I have recently transferred my BOINC files from an XP PC to a Vista PC. BOINC initially started where it had left off on XP at 6.270%. However, when restarting BOINC, the progress always returns to 6.270%. Today I restarted having reached 9.890% after several days to find it again reset to 6.270%. Unless a correction is found I will have to stop using BOINC on this PC. Any advice is welcome.

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Did you move it to another directory than C:\\Program Files\\BOINC ?
Try moving it away from the Program Files directory as programs aren\'t always allowed to write to that directory in Vista.

So move BOINC to C:\\BOINC and see how it goes then.

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Jord.

Did you copy it via a CD or DVD? If so, did you forget to turn off the READ ONLY attribute?

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I transferred the BOINC folder directly from the old drive to the new drive, placing it in c:\\program files\\BOINC. I then installed BOINC 5.8.16 and it started at 6.270, where it had ended on the previous PC. Unfortunately, it always restarts at 6.270%.
I have now transferred BOINC to c:\\BOINC and re-installed 5.8.16. This time it ignored my previous work and downloaded a new task, starting at 0.00%.
Following a reboot, it does not start at all, giving the following messages.

07/06/2007 11:20:25||Starting BOINC client version 5.8.16 for windows_intelx86
07/06/2007 11:20:25||log flags: task, file_xfer, sched_ops
07/06/2007 11:20:25||Libraries: libcurl/7.16.0 OpenSSL/0.9.8a zlib/1.2.3
07/06/2007 11:20:25||Data directory: C:\\BOINC
07/06/2007 11:20:26||Processor: 1 AuthenticAMD AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+ [x86 Family 15 Model 47 Stepping 2] [fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 sse3 3dnow mmx]
07/06/2007 11:20:26||Memory: 1022.94 MB physical, 2.25 GB virtual
07/06/2007 11:20:26||Disk: 59.57 GB total, 38.70 GB free
07/06/2007 11:21:15|climateprediction.net|URL: http://climateprediction.net/; Computer ID: 43492; location: work; project prefs: default
07/06/2007 11:21:15||General prefs: from climateprediction.net (last modified 2006-06-14 14:55:38)
07/06/2007 11:21:15||Host location: work
07/06/2007 11:21:15||General prefs: no separate prefs for work; using your defaults
07/06/2007 11:21:21|climateprediction.net|Deferring communication for 1 min 43 sec
07/06/2007 11:21:21|climateprediction.net|Reason: scheduler request to http://climateapps2.oucs.ox.ac.uk/cpdnboinc_cgi/cgi failed: system fopen
07/06/2007 11:22:30|climateprediction.net|Deferring communication for 5 min 12 sec
07/06/2007 11:22:30|climateprediction.net|Reason: scheduler request to http://climateapps2.oucs.ox.ac.uk/cpdnboinc_cgi/cgi failed: system fopen

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Another reinstall started a new application from 0.00%, but exiting and restarting BOINC resulted in the following:-

07/06/2007 12:54:49|climateprediction.net|URL: http://climateprediction.net/; Computer ID: 43492; location: work; project prefs: default
07/06/2007 12:54:49||General prefs: from climateprediction.net (last modified 2006-06-14 14:55:38)
07/06/2007 12:54:49||Host location: work
07/06/2007 12:54:49||General prefs: no separate prefs for work; using your defaults
07/06/2007 12:54:54|climateprediction.net|[error] Failed to open init file slots/0/init_data.xml
07/06/2007 12:54:55|climateprediction.net|Deferring communication for 1 min 0 sec
07/06/2007 12:54:55|climateprediction.net|Reason: Unrecoverable error for result hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4 (Can\'t write init file)
07/06/2007 12:54:55|climateprediction.net|Computation for task hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4 finished
07/06/2007 12:54:55|climateprediction.net|Output file hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4_1.zip for task hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4 absent
07/06/2007 12:54:55|climateprediction.net|Output file hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4_2.zip for task hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4 absent
[same messages for zips 3 to 15]
07/06/2007 12:54:55|climateprediction.net|Output file hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4_16.zip for task hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4 absent
07/06/2007 12:55:56|climateprediction.net|Deferring communication for 1 min 0 sec
07/06/2007 12:55:56|climateprediction.net|Reason: scheduler request to http://climateapps2.oucs.ox.ac.uk/cpdnboinc_cgi/cgi failed: system fopen
07/06/2007 12:56:58|climateprediction.net|Deferring communication for 1 min 0 sec


Is anyone else able to run without error on Vista?

