Folding@Home

[Tea]

Excuse me - I mean 400, of course. (See my sig.)

 

[CougTek]

Was it recently that you downloaded a WU using teh Linux client? So the Linux F@H servers are working?

No Clocker, I could not even download a WU from my linux box at the time I wrote that. I wrote that the client was working fine because I knew my computer had no problem to connect to the web and the client acted like it normally does under Winblows. Fortunately, everything seems to be back to normal now.

I don't think their server makes a distinction between the linux and winblows clients BTW.

I had to disable the screensaver of KDE because in a whole hour, my system only achieved 1/100th of a step on a #127 WU while it generally does 1/100th in about 12 minutes. I'm checking the crunching performance right now. I hope it won't differ from the one on Winblows 2K (in a negative way) or else I'll have to come back to the Satanic OS in order to remain competitive.

 

[Clocker]

I've read that the Linux version is the slowest version of the core (due to some compiling issues) . Of course, GROMACS is about to be released in the Linux version (first) so hopefully the promised speed increases are there...

C

 

[Buck]

Update

You can take a few systems off my crunching list. Presently, all I have is a PIII 933, PIII 667, and a PIII 1.2Ghz.

 

[CougTek]

After messing for a while with Linux, I rebooted because the FAHconsole was performing lamely. My plan was to return to the Win2K OS that is (was, actually) also installed on that system. Problem is : Red Hat fubared the MBR and now the system freeze when I tell it to boot on the "DOS" partition (Linux cannot apparently make the difference between NTFS and DOS) and my only realistic choice is to stay on Linux.

So, after a clean boot, FAHConsole with nothing else opened to clutter the memory now performs at ~80% of the speed of the Windows' Console. Nothing impressive, but it's better than it was after I installed a bunch of programs and open/closed a lot of applications on the previous session. What took 12 minutes on Win2K now takes 15, but it's way better than the 40 minutes it took before rebooting. At least this isn't my main box so my total daily production shouldn't be too affected.

 

[CougTek]

I've read that the Linux version is the slowest version of the core (due to some compiling issues) . Of course, GROMACS is about to be released in the Linux version (first) so hopefully the promised speed increases are there...

Ahhh...So maybe that's why. Thanks for sharing this info.


Buck,

I noticed I was coming back on you steadily during the last few days. I don't know how much time you have before I reach you. I might have the time to pass either Clocker or Handruin in the meanwhile as I'm slightly over-producing them currently.

 

[Buck]

Buck,

I noticed I was coming back on you steadily during the last few days. I don't know how much time you have before I reach you. I might have the time to pass either Clocker or Handruin in the meanwhile as I'm slightly over-producing them currently.

Go for it Coug, I'll even pull over to let you pass.

 

[Buck]

In a whirlwind of clearly identifiable speed, I have passed Handruin at Genome@Home.

 

[NRG = mc²]

Argh this sucks. I switched off Genome last night to do some benchmarking, forgot to turn it back on, and went to bed. 8 hours lost

 

[Tea]

Right, this is it kids. Over the top!

Kristi and Tannin will gang up and kill me if I don't let them have at least a little bit of the workshop back on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday here) but in the meantime I have assembled a mighty arsenal with which to punish JoJo.

(Tea!)

Er... Sorry, "with which to serve my fellow ... er ... primates of the insuficiently haired variety, and increase Team Storage Forum's score", I meant to say.

(That's better.)

Um, about the arsenal. Thanks to Sol's kind offer to lend me an extra hub, I now have, um ... (counts on fingers) ...

4 Athlon XP 1900
3 Athlon XP 1800
1Thunderbird 1400C
1Thunderbird 1333
1Thunderbird 1000A
1 Pentium III 666
1 Duron 600
2 K6-III 500

Alas, they are all still on dial-up, so I'm only getting about 50% efficiency from them, but (as you humans say) when finesse is lacking, brute force must suffice.

And why is Monday a holiday? It's the Queen's Birthday.An absolutely absurd idea, actually. (a) She is the Queen of England and hasn't got much at all to do with Australia, (b) Tannin, Kristi and I are all republicans (Michael and David, being part-timers don't get a vote), and (c) it's not her birthday anyway.

