New to the world of PC based folding.. [and relative newby]

[TheKellieGang]

Heyas,
Our family is quite new to the folding @ home phenomena, we just caught on to it when we bought our PS3 recently. I've just started setting up our PCs and laptop for the folding also.
Having just started folding on one of the PCs as I set the others up it seems a LOT slower than the PS3... I'm wondering if theres any way of attributing more system resources to the process and how long we have to return a completed work unit.
We use our PCs and laptop a lot more than we use the PS3 [World of Warcraft fans] so the time we have available for the processing is limited to sleeping time... the estimate however on the current work unit that my wife's computer is working on is 39 hours... during the 6 hours we sleep thats going to take us 7 days assuming all goes to plan.. will this be outside the time limit on the folding unit?

All our computers are equipped with duo processors also.. are there any plans to utilise such systems or are they already utilising the duo-processors?

And finally... Are there any pre-formed "Tell your friends" type email generators for announcing the benefits of folding@home to our friends and family?
10 MILLION computers are connected to the World of Warcraft network.... Utilising even 1/10th of that processing power when they log off for the night would vastly improve the speed of results.

[uncle fuzzy]

Welcome to folding and the forum.

Here are the current projects with points and deadlines.
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/psummary.html

Which clients are you running? The SMP uses both cores together, but needs the computer almost all to itself, due to the short deadlines. You should probably be running the CPU console client, either v5.04 or v6 Beta. The dual core machines can run 2 clients. The deadlines are long enough (4-12 weeks) that heavy gaming won't make them late. They will still run while gaming, using the idle cycle(s) between actions in the game.

[sneakers55]

Heyas,We use our PCs and laptop a lot more than we use the PS3 [World of Warcraft fans] so the time we have available for the processing is limited to sleeping time... the estimate however on the current work unit that my wife's computer is working on is 39 hours... during the 6 hours we sleep thats going to take us 7 days assuming all goes to plan.. will this be outside the time limit on the folding unit?

The minimum time limit for a CPU based folding (not GPU or SMP) is ten days and typically much longer. There's a PROJECT SUMMARY on the F@H site that gives exact time limits.

All our computers are equipped with duo processors also.. are there any plans to utilise such systems or are they already utilising the duo-processors?

Given that you only have about six hours of folding time per day, that pretty much rules out the SMP client. But you can run two copies of the CPU client -- see the F@H site "FAQ compiled on FAH WIKI" for detailed instructions.

[uncle fuzzy]

If you install a monitoring program, like FahMon, it will show you time remaining to complete and the deadline, along with other goodies.
http://fahmon.net/download.html
Make sure to update the project file after installing FahMon.

[michatmaster7]

I have been reading the FAQ sections for over an hour and am much more educated about this project and quitre intriqued by it I must say.

I also have a dual-core machine that I am quite proud of. I have a few questions though...

1) I periodically need to restart my computer, does this matter? What happens to the program that is running in the background? Will it automatically start working again when the computer boots up?

2) I, too, am a huge fan of World of Warcraft and play about 4 hours at the end of every day. I used to shut my machine down every night after that, but now maybe I should just restart it and turn off all the other applications that normally start on boot-up (since I'll be sleeping)?

3) I don't understand the concept of a deadline..... can you link me to this on the site somewhere? I have a deadline????

Thanks!

PS - uncle fuzzy - I just moved from MI... 8)

[bruce]

Welcome to foldingforum.org.

You can find a lot of the answers you're looking for in the FAQ at http://folding.stanford.edu Is that where you've been reading?

1) I periodically need to restart my computer, does this matter? What happens to the program that is running in the background? Will it automatically start working again when the computer boots up?

If you run the released clients, a restart shouldn't bother FAH enough to matter. The beta clients are more likely to lose work sometimes when you restart.

There are several ways to install FAH.
A) Many people like to start FAH manually.
B) At one time, there were screen-savers that ran FAH only when the machine was unused for XX minutes.
C) Many people place a shortcut to FAH in the startup folder (you didn't say if you're running Windows, but since that's most common, I'll assume that you are.)
D) Some people choose to install the console client as a service and are not interested in seeing any evidence that it's running. (The service restarts itself, even if you don't log on immediately and is ideal for machines that are configured for several different people.)

