Folding Forum

The FAH system requirement verbiage suggests that 32-bit systems running Ubuntu are supported; however, the alternative downloads page appears to show only amd64 versions of the client (there is one file for download that includes 'all' in the name but it seems to be for the FAHcontrol rather than the FAHclient). Will the 32-bit version of the client be visible to me if I access the foldingathome.org site while running in linux? Is there another section of the website I should navigate to? Is there a way to get an older version of the client that might work on the 32-bit platform? Is the 64-bit client 'backwards compatible' to 32-bit machines? Do I need to concede that my machine is just too old to make even a modest contribution to the FAH effort? I really hope I can make this work. Any insight is welcome. Thanks!

32-bit operating systems are not supported, however they generally can run both 32- and 64-bit programs. As far as I know, you can't run FAH on hardware that is incapable of running a 64-bit OS.

bruce wrote:32-bit operating systems are not supported, however they generally can run both 32- and 64-bit programs

From experience the reverse is true that 64-bit OS can run both 64-bit and 32-bit but a 32-bit operating system cannot run 64-bit programs. Developers still bothering with 32-bit support have to specifically write 32-bit versions of applications and libraries still alongside their 64-bit offerings.

Thank you for the responses! I think perhaps I should rephrase the question for the sake of clarity. The alternative downloads section appears to show only a 64-bit version of the ubuntu FAHclient. Will this FAHclient run on my 32-bit, intel dual core laptop running Ubuntu? If not, would using an older FAH client that runs 32-bit on Ubuntu be an option (would it still be able to collect, complete, and send useful work units)? If so, how can I obtain a copy of such a 32-bit ubuntu FAHclient?

Below is the verbiage on the Linux Requirements for FAH that I was working with. My machine meets these base requirements, but I have not yet located a FAHclient that matches them. If the FAHclient no longer runs on 32-bit Linux machines, perhaps the requirement verbiage should be revised? I have applied a significant amount of time trying to bring my old laptop into FAH service and it appears that this may not be possible (please correct me if my reading of the situation is untrue). If so, the only fruit that may come of my effort is to recommend amending this verbiage to spare others from applying time to this same task with the same disheartening conclusion. To whom should this be directed? Another thought, if 32-bit support has been dropped in the current version of the V7 series of clients, and it was once supported earlier in the V7 series, this may warrant a V8 designation as this would, in my mind, represent more than just a bug fix, performance boost, or interface improvement.

URL: https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/i ... uirements/

The new V7 software has the same basic hardware and operating system requirements as the previous clients. However, a few software specific requirements have changed to support newer features. Listed by slot type:

CPU Slot Requirements
Recent 32 bit or 64 bit Linux distribution, Ubuntu 11.04, Red Hat 6.x, OpenSUSE 11.x
Intel P4 1.4 GHz processor or newer, or AMD equivalent (modern multi-core processors recommended)
A limited selection of Projects are available for 32-bit
A limited selection of Projects are available for single core processors, as the End Of Life for single core projects was announced in August 2013
Projects for higher numbers of cores may require 64-bit and have shorter deadlines, generally requiring a client running at or close to 24/7
Broadband internet connection or faster

The reasons no 32 bit clients are available:

For GPUs, the vendor's drivers quit supporting 32 bits years ago.

For CPUs the AVX Floating Point math instructions require you to save the AVX registers and 32 bit OSs don't. So a 32 bit OS only supports SSE2. Some Windows Work Units are still SSE2, but Linux is all 64 bit.

I do not think any 32 bit Linux work has been available since 7.3.6, so no 32 bit clients have been available since 7.4.4. As recently as 7.5.1 a 32 bit FAHcontrol was available so you could remotely control F@H with a 32 bit system. (it caused a great deal of confusion, then frustration)

The Linux OS must be 64-bit. It can still be monitored/controlled by a 32-bit Windows OS.

Thank you Bruce and JimboPalmer! Who should be contacted to update the verbiage on the FAH site to revise the verbiage I referenced:

https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/i ... uirements/

If linux 32-bit clients are no longer available, this should be stated with clarity and consistency.

They already know the pages need updating. The person who did much of the maintenance on the requirements pages and the installation guides passed away almost 3 years ago. This was just before movement to the current website and Folding@home Consortium as Dr Pande moved on and his lab at Stanford became inactive. In getting things moved and setting up the basics for F@h, a replacement person to maintain this elements of the site was not identified or selected yet.

There were a number of notices several years ago that Linux 32-bit support was ending, they may not be as visible as they were then. OS X support has been 64-bit only for over a decade. Windows 32-bit OS support has also pretty much ended

They do have a number of developers who have offered to work on updating the site, not sure when that will be rolled out.

Joe_H, thank you so much for your response. Is there anyway that I could get in touch with the developers or otherwise relay this experience to them so that they have this specific issue on their list of actionable items?

Yes, but don't hold your breath. It's not going to be very high on their list.

https://github.com/FoldingAtHome/fah-issues