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I have 2 computers on Vista, but they came with Vista installed. One I even moved a model over from XP, and it\'s still running.

I read the threads closely before installing / moving to Vista. There are some options in Vista that can cause Program Files not to like some user installed applications. So, I immediately decided to use my own program area, and install many things there.

Even the copy was simple. I copied the data, then installed over the copy.

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I copied the data and installed over the copy, but my data seems to have been updated somehow to cause a corrupt startup each time. I might delete the data file and install from clean. It was only at 6.2% after all.

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Unrecoverable error for result hadcm3inct_clwh_1920_160_35868589_4 (Can\'t write init file)


This line suggests that perhaps the copied files were marked \'read-only\' rather than read/write?

This can be corrected via Explorer (right-click on the folder, properties, untick \'read-only\', yes to \'change all subfolders?). I may have misremembered some steps.

To do this in Dos,

open a DOS box (cmd prompt)

type

cd c:\\Boinc\\
attrib -r *.* /s

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I have now re-installed Vista Ultimate and installed BOINC to C:\\BOINC as suggested earlier. However, I also initiated the installation by right clicking the application file and selecting \"Run as administrator\". I am not sure if this farticular addition to the routine made the diference, but it is now running well and restarting at an accumulated poosition on system startup. My only problem now is to enable it as a Defender approved startup application, as it always ask for comfirmation to run when opening Vista.

Many thanks to everyone who assisted within this thread.

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I have identified part of the cause of my reset problem. If I shut down or restart Vista without exiting BOINC first, it resets to zero with a new model name. However, if I exit first it carries on where it left off on the next startup. I have restarted many times without a problem, reaching 18% completion, but today forgot to exit befor shutting down and it has now started a new model at 0%. This is very frustrating, but I have not seen any other similar queries. Could there be a permanent fix to this error?

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Regrets, Andrew. My understanding of Vista\'s behavior includes more-rapid shutdown than XP. Pulling the plug in XP was dangerous enough but could be considered \'suicidal\' in Vista -- sooner or later, such use will bite.

CPDN has a lot of files to clean up on shutdown and normal suspend/exit in boinc can\'t be emphasized too strongly. Otherwise, it\'s good to have a recent backup...

(In a moment of weakness, Vista was installed on my new quad. Haven\'t had the courage to use it yet. [The box runs Linux.] So far, my only experience with Vista is installation and being appalled by its bloat.)

Edit: I think a \'fix\' would have to come from M$.

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"We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo
Greetings from coastal Washington state, the scenic US Pacific Northwest.

I have identified part of the cause of my reset problem. If I shut down or restart Vista without exiting BOINC first, it resets to zero with a new model name. However, if I exit first it carries on where it left off on the next startup. I have restarted many times without a problem, reaching 18% completion, but today forgot to exit befor shutting down and it has now started a new model at 0%. This is very frustrating, but I have not seen any other similar queries. Could there be a permanent fix to this error?

Dear Andrew:

I have been running the model on Vista since last May.(79% complete this morening)I don’t know why you loose the model every time you shutdown without exiting. My model usually survives a running shutdown. Maybe your computer shuts down faster than mine. Mine seems to take forever sometimes.
The solution to your problem is simple.

First, click “No New Tasks” so that you do not keep getting new WUs every time that you forget to exit before rebooting.

Second, make very frequent backups. I make one every 0.5%. I know this may sound extreme, but, it works. Once you do it a few times it becomes second nature and you can do it in your sleep. Whenever you forget to exit you can just restore from the backup. It only takes a couple of minutes. I know I have done it a least a dozen times. Hope this helps.

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Thanks for that, it sounds good advice. I need to figure out how to re-apply the lost work if it happens again. It would be good, however, to find the exact cause of the problem. We will see if the next update to the BOINC software resolves the issue.

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It happens for the reason that Astro gave: Windows shuts down before all of the model\'s files are closed. So, when BOINC starts up next time and tries to start the model, parts of it are missing. So BOINC \'writes off\' the model and gets a new one.
We\'ve been telling people for years to Exit from BOINC before Shutting down Windows.

It used to be possible to edit the registry and increase the shut down delay of Windows, but I\'m not sure if this can still be done in Vista. One of whose \'virtures\' is the claim that it shuts down even faster than XP.

As for how to save and restore, look in my sig. It\'s just copy-and-paste, both saving and restoring.

And, like Jim, I\'m sure that I\'m occasionally doing it my sleep.

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Backups: Here

Instructions on how to delay shutdown on Vista (to give applications a greater chance of terminating cleanly) can be found here.

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"The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer