For Fedora, I believe version 28 should be equal to 18.04. But I read that real LTS (Long Term Support) versions aren't available for Fedora.
You'll be limited to RedHat RHEL 8; support of it will disappear, and not sure if Control is still compatible with an upgrade to 8.1 (support until 2024)

[MeeLee]

Gui is your desktop.
If you are running Ubuntu Server, you need to install the regular verison (the desktop version, 64 bit).
It should come with a GUI.

[sap.dell.inspiron]

@MeeLee,

Thanks for your quick reply.
I am running ubuntu desktop version not server.
When I run FAHClient command in sudo mode, it shows the progress of current activity - percentage in the terminal.
I also tried to run FAHControl command but it says command not found.
So, not sure using which command I can launch the client GUI?

Also, any comment on any additional configuration do I need to set, for utilizing the NVIDIA GPU in a optimal way?

[YosiMor]

I am running FAHClient in my ubuntu 20.04 latest since last 15 days but I dont know how to launch GUI.
I have another PC which has windows 10 and in that I have configured by identity etc. things and it has nice GUI control as well.
But here in ubuntu, I see the CPU usage is always 100% for all cores but I have NVIDIA GPU with 4GB memory as well so I am not sure if anything I should configure for the optimal usage of my laptop ubuntu resources?

BTW, would you please suggest how to launch GUI in ubuntu like Windows so we can see usage, stats etc.?

I am running ubuntu desktop version not server.
When I run FAHClient command in sudo mode, it shows the progress of current activity - percentage in the terminal.
I also tried to run FAHControl command but it says command not found.
So, not sure using which command I can launch the client GUI?

Check out my post regarding how I successfully installed the latest versions of all three FAH components -- fahclient, fahcontrol, and fahviewer -- on a totally FRESH, CLEAN, and "MINIMAL" install of Ubuntu 20.04 .

I would consider fahcontrol to be the main GUI for (controlling) the fahclient. There isn't any GUI for viewing statistics. Those can be viewed at the official FAH stats site, and/or at the excellent ExtremeOverClocking.com site.

[bruce]

FAHClient is intended to run as a daemon. It does not interact with the GUI. If you want to see something running on your desktop, it should be Webcontrol or FAHControl or even FAHViewer. FAHClient should be started by your OS when you boot the system and it should remain hidden (running in the background) just like any other daemon.

[MeeLee]

You should install the FAHControl and FAHClient packages.
FahControl has issues with Ubuntu variants of 19.04 and higher. They work best on 18.04 or lower.
Multi-Nvidia GPUs with fan control enabled, also work best on 18.04 or lower.

[markdotgooley]

My Ubuntu box was running 18.04 and stopped working properly after a live upgrade. Then when I shut it down before Tropical Storm Isaias (unnecessary: didn’t lose power in my part of Florida) I could no longer get it to boot. After many failed attempts I finally got Ubuntu 20.04 to work with nVidia drivers. Now I can’t get F@H to install at all: all 3 .deb packages (client, control, viewer) are “unsupported.”

Used Ubuntu on and off for ages, the only Linux I’m used to at all. Maybe it’s time to say goodbye? Been idle for days now.

Might just go back to 18.04 but it’s all very frustrating. Any suggestions for a Linux that my nVidia cards and F@H will work with?

[MeeLee]

Ubuntu 20.04 is compatible with FAHClient. I don't know about viewer, I never used it.
The Client only works via the terminal, in background.
You'll have to change the config settings manually (edit config.txt with a notepad, and browse the forums for some of it's content), and start the service.
You'll have not the same control over things, like with Control, but you can still run CPU and GPU WUs, can still see a log (in terminal, by doing 'sudo service fahclient status'), and possibly can see the web client still.

18.04 has the graphical interface of FAHControl working fine.

GPUs should work on both, but only on 18.04 can you OC and adjust fan curve on more than 1 GPU.
On 19 you can only do it on the first GPU.
On 20, my experience tells me that you can't even install 2 GPUs with Linux Kernel 5.
Their 'slimmed down' kernel, that is also sped up compared to kernel 4 in 18.xx, has broken compatibility with multi (Nvidia) GPUs.
You'll just get a driver error.

[Joe_H]

There have been posts here and elsewhere on getting the F@h client installed on Ubuntu 20.04 and having working FAHControl. The main issue is having to install an older version of Python and gtk than is supplied with the distribution for FAHControl to work.

At some point the Linux client will be updated to run on the most recent versions of Linux, do not know if it will be in a newer revision of the V7 client or a completely new version. The v7.5.1 installer was created at a time when 16.04 was current, 18.04 was released a bit later that year. The current v7.6.13 is mostly 7.5.1 with enough changes to support having the COVID-19 preference and some bug fixes.

[markdotgooley]

Gave up on Ubuntu and installed Mint 20. Now fahcontrol won’t install:

Error: Dependency is not satisfiable: python-gtk2|python-gnome2

Lovely. Now to see if someone’s given a fix already.

[Joe_H]

Mint 20 is based on Ubuntu 20, same dependency issues for FAHControl exist there. Basically the same fixes, and I recall seeing posts on what is needed here in the recent past.

Edit: Here is one recent post on this - viewtopic.php?f=108&t=35707#p339160

[markdotgooley]

Tried that and fahcontrol installs. But I can’t see to even find fahclient now, and reinstalling it doesn’t help. Probably I am missing something trivial. FAHcontrol runs but can’t connect with a client or anything...

[bruce]

FAHControl is useless unless FAHClient is running, as you've discovered.

FAHClient is intended to run as a daemon. Installing it should create s new Linux user with strictly limited permissions. (This is intended to prevent FAH fom ever modifying any files that it didn't create.) The standard output stream from FAHClient is normally directed to FAH's log file. That makes it very difficult to diagnose until you locate that file. A common error is a corrupted config.xml in FAH's working directory.

[markdotgooley]

Reverted to Ubuntu 18.04 and didn't install third-party software or automatic login and... after the incantations from LTT that I did before, back in April, it... seems to work fine, after a week idle.

Awaiting some new horror. But we'll see. Thanks for all help and suggestions.