2) I, too, am a huge fan of World of Warcraft and play about 4 hours at the end of every day. I used to shut my machine down every night after that, but now maybe I should just restart it and turn off all the other applications that normally start on boot-up (since I'll be sleeping)?

Sure, but you probably don't need to do all that. FAH will use any unused resources. Most other applications actually use very little CPU time except when you're using them (and some use very little even when you're using them. About the only thing you're likely to need to shut down is a p2p sharing program, if you run one of those. Just leave your machine on and let FAH do whatever it wants for 20 hours per day.

3) I don't understand the concept of a deadline..... can you link me to this on the site somewhere? I have a deadline????

Every Work Unit (WU) that is assigned by Stanford must be completed if possible. If someone shuts down their computer or decides to stop folding (or something happens to the WU, itself) Stanford will eventually assign it to someone else. The time they wait before reassigning it is called the Preferred Deadline. (If you don't meet that deadline, the work will need to be duplicated, even if you eventually finish it.) If you do miss that deadline occasionally, you may still be awarded points for the work you've done, provided you return the results before the Final Deadline.

Deadlines for the uniprocessor client are generally very long and they won't cause a problem. Deadlines for the GPU client are significantly shorter. Deadlines for the SMP client and the PS3 are really very short. See the data on this page: http://fah-web.stanford.edu/psummary.html

[anko1]

"Sure, but you probably don't need to do all that. FAH will use any unused resources. "

I was wondering about that. If I do Cntr-Alt-Del and get Windows Task Manager (Windows XP) and click on the Processes Tab, it shows FAH only using 50% and idle using 50%. I checked my configuration, and it's set for 100%. Any suggestions on how to boost my usage?

[sortofageek]

"Sure, but you probably don't need to do all that. FAH will use any unused resources. "

I was wondering about that. If I do Cntr-Alt-Del and get Windows Task Manager (Windows XP) and click on the Processes Tab, it shows FAH only using 50% and idle using 50%. I checked my configuration, and it's set for 100%. Any suggestions on how to boost my usage?

Yes, if your processor has two cores, you can run two clients. Each, configured at 100 percent, will use 100 percent of one core or 50 percent of your total processor.

This works well with two console clients, each with a unique machine ID#.

[anko1]

"Sure, but you probably don't need to do all that. FAH will use any unused resources. "

I was wondering about that. If I do Cntr-Alt-Del and get Windows Task Manager (Windows XP) and click on the Processes Tab, it shows FAH only using 50% and idle using 50%. I checked my configuration, and it's set for 100%. Any suggestions on how to boost my usage?

Yes, if your processor has two cores, you can run two clients. Each, configured at 100 percent, will use 100 percent of one core or 50 percent of your total processor.

This works well with two console clients, each with a unique machine ID#.

Thanks for the prompt response, but how do I know if I have two cores? You're talking to someone who ordered her computer out of a Dell catalog, mostly for email, and surfing the web and FreeCell. I'm not sure if it's worth your time trying to explain to me how to do this, but I'm game if you are. Or are there simple instructions some place (simple being the key)?

[TheKellieGang]

Thanks for the prompt response, but how do I know if I have two cores? You're talking to someone who ordered her computer out of a Dell catalog, mostly for email, and surfing the web and FreeCell. I'm not sure if it's worth your time trying to explain to me how to do this, but I'm game if you are. Or are there simple instructions some place (simple being the key)?

If you ordered it within the last 15 months it's almost guaranteed to be dual core..

Start > Control Panel > System > General [tab]
It will say on the general tab.. something like Pentium[R] D CPU 3.xxGHZ

The D being for Duo I believe. [or the generation of pentium chip which are all dual processors i think]

I'm not much more ahead of the game than you are so I feel your pain



I also would like to know how to attribute more resources to the folding if there is a way other than running a second client?
Also.. if someone could explain which type of client I should be running [or capable of running] on my 3 machines i'd be very much appreciative... the specs are as follows..