So, naturally, we will all ignore that nonsense and turn up at 9:00 AM to do an honest day's work.

Not!

 

[Tannin]

Seeing as Tea has become obsessed with her personal glory (or lack of it more to the point), I guess it's up to me to announce that we are now on Team Austech Info's radar! They crunch about 900 points a week, so they are no pushover.

They are at #148, we are at #154 and closing. Way to go guys!

 

[Tannin]

Also, welcome to Mourn and Muitah. Thanks for joining our team, guys. (Or girls, as the case may be.)

Great to see you crunching along with us! Also Soup_Nazi, who seems to have finally got the better of Pradeep, at least for the time being.

Post here to let us know who you are. We don't bite. (Well, Cougtek bites, but he is usually sorry afterwards.)

Tony

 

[Clocker]

Yes! Welcome Mourn and Muitah!! I noticed you on the status this AM. It is great to see some new members on the team!

OK, now, GET TO WORK AND START CRUNCHING!!

Clocker

 

[P5-133XL]

I'm impressed, The last time I looked SF had 39 processors running and today when I looked we have 73. That means we are averaging almost 5 processors per person. The group is actually doing very well inspite of me (only one processor). As a group not only are there high poered machines, there are lots of them per person.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

One processor for me too.
Do the division (processors/persons) with less persons... even better!

 

[CougTek]

The group is actually doing very well in spite of me (only one processor).

Actually Mark, you're doing very well. Among the single CPU members, you're ranked #1, not bad.

(Well, Cougtek bites, but he is usually sorry afterwards.)

I protest. I've never bitten anyone. I smash people with my keyboard, not with my teeth.

I also want to greet our two new contributors and I encourage them to participate in the forum.

 

[NRG = mc²]

4 Athlon XP 1900
3 Athlon XP 1800
1Thunderbird 1400C
1Thunderbird 1333
1Thunderbird 1000A
1 Pentium III 666
1 Duron 600
2 K6-III 500

Have you calculated the electricity costs for all those machines?

And why is Monday a holiday? It's the Queen's Birthday.An absolutely absurd idea, actually. (a) She is the Queen of England and hasn't got much at all to do with Australia, (b) Tannin, Kristi and I are all republicans (Michael and David, being part-timers don't get a vote), and (c) it's not her birthday anyway.

So, naturally, we will all ignore that nonsense and turn up at 9:00 AM to do an honest day's work.

It was bad enough last week with the queen's 50 years celebration - banks closed and post offices too (I had some stuff to send and had to go to the bank so that got on my nerves). around 1 million or more people gathered around Buckingham Palace to celebrate.

Celebrate what? Give us a break. As if you cared she's been on the throne all these years. What exactly does she do? No, really? :evil:

As far as I'm concerned, it was just an excuse for everyone to get madly drunk out of their minds as usual :drinka:

 

[Tea]

Nahhh. Tannin and Kristi pay the bills. I'm only imaginary, so I don't have to worry about mundane stuff like money.

Actually, I think we should not only celebrate the Queen's birthday, but also Prince Phillip's birthday, and as many other royal events as possible. I couldn't care less about the royals, but I'm all in favour of having a day off work. Hell, I'll celebrate George Bush's cat's birthday if it means another day off.

 

[Tea]

PS: about the power, Anyway, they help keep the workshop warm and save on the heating bill.

 

[Buck]

It's nice that Tannin and Kristi pay the bills for you. My electricity bill came and I was 12% higher in usuage because of this folding business. That may not sound like much, but it took me into a more expensive usuage bracket. So my bill was 32% higher in price.

 

[Tannin]

Team Storageforum.net: #150
Team Austech Info: #146

We are closing in by inches. These guys are crunching hard. Four places behind them now: 2086 points vs 2164 points. Keep crunching guys, we will get there.

 

[CNN Sport]

"Dave, we have an update."

"Go right ahead Ed."

"In the moves today at the Folding Stakes, we saw Cliptin pass The Prof to slip into 8th place."

