New, Question on type of computer I need

[foldingjen]

Hi all,

I have been using an old Windows 7 laptop to crunch numbers for Seti@Home. I'm not a computer whiz, but it's working with Bionic, and it's happening.

But I've been thinking, what good is it to find ET if we're dead? Maybe it would be better to fold, instead? Be more helpful to humanity.

So I've tried to download/get started in folding@home with two different laptops, neither of which can connect to your system.

One is a Windows 7 HP Intel Core i5 2.4ghz. This one is a macbook still with snow leopard, 2.1 ghz intel core 2 Duo 2 gb 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM.

I do have a more recent laptop with the latest updates from Apple, but I'm a little concerned about leaving it out and crunching all the time. I've been burglarized before.

I'm not sure what a client is, that I've read here, so if you can help me figure out a minor computer I can use to help, please let me know?

Thank you

Jen

[bruce]

Welcome to foldingforum,org, foldingjen

I, too, spent several years with SETI but made the same decision: I'd rather help find a cure for disease than help search for ET.

FAH's client will run fine on your Win7 computer (provided it doesn't have to compete with BOINC) or on Mac systems as long as they're Intel devices rather than the really old PPC hardware. Laptops are generally slower than desktops -- or you can run FAH on more than one as long as you identify yourself with the same Name/Team/Passkey.

The released client can be found at Start Folding or you can consider the much newer beta client found on this forum (which fixes a few problems and introduces a few new ones).

[Joe_H]

Bruce has answered your questions, I am just adding a bit on the Mac. I used to fold on my MacBook with a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo and Snow Leopard until I replaced it. Yours should work okay, the client and cores were compiled to run on 10.6.8 or later.

If you are unable to connect with the client after installing it, post the messages about the connection failure and we will try to assist you in troubleshooting. But as long as the client can make the same type of http connection with the servers as a web browser, it should work.

[foldingjen]

Hi.

I just tried it again.

When I go to the start page http://folding.stanford.edu/ and try to download http://folding.stanford.edu/start-folding/ it says Safari can't open the page. I am 10.6.8. It says pretty much the same thing on the Windows 7 laptop. That's why I thought both these laptops must be too old, but I gather they should work.

So I'm probably being a dunce about something. Happens now and then.

[parkut]

Can you open this page: https://folding.stanford.edu/alternative-downloads/ ??