Folding Forum

Posted: **Thu Jul 11, 2013 6:18 am**

Hi,

I am completely new to Folding@Home. I just started a project. I have been running it on Medium for about half an hour on my MacBook (which is the fastest current MacBook model). My progress is still at 0.00%, ETA is at 0.00, and PPD is --. Is there a problem or is this just going to take really really long? Because assuming I have completed 0.01% (which is an overestimate considering that isn't showing up yet) it will take 208 days for the project to finish, whereas the deadline is in 55 days. What does ETA even mean? Also, are there any plans to add more decimal places to the percentage bar?

Posted: **Thu Jul 11, 2013 6:53 am**

Welcome to the folding@home support forum nss.

When a project is worked on for the first time the ETA and PPD estimates will usually take a few frames before displaying.

If you could post the System Info and Config sections of your log as explained here we can get a better picture of how you are running folding@home and perhaps make some suggestions.

Posted: **Thu Jul 11, 2013 7:41 am**

ETA stands for Estimated Time of Arrival, in this context it's an estimate of how long it will be until the work unit finishes.

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2013 3:11 am**

Code: Select all

*********************** Log Started 2013-07-05T20:45:57Z ***********************
20:45:57:************************* Folding@home Client *************************
20:45:57:    Website: http://folding.stanford.edu/
20:45:57:  Copyright: (c) 2009-2013 Stanford University
20:45:57:     Author: Joseph Coffland <joseph@cauldrondevelopment.com>
20:45:57:       Args: 
20:45:57:     Config: /Library/Application Support/FAHClient/config.xml
20:45:57:******************************** Build ********************************
20:45:57:    Version: 7.3.6
20:45:57:       Date: Feb 18 2013
20:45:57:       Time: 15:24:11
20:45:57:    SVN Rev: 3923
20:45:57:     Branch: fah/trunk/client
20:45:57:   Compiler: GNU 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)
20:45:57:    Options: -std=gnu++98 -O3 -funroll-loops -mfpmath=sse -ffast-math
20:45:57:             -fno-unsafe-math-optimizations -msse3 -arch x86_64
20:45:57:             -mmacosx-version-min=10.5 -isysroot /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.5.sdk
20:45:57:   Platform: darwin 10.8.0
20:45:57:       Bits: 64
20:45:57:       Mode: Release
20:45:57:******************************* System ********************************
20:45:57:        CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3820QM CPU @ 2.70GHz
20:45:57:     CPU ID: GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
20:45:57:       CPUs: 8
20:45:57:     Memory: 8.00GiB
20:45:57:Free Memory: 7.02GiB
20:45:57:    Threads: POSIX_THREADS
20:45:57:Has Battery: true
20:45:57: On Battery: false
20:45:57: UTC offset: -7
20:45:57:        PID: 75
20:45:57:        CWD: /Library/Application Support/FAHClient
20:45:57:         OS: Darwin 12.1.0 x86_64
20:45:57:    OS Arch: AMD64
20:45:57:       GPUs: 1
20:45:57:      GPU 0: NVIDIA:3 GK107 [GeForce GT 650M]
20:45:57:       CUDA: Not detected
20:45:57:***********************************************************************
20:45:57:<config>
20:45:57:  <!-- Folding Slot Configuration -->
20:45:57:  <power v='off'/>
20:45:57:
20:45:57:  <!-- User Information -->
20:45:57:  <passkey v='********************************'/>
20:45:57:  <user v='REDACTED'/>
20:45:57:
20:45:57:  <!-- Folding Slots -->
20:45:57:  <slot id='0' type='CPU'/>
20:45:57:</config>
20:45:57:Trying to access database...
20:45:57:Successfully acquired database lock
20:45:57:Enabled folding slot 00: PAUSED cpu:8 (paused)
******************************* Date: 2013-07-11 *******************************
06:00:27:5:127.0.0.1:New Web connection
06:00:38:WU00:FS00:Starting
06:00:38:WU00:FS00:Running FahCore: /usr/bin/FAHCoreWrapper "/Library/Application Support/FAHClient/cores/www.stanford.edu/~pande/OSX/AMD64/Core_a4.fah/FahCore_a4" -dir 00 -suffix 01 -version 703 -lifeline 75 -checkpoint 15 -np 4
06:00:38:WU00:FS00:Started FahCore on PID 5133
06:00:38:WU00:FS00:Core PID:5134
06:00:38:WU00:FS00:FahCore 0xa4 started
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:*------------------------------*
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Folding@Home Gromacs Core
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Version 2.27 (Thu Feb 10 09:46:40 PST 2011)
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Preparing to commence simulation
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Looking at optimizations...
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Files status OK
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Expanded 2079214 -> 5386224 (decompressed 259.0 percent)
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Called DecompressByteArray: compressed_data_size=2079214 data_size=5386224, decompressed_data_size=5386224 diff=0
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Digital signature verified
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Project: 7809 (Run 5, Clone 282, Gen 225)
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Assembly optimizations on if available.
06:00:39:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Entering M.D.
06:00:45:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Mapping NT from 4 to 4 
06:00:45:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Completed 0 out of 1500000 steps  (0%)
06:01:39:Saving configuration to config.xml
06:01:39:<config>
06:01:39:  <!-- User Information -->
06:01:39:  <passkey v='********************************'/>
06:01:39:  <user v='REDACTED'/>
06:01:39:
06:01:39:  <!-- Folding Slots -->
06:01:39:  <slot id='0' type='CPU'/>
