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Where\'s the screensaver?

Where\'s the screensaver?

Questions and Answers : Preferences : Where\'s the screensaver?
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old_user144413

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Message 18821 - Posted: 29 Dec 2005, 5:01:20 UTC

I installed climateprediction yesterday. Is it supposed to also function as screensaver? All I get is a blank screen. When I clicked on \'Show graphics\' in the \'Work\' tab of the BOINC manager, I could get it to show me a spinning globe. But today, that \'Show graphics\' button is grayed out, so I can\'t see any graphics anymore, and can\'t think of a way to get them to function.

In the meantime, still no screensaver: after ten minutes, the screen just goes blank. Yesterday, through means I can\'t remember, I briefly got it to show a screensaver, but it was just a little BOINC logo jumping around the screen. And then that also disappeared.

This is not fundamentally important, because the program does seem to be doing its work. But I wouldn\'t mind having the cool screensaver as well!


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Les Bayliss
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Message 18824 - Posted: 29 Dec 2005, 7:18:13 UTC

The graphics on this project take up cpu time. How much depends on how old your graphics card is, and how old the drivers for it.
Because it takes such a long time to complete a model, we recommend that you don\'t use any screensaver, but set it to go blank.

BOINC ISN\'T a screensaver program, the way the original SETI apparently was. It runs in the background, using as much spare cpu time as possible, until you want to use the computer, at which point it takes a break and lets you have as much as YOU want, and just sneaks a bit now and then.
But all the projects do come with a screensaver, except Einstein.

If you are having problems with the graphics, either your drivers aren\'t up to date, or you are losing the \'focus\' by clicking somewhere else in the work tab. In which case, click on the model name in the work tab so that it is selected.
The cpdn graphics are MUCH better than the BOINC logo. To see all the options, press the H key (for help), while the graphics are being displayed.

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Message 18828 - Posted: 29 Dec 2005, 12:15:01 UTC - in response to Message 18824.  

The graphics on this project take up cpu time. How much depends on how old your graphics card is, and how old the drivers for it.
Because it takes such a long time to complete a model, we recommend that you don\'t use any screensaver, but set it to go blank.

BOINC ISN\'T a screensaver program, the way the original SETI apparently was. It runs in the background, using as much spare cpu time as possible, until you want to use the computer, at which point it takes a break and lets you have as much as YOU want, and just sneaks a bit now and then.
But all the projects do come with a screensaver, except Einstein.

If you are having problems with the graphics, either your drivers aren\'t up to date, or you are losing the \'focus\' by clicking somewhere else in the work tab. In which case, click on the model name in the work tab so that it is selected.
The cpdn graphics are MUCH better than the BOINC logo. To see all the options, press the H key (for help), while the graphics are being displayed.



Alas, I can\'t get it to display any graphics at all, so pressing the H key has no effect. I am not that desperate to see the screen saver. I am well aware that it actually just wastes valuable CPU resources. But I would like to get family and friends to also sign up for this. It is difficult to get their enthusiasm worked up when I have literally nothing to show them. Even the BOINC logo screensaver would be fine (and would probably take up minimal resources), but I can\'t work out how to get it to appear.

I have it set as screensaver on Display properties -> screen saver. When I click preview, it does show me the moving BOINC logo. But it doesn\'t appear when the computer has been idle for a while: instead, only the blank screen.

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Profile astroWX
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Message 18838 - Posted: 29 Dec 2005, 18:19:32 UTC
Last modified: 29 Dec 2005, 18:38:29 UTC

Hi, Brian, welcome aboard.

Is CPDN your only boinc project? If not, CPDN globe won\'t show when the other project(s) is/are active.

As Les mentioned, click on the Model name in the Work tab; that should make Show Graphics button available. If not it could be a problem with your graphics card or driver -- there\'s been a lot of that over the life of this project. Have you tried stopping and re-starting boinc? (To stop CPDN safely [it takes a few seconds to get the job done], go to Commands tab and click Suspend. When the status shows suspended, Select File tab & Exit.)

Drastic, but often cures a lot of ills, re-boot.

If none of that works could you tell us your video card type and driver date?