"He has a long way to go to catch P5_133XL though, Ed."

"Yes Dave, Passing Prof Wizzard shows that you have moved out of the small-time. To pass P5 you need to get serious."

"What about the top of the field, Ed?"

"Not much change, Dave. Tea has reduced The JoJo's lead a little - she has it down to 78 points now, in a good day for her, but The JoJo is resiliant and will hit back soon enough."

"Going to be a real arm wrestle, that one."

"Yes Dave. Might go 15 rounds, I think. Also, the youngster Mourn, in an impressive start, has added a pair of two-pointers to push Soup_Nazi back into 12th place. Team Storage ZForum has 2100 points, 148 place overall."

"Thankyou Ed."

 

[Groltz]

I will read any post to see a good CNN Sport game log.

Incidentally, I found this while poking around the web. I don't know if you guys will find it useful or not, but I thought I would pass it along.

--Steve

 

[The JoJo]

A mighty arsenal Tea! Give me a whissle when you're close, so I can give some room for you to pass me

And great to have some new members!

Do we already have the possibility to get into the top 10 some day?

Good work everyone! It doesn't matter if you have 1 or 10 computers crunching. It matters that you are doing as much crunching as possible!!!

 

[Cliptin]

My crunching has had expenses outside of electricity for the computers. My AC stays on longer and I had to buy a new UPS. Electric rates are low in my area so ... you know ... I got that goin' for me.

 

[Handruin]

Fortunately for me I leave my PC on all the time anyway, so it makes sense to keep it busy doing crunching. My electric bill isn't very much either.

 

[CougTek]

Incidentally, I found this while poking around the web. I don't know if you guys will find it useful or not, but I thought I would pass it along.

Thanks Steve,

That part might explain Pradeep's problem :

I'm doing way more WUs than the stats say!
Usually, this problem is associated with running multiple machines. You screwed up. Never copy the client.cfg file into many work directories, because it conflicts with FAH security software. Delete all the client.cfg files in all your client folders, and restart, typing in new info for each client. The idea behind this? Each instance of your client must have a unique ID number.

 

[Handruin]

I wonder if burst would be mad if I uploaded a F@H client for linux on our web server? :mrgrn:

 

[CougTek]

They sure would be worried to see their CPU usage be at 99.9% all the time. But hey, you rent it, you can do anything you want with it, no?

 

[Tea]

Funny you should say that guys. I slipped into the office today for an hour or two - it's a cold and miserable day here in Ballarat - and the workshop was quite comfortable to be in without any heating at all. Don't ever say nine Athlons are useless!

 

[Prof.Wizard]

Don't ever say nine Athlons are useless!

LOL :lol:

 

[Pradeep]

Incidentally, I found this while poking around the web. I don't know if you guys will find it useful or not, but I thought I would pass it along.

Thanks Steve,

That part might explain Pradeep's problem :

I'm doing way more WUs than the stats say!
Usually, this problem is associated with running multiple machines. You screwed up. Never copy the client.cfg file into many work directories, because it conflicts with FAH security software. Delete all the client.cfg files in all your client folders, and restart, typing in new info for each client. The idea behind this? Each instance of your client must have a unique ID number.

The problem I have is that even when I delete client.cfg, when I re-enter my info, I get the same ID number as my other directory install. Too much hassle for me. I'll try again when ver 3 is offically released.

 

[Tea]

Pradeep, let's see if I have this right. You want to run two copies in the same machine, yes? Here is what I do:

1: Make two folders. Call them FAH1 and FAH 2 (or whatever you like)

2: Put a copy of the F@H EXE (console version) in each folder. It's easiest if you rename the files FOLD1.EXE and FOLD2.EXE or something like that.

3: (optional) put a copy of the core (FAHcore_65 or whatever) into each folder too. (You can skip this if you want, but it saves having to download the core over and over again.)

At this point you should have two folders with two files in each of them. No other files, such as CLIENT.CFG, no WORK sub-folder.