06:01:39:</config>
06:02:31:FS00:Shutting core down
06:02:33:WU00:FS00:FahCore returned: INTERRUPTED (102 = 0x66)
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:Starting
06:02:34:WARNING:WU00:FS00:Changed SMP threads from 4 to 7 this can cause some work units to fail
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:Running FahCore: /usr/bin/FAHCoreWrapper "/Library/Application Support/FAHClient/cores/www.stanford.edu/~pande/OSX/AMD64/Core_a4.fah/FahCore_a4" -dir 00 -suffix 01 -version 703 -lifeline 75 -checkpoint 15 -np 7
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:Started FahCore on PID 5165
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:Core PID:5166
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:FahCore 0xa4 started
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:*------------------------------*
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Folding@Home Gromacs Core
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Version 2.27 (Thu Feb 10 09:46:40 PST 2011)
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Preparing to commence simulation
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Looking at optimizations...
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Files status OK
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Expanded 2079214 -> 5386224 (decompressed 259.0 percent)
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Called DecompressByteArray: compressed_data_size=2079214 data_size=5386224, decompressed_data_size=5386224 diff=0
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Digital signature verified
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Project: 7809 (Run 5, Clone 282, Gen 225)
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Assembly optimizations on if available.
06:02:34:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Entering M.D.
06:02:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Mapping NT from 7 to 7 
06:02:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Completed 0 out of 1500000 steps  (0%)
06:03:31:Saving configuration to config.xml
06:03:31:<config>
06:03:31:  <!-- Folding Slot Configuration -->
06:03:31:  <power v='medium'/>
06:03:31:
06:03:31:  <!-- User Information -->
06:03:31:  <passkey v='********************************'/>
06:03:31:  <user v='REDACTED'/>
06:03:31:
06:03:31:  <!-- Folding Slots -->
06:03:31:  <slot id='0' type='CPU'/>
06:03:31:</config>
06:11:37:FS00:Shutting core down
06:11:39:WU00:FS00:FahCore returned: INTERRUPTED (102 = 0x66)
06:11:39:WU00:FS00:Starting
06:11:39:WARNING:WU00:FS00:Changed SMP threads from 7 to 4 this can cause some work units to fail
06:11:39:WU00:FS00:Running FahCore: /usr/bin/FAHCoreWrapper "/Library/Application Support/FAHClient/cores/www.stanford.edu/~pande/OSX/AMD64/Core_a4.fah/FahCore_a4" -dir 00 -suffix 01 -version 703 -lifeline 75 -checkpoint 15 -np 4
06:11:39:WU00:FS00:Started FahCore on PID 5222
06:11:39:WU00:FS00:Core PID:5223
06:11:39:WU00:FS00:FahCore 0xa4 started
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:*------------------------------*
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Folding@Home Gromacs Core
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Version 2.27 (Thu Feb 10 09:46:40 PST 2011)
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Preparing to commence simulation
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Looking at optimizations...
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Files status OK
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Expanded 2079214 -> 5386224 (decompressed 259.0 percent)
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Called DecompressByteArray: compressed_data_size=2079214 data_size=5386224, decompressed_data_size=5386224 diff=0
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:- Digital signature verified
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Project: 7809 (Run 5, Clone 282, Gen 225)
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Assembly optimizations on if available.
06:11:40:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Entering M.D.
06:11:46:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Mapping NT from 4 to 4 
06:11:46:WU00:FS00:0xa4:Completed 0 out of 1500000 steps  (0%)
06:12:38:Saving configuration to config.xml
06:12:38:<config>
06:12:38:  <!-- User Information -->
06:12:38:  <passkey v='********************************'/>
06:12:38:  <user v='REDACTED'/>
06:12:38:
06:12:38:  <!-- Folding Slots -->
06:12:38:  <slot id='0' type='CPU'/>
06:12:38:</config>
06:18:32:FS00:Shutting core down
06:18:35:WU00:FS00:FahCore returned: INTERRUPTED (102 = 0x66)
06:19:32:Saving configuration to config.xml
06:19:32:<config>
06:19:32:  <!-- Folding Slot Configuration -->
06:19:32:  <power v='off'/>
06:19:32:
06:19:32:  <!-- User Information -->
06:19:32:  <passkey v='********************************'/>
06:19:32:  <user v='REDACTED'/>
06:19:32:
06:19:32:  <!-- Folding Slots -->
06:19:32:  <slot id='0' type='CPU'/>
06:19:32:</config>
******************************* Date: 2013-07-12 *******************************
03:07:14:27:127.0.0.1:New Web connection

Mod edit: Added Code tags

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2013 3:31 am**

Looking at the log, it shows you kept shutting down and restarting folding after fairly short periods. None was as long as 10 minutes. The default checkpoint period is 15 minutes, so each time the F@H simulation restarted from the beginning. I would have to look up the last time I ran a WU from Project 7809 to get comparable TPF's to give you an idea how long processing would take in total. So if you could leave the client running continuously for half an hour or so, you should see some progress.