Edit: This has nothing to do with graphics, but if not already done, it may save some grief later if your Preferences have \"Leave applications in memory while preempted?\" set to YES. \"Yes\" is the prudent option. (Set in \"Your account\", link in blue on left of page.)
"We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo
Greetings from coastal Washington state, the scenic US Pacific Northwest.
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Message 18841 - Posted: 29 Dec 2005, 18:54:10 UTC - in response to Message 18838.  

\"Is CPDN your only boinc project? If not, CPDN globe won\'t show when the other project(s) is/are active.\"

It is my only project. I do share the computer with someone else, and he runs another project, but we work on separate profiles which he set up. (He is an IT professional, and knows about this stuff. I barely know where to switch the damn machine on! ;-)

\"As Les mentioned, click on the Model name in the Work tab; that should make Show Graphics button available.\"

Hmm, peculiar. I just tried it again, and this time it worked. Just hours ago, when I tried it, only the \"Suspend\" and \"Abort\" buttons became available. Now I can see the graphics, but I\'m still not clear on how to ensure that they\'ll be set as a screensaver.

\"If not it could be a problem with your graphics card or driver -- there\'s been a lot of that over the life of this project. Have you tried stopping and re-starting boinc? (To stop CPDN safely [it takes a few seconds to get the job done], go to Commands tab and click Suspend. When the status shows suspended, Select File tab & Exit.)\"

I can try this. But won\'t I then lose all the work already done?

\"If none of that works could you tell us your video card type and driver date?\"

I have no idea. I\'m not even sure what a driver IS. As I say above, it is not really my computer; I share it with my partner.

\"Edit: This has nothing to do with graphics, but if not already done, it may save some grief later if your Preferences have \"Leave applications in memory while preempted?\" set to YES. \"Yes\" is the prudent option. (Set in \"Your account\", link in blue on left of page.)\"

Will go check, thanks!

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Message 18850 - Posted: 29 Dec 2005, 20:00:21 UTC

The screensaver part is set in Windows. Go to the Control panel, and look at the list of screensavers there, one of them will be BOINC.

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Message 18856 - Posted: 30 Dec 2005, 0:09:47 UTC - in response to Message 18841.  

I can try this. But won\'t I then lose all the work already done?

No. You\'ll lose back to the previous Checkpoint. (Checkpoints are done every 144 Time Steps, so the Model could have to re-process as many as 143 Time Steps.) That, too, can be prevented -- by stopping the Model at 0030 on the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, etc. of the month. (That is immediately after a Checkpoint. [Note that, for convenience, all Model-months have 30 days; it\'s compensated-for in the science.])

I\'m not even sure what a driver IS. As I say above, it is not really my computer; I share it with my partner.


Your partner should have no trouble with that, nor with updating the driver if required.

Hope you are able to convince your family and friends to join CPDN...
"We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo
Greetings from coastal Washington state, the scenic US Pacific Northwest.
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Message 18859 - Posted: 30 Dec 2005, 5:08:25 UTC - in response to Message 18850.  

The screensaver part is set in Windows. Go to the Control panel, and look at the list of screensavers there, one of them will be BOINC.



I have the BOINC sceensaver set in Windows. If I click \'preview,\' the BOINC logo screensaver is shown. But it never comes on automatically.

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Message 18860 - Posted: 30 Dec 2005, 5:09:50 UTC - in response to Message 18856.  

I can try this. But won\'t I then lose all the work already done?

No. You\'ll lose back to the previous Checkpoint. (Checkpoints are done every 144 Time Steps, so the Model could have to re-process as many as 143 Time Steps.) That, too, can be prevented -- by stopping the Model at 0030 on the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, etc. of the month. (That is immediately after a Checkpoint. [Note that, for convenience, all Model-months have 30 days; it\'s compensated-for in the science.])

I\'m not even sure what a driver IS. As I say above, it is not really my computer; I share it with my partner.


Your partner should have no trouble with that, nor with updating the driver if required.

Hope you are able to convince your family and friends to join CPDN...



Thanks, I\'ll ask him to try out a few things!

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Questions and Answers : Preferences : Where\'s the screensaver?

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