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Progress retarded on reboot

Progress retarded on reboot

Questions and Answers : Windows : Progress retarded on reboot
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old_user497623

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Message 43826 - Posted: 21 Feb 2012, 5:49:56 UTC

Pretty much what the title states.

This computer is usually shutdown for a few hours of down-time when I hit the sack myself. The trouble is each shut-down/boot-up loses upto a few tenths of a percent of progress ... which translates to several score minutes of CPU time.

Is there a way to avoid/reduce this work-loss?

Regards,
Abhishek/Ev1[/list]
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Les Bayliss
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Message 43827 - Posted: 21 Feb 2012, 7:35:51 UTC - in response to Message 43826.  

Yes.
Look at the graphics for the model, and watch the count down timer. (Next Savepoint)
When it gets to zero, the program saves the data, (checkpoints). Wait until this is all finished before exiting from BOINC and shutting down.
I like to wait until a dozen or so count points first, to give the program plenty of time to finish all of the saving. (If you look at the hard disk light on the computer, you can see it flashing for a while.

The next time that you restart the work, the model won't have so much repested modelling to do to get to where it finished.


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Message 43828 - Posted: 21 Feb 2012, 12:29:48 UTC - in response to Message 43827.  

Hi Les,

I'm sorry to bother you on here again, but I'm on a dynamic IP which triggered the Honeypot warming on my attempt to reach the FAQs.

The 'Show Graphics' button is not enabled for this model (hadam3p_eu_90ba_1969_1_007720462_1) What should be done to enable the 'Show Graphics' button? The BOINC Manager version is 5.10.30

Regards,
Abhishek/Ev1
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Profile Iain Inglis
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Message 43829 - Posted: 21 Feb 2012, 14:44:03 UTC

The model has first to be selected before the graphics button is enabled. To select the model just click on the model row in the BOINC Manager 'tasks' tab.
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Message 43830 - Posted: 21 Feb 2012, 16:08:42 UTC - in response to Message 43829.  

Nope.
The 'Show graphics' button remains disabled even after selecting the model on the tasks tab. Is there another way to enable it?
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Les Bayliss
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Message 43831 - Posted: 21 Feb 2012, 16:58:22 UTC - in response to Message 43828.  

That version of BOINC is obsolete by several years. The current release version is 6.12.34, although 6.10.60 is still available, and works OK.

There were 2 big changes from 5.* to 6.*

1) The program was split into 2 parts:
A) The programs section
B) The data section
This was to provide greater security with the newer OS versions, with the program section now being "sandboxed" on it's own. This helps to stop malwear from getting at it.

2) The graphics part was made a separate function, so that if there was a problem with displaying them, it wouldn't cause the entire program and work unit to crash as well.
As a result of this, there was a major change in the graphics program, which no longer works on BOINC 5 versions.


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Profile Dave Jackson
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Message 43833 - Posted: 21 Feb 2012, 17:11:24 UTC - in response to Message 43831.  

Not sure if this applies, some upgrades between boinc versions I think don't allow you to keep on with the same work units. This means it may be worth setting your manager to not accept any new work and finishing current tasks before upgrading.
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Les Bayliss
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Message 43847 - Posted: 22 Feb 2012, 21:12:23 UTC - in response