4: Make a shortcut to each of the .EXE files on your desktop (or wherever). Edit the properties of the shortcuts to add the -local switch. (This is vital.) On this machine, for example, I have a shortcut to c:\fold\1\fold1.exe -local and another to fold2.exe - local.

Double-click, fill in:

User: Pradeep
Team: 10047
(some other questions that don't matter)
Change advanced options? yes

(some more that don't matter)
Machine ID: 1 for your first copy, 2 for your second copy.

5: Start crunchin'.

There are, as I understand it, two IDs. There is your user ID number, which is always the same, no matter how many different machines you run the client on. This is keyed to your username and team (as far as I know) and is stored in the registry. The first time you run the client on a new machine, it gets this number from the Stanford server.

Then there is your machine ID. This is not what you would expect - a different ID for each machine you run. It is really a "task ID", and is designed for people with dualies. If you want to run multiple copies (perhaps because you are on dial-up and don't want to risk CPU downtime while it waits for your next net connection) then you need each of your processes to run in seperate folders with seperate machine ID numbers (1 to 4) and with the -local switch.

 

[Tea]

Steve: good link. Thanks.

Anyone: is there a way to make a shortcut "lock in" to an executable, so that you can't accidentally run two copies?

Under OS/2, I simply adjust the properties of the EXE or shadow* by deselecting "open in new window" and selecting "always open in the same window". So, for example, if I click on a shadow of the command prompt on my office machine three times, I get three different command prompt windows (that's the "new window" option), but if I click three times on the shadow of my accounting program, the first click opens it, the second two clicks simply bring it to the front ("same window" option). (Because I don't want three different copies of Quicken overwriting each other's data.)

Is it possible to do this under Windows?

The reason I ask is that today I accidentally started two copies of my FOLD1.EXE instead of a FOLD1 and a FOLD2. When I got home, my XP had crunched the first 22 steps in each process. Yike! 22/100s of a ProteinA wasted! (If you haven't met ProteinA yet, it's one of the five-point monsters that takes a full day to crunch even on an Athlon XP.)

Heart in mouth, I shut the two windows down with control-break, restarted. Grrrr! "Frames completed: 0 Remaining: 100" Another 22/100s wasted!


* Footnote: A "shadow" is the thing that Microsoft made a very flawed and inconsistent copy of when they brought out Win95. Unlike the half-arsed Windows "shortcut", a shadow is a true object-oriented construct. Any manipulation you apply to the shadow applies in exactly equal measure to the real object. Change the icon, change the command line, change the properties, change anything, and the real object changes too. The only thing you can do to a shadow that is not reflected in the parent object is deletion. (If you think about it, this has to be.)

 

[Pradeep]

Thanks Tony, I'm trying again now with the -local switch.

 

[Tea]

Watch out - you will get a beta expired notice. Obviously the gurus at Stanford have a new beta or a perhaps a 3.0 gold release almost ready - but they don't seem to think that there are parts of the world that run in different time zones. (Sometimes, really intelligent people can be so stupid.)

Anyway, you will need to set your clock back a day with the DATE command, then set it forward again. This works fine.

 

[Tea]

Can anyone answer my Windows shortcut question?

 

[Clocker]

http://folding.stanford.edu/beta3/Win32/

beta4

Only change...extended expiration date.

 

[Bartender]

By the way Clocker, I am glad that the Red Wings won. I'm not a first rate fan of them, preferring Colorado and LA first. But, any team from the Carolinas should not be winning Hockey trophies of any type. Instead, they should be out wind surfing or something more suitable to the South East.

 

[Clocker]

That triple overtime last night was one hell of a game!

I can't believe we hit the (net) posts 4 (or was it 5) times. We should have had that game in the bag earlier but luck was hard to come by.

Carolina is a team with great defense and excellent teamwork. Hopefully, we can find a good way to penetrate it. The hard loss at home for NC may be a turning point for this series.

Being a Detroiter, I'm no Colorado fan ever since Lemiux put that nasty (plastic surgery requiring - season ending) dirty-hit on Chris Draper.. I love how Patrick Roy got spanked and pulled out in game 7 (shutting them out 7-0).

C