Folding Forum

Right now I downloaded 5.3 for windows XP,but it takes almost 4 days to just complete 1 WU . Is this the best software for me? Why does it takes so long?

The v5.04 or v6 beta console clients will run at about the same speed. It all depends on which interface you prefer. 4 days is not abnormal, but we could tell better if you told us about your hardware, configuration, and the project you ran.

SCARFACE12 wrote:Right now I downloaded 5.3 for windows XP,but it takes almost 4 days to just complete 1 WU . Is this the best software for me? Why does it takes so long?

If you want us to help, post more details about you machine

SCARFACE12 wrote:Right now I downloaded 5.3 for windows XP,but it takes almost 4 days to just complete 1 WU . Is this the best software for me?

The command line version is just a tiny bit faster, but it's not as user-friendly.

Unless, of course, you consider "fire and forget" (or "out of sight, out of mind") to be user-friendly. Personally, I like not having a window that can be accidentally closed, but it's your choice.

SCARFACE12 wrote:Why does it takes so long?

It's doing a LOT of work.

A 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 running 24 hours nonstop equates to 110 points (a day), and one WU can be anything from 200 to 700 points for a normal CPU WU (as distinguished from a SMP WU).

Welcome to the foldingforum suppor forum for FAH, SCARFACE12

sneakers55 wrote:Unless, of course, you consider "fire and forget" (or "out of sight, out of mind") to be user-friendly. Personally, I like not having a window that can be accidentally closed, but it's your choice.

The V5.04 (or V6) console client was designed to be a "fire and forget" application, using the unused resources that are ordinarily wasted but still giving you full use of your computer. If you're concerned about accidentally closing the window, install it as a service and that risk will be gone, making it completely out of sight. As you suggest, that's what some people want.

bruce wrote:Welcome to the foldingforum suppor forum for FAH, SCARFACE12

sneakers55 wrote:Unless, of course, you consider "fire and forget" (or "out of sight, out of mind") to be user-friendly. Personally, I like not having a window that can be accidentally closed, but it's your choice.

The V5.04 (or V6) console client was designed to be a "fire and forget" application, using the unused resources that are ordinarily wasted but still giving you full use of your computer. If you're concerned about accidentally closing the window, install it as a service and that risk will be gone, making it completely out of sight. As you suggest, that's what some people want.

Just to clarify ( I just set up my XP/DC with one Console 5.04 in addition to my GUI 5.03 last night ); so if I close the Command Window the Console program will shut down? I suspect that is not gracefully, either.

brityank wrote:Just to clarify ( I just set up my XP/DC with one Console 5.04 in addition to my GUI 5.03 last night ); so if I close the Command Window the Console program will shut down? I suspect that is not gracefully, either.

That's the case... you need to control-C out of a F@H command window.

The ctrl-C will shut the console client down 'gracefully' - that is, with minimal risk that anything will go wrong. Shutting down the console window by using the little 'x' in the upper right hand corner of the window may cause problems when you go to restart the client and work unit you were folding before the 'ungraceful' shutdown.

But you CAN run the console client as a 'service' - it starts and stops with boots/reboots, and you don't see the client 'window', so you can't accidentally shut it down. But that means you need to go into the services program (can't remember what it's called in XP; in Vista, I just search for 'services') if you want to manually stop or restart the service.

In XP it's services.msc. I keep a shortcut to it on my desktop.

Either
Start>Run>services.msc
or
make a shortcut

This might be helpful.

How do I run the Console Client as a service?

sneakers55 wrote:

brityank wrote:Just to clarify ( I just set up my XP/DC with one Console 5.04 in addition to my GUI 5.03 last night ); so if I close the Command Window the Console program will shut down? I suspect that is not gracefully, either.

That's the case... you need to control-C out of a F@H command window.

Many thanks, sneaker55, Jeannie, uncle fuzzy, and MstrBlstr -- appreciate the verification. I'd seen other dos-window progs die with the 'X' or alt-F4, so I wasn't keen to chance it. Good idea on the short-cut, once I get comfortable to set it up as a service. Right now I'm just keeping the window minimized so I can make sure that my system stays stable.

Guess I'll have to break down and learn a little about command line after all.

Just remember that with the client as a service, you'll need to use regedit to add/change the flags you're using..

uncle fuzzy wrote:Just remember that with the client as a service, you'll need to use regedit to add/change the flags you're using..

Thanks; I saw that.

I've peeked in there a few times, but never changed any of the values. Also been warned to make a back-up copy -- just to effect a recovery if it clobbers. Since I went to HK University, and took their H&P typing course, i will definitely back up!

(Hard Knocks U. and Hunt and Peck typist. hehe)

Welcome to the foldingforum, brityank.

brityank wrote: Good idea on the short-cut, once I get comfortable to set it up as a service. Right now I'm just keeping the window minimized so I can make sure that my system stays stable.

I recommend that to everybody. It also allows you to become more familiar with the messages shown in CMD window before you're forced to figure out what went wrong then the service doesn't work as expected.

You'll probably want to download one of the monitoring tools from the 3rd party forum. Most people like FahMon and you'll find it's a lot like you see in the CMD window, and it still will be after the CMD windows is hidden by the service.