P.S. I looked up a Project 7809 run from an older log on my iMac. The TPF was just over 11 minutes using SMP:8, what would be the Full setting on the slider. That is approximately 20 hours total to complete running full time. The CPU in the iMac is an older generation i7, but that should give you an approximate idea of how long it should take on yours.

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2013 4:24 am**

All right, thanks for your information. Although I'm fairly sure I had tried to run it for more than 15 minutes yesterday, I'll try it again today, on Medium for at least an hour.
Does it restart every time you change a setting (i.e. from Light to Medium or vice versa)? Also, what exactly is the reasoning behind the 15-minute checkpoints versus 5 or something, just wondering?

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2013 4:46 am**

Most people leave fah running all the time, so 15 is a good balance between performance and efficiency.

Plus anyone needing checkpoints shorter than that probably isn't running fah enough hours per to make the deadlines.

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2013 4:51 am**

It will restart if you move the slider to Off, and then back to another setting. Some setting changes only take effect after a restart and will apply to the next WU. Settings that include Idle in the name will pause processing while you are using your system, keyboard or mouse input,and resume a short time after you stop. There may be some other combinations of changes that will cause a restart, but I have not tested them all. Further documentation on the slider settings can be found here and here.

The choice of 15 minutes for the default checkpoint period is a compromise between recovering from an interruption and some loss of processing during more frequent writes of checkpoint files. It can be adjusted using the advanced control, FAHControl. If I recall correctly the minimum is 3 minutes and the maximum is 30 minutes. The default is good for many folders, but those with different circumstances can choose another value. One disadvantage of too frequent checkpointing is that it also increases the chance of an interruption during the writing of the checkpoint file can cause it to be corrupted. The client can't recover from the interruption if that file is bad.

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2013 5:04 am**

It's working now! Already at 4%. Does FAH also run when laptop is closed (i.e. asleep)

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2013 5:15 am**

If you don't pause it, it stays "running". But since the laptop sleep function under OS X takes precedence it will not accumulate any processing time. It works a bit differently with the sleep function under the Windows OS. When the laptop comes out of sleep you may see a message in the log like this, "[93m20:51:40:WARNING:WU00:FS00:Detected clock skew (41 mins 29 secs), adjusting time estimates[0m", when processing resumes when you wake the laptop up. That message was copied from the log on my son's Mac Pro running the 7.2.9 version, so the exact format might be a bit different in 7.3.6. He normally runs full time, a recent system update changed the power management setting to enable sleep.

Posted: **Sat Jul 13, 2013 9:16 pm**

^^^I just changed it from Light to Medium, and it went from 23.10 to 22.55. Is there something messed up with mine?

Posted: **Sat Jul 13, 2013 9:42 pm**

We would need to see the log entries covering the changes made to see if there was a problem. There might not be any though as Light uses half the available cores and Medium uses n-1. The additional cores are provided by hyper-threading, HT, or a virtual core and do not provide as much improvement in processing time as an full physical core.

Posted: **Sun Jul 14, 2013 4:02 am**

nss wrote:^^^I just changed it from Light to Medium, and it went from 23.10 to 22.55. Is there something messed up with mine?

Yes

The FAHCore wrote a checkpoint at 22.:55 and had not written another one until you made a change which caused it to stop and resume processing. It resumed from the most recent checkpoint and work between then and when you stopped it had to be resumed because the core was stopped.

Adjusting the checkpoint interval in the Advanced Control program is only partly effective. Each project uses a single FAHCore to do the analysis and each FAHCore has been developed by a different member of the Pande Group and mostly by a different group of scientists and programmers.

In some FAHCores, the checkpoint can be manually adjusted between 3 and 30 minutes. The Client software accepts those settings and the FAHCore may trigger checkpoints as expected. Other FAHCores use different triggers such as the frame timer (typically 1% steps). Serveral FAHCores use more obscure triggers and you can't adjust them.

Posted: **Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:03 am**

nss wrote:Does FAH also run when laptop is closed (i.e. asleep)

You prabably have an option as to what happens when you close the lid. I used to keep the Windows default (and, I know you have a MAC which will be different) which was to go into sleep mode. For folding, I reset it to just turn the screen off. I leave my laptops plugged in with FAH running 24x7, unless I actually take it somewheres. Then, I manually put in sleep mode, off, or hibernate.

Works for me -- should have an analog to work with the Mac.

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