2x desktops identical...
Pentium D CPU 3.20ghz
1gb RAM
94.6GB free HD space remaining

1x Laptop...
Asus
Duo T5500 Processor
1GB RAM
60GB HD space remaining


The ps3 blitzes through the folding processes in comparison to the clients i downloaded for the computers...
Since my first post today I am at 1050/5000 frames of my first work unit on all 3 computers... interesting to note... the computer i've been playing on all day [since posting the first time] is only slightly behind the other 2.

So for all you wow fans out there... you can play WoW and fold at the same time and not be far behind a computer that has ONLY been folding for the same amount of time.

[Rebel44]

You need to create 2 directories - 1 for each client - for example C:/FAH/CPU1 and C:/FAH/CPU2

If you want to use 2 or more clients on 1 PC you will have to use Text only version (CLI).

[sortofageek]

Or are there simple instructions some place (simple being the key)?

If you already have one client installed, just install another in its own directory, but it must be a console client. If you have the GUI installed and want instructions on installing a console client, let us know.

Assuming you do know how to install a console client, the only thing really critical to know is to configure each with a unique machine ID. The first one is #1 by default unless you changed that. This FAQ should help give you the picture, I think, but let us know if you need more help.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3015

Normally we would point you to the FAH Wiki FAQ. I looked there and, unfortunately, the link to the relevant info is back to the site that is down right now, FCF.org.

[anko1]

This will be an excellent exercise in coming up with instructions that anyone, no matter how computer illiterate, can follow.

just install another in its own directory

How do I create another directory?

If you have the GUI installed and want instructions on installing a console client, let us know.

Yes, I have a graphical client installed. That's the beauty of the download page: just click and go! So I'd appreciate instructions on installing the console client. I don't suppose it'd be as easy as clicking on the second icon (text only console)? I get that somehow I have to make this second program think it's machine #2, or at least have machine ID #2, but I might (probably) need help in figuring out where/how to do this.

Thanks so much for your patience!

[sortofageek]

OK, since you already have a GUI client installed, that one has taken the machine ID #1 identifier, so a second client would typically use machine ID #2. Both clients will use the same machine ID from the registry, unique for each computer, which is entered in the registry (Windows) when the first client is installed. If you try to install another GUI client, it will want ID #1 as well and both cannot be recognized by Stanford servers.

It's pretty easy.

1. Download the console version for your OS.
2. Create a folder for it. (I typically use short and simple folder names like FAH, FAH1, FAH2, etc., second client on a computer I would name FAH2, but that's just me. The shorter the name, the shorter the path to the executable and the easier it is to deal with the startup command line.)
3. Place the executable you downloaded in the folder you created.
4. Create a shortcut to it.
5. Assuming you are right handed, right click on the shortcut and add the -local and -verbosity 9 switches to the end of the command in the target box.

So, if you created the folder on drive C and named it FAH2, you would have this in the target box in Properties: C:\FAH2\FAHxxxxx.exe -local -verbosity 9 The name of the executable would vary depending on which console client you downloaded. You can also add the -configonly switch if you only want to configure and don't want the client to start folding. If you don't add that switch, it should connect and download a work unit after the configuration process is complete.

6. Doubleclick on the shortcut to start the client. The first time it runs it will run you through the configuration. It is during that configuration process where you would tell this client it is machine ID #2.

Those are the basics. Choices will be similar to those you made when installing the GUI.

These links may help you:
http://fahwiki.net/index.php/How_do_I_i ... newbies%29
http://fahwiki.net/index.php/CPU_client ... _.28CLI.29
http://fahwiki.net/index.php/FAH_%26_SM ... le_Clients

[anko1]

I'm getting warmer, I think...

So I created a new folder and downloaded the console client in it, and created a short cut and added the commands (w/ spaces before the dashes, right?). However, when I double clicked on the short cut (and where should that be? I have it in the same folder as the console program), it seemed to go straight to trying to fold, w/o any config questions. Now I think I'm in the same directory (C: drive), so is that a problem?

My original program is in:
C: \ProgramFiles\Folding@Home

my new console is in:
C:\ProgramFiles\FAH2

and d..., I think I just lost the file I had almost completed! so maybe I'm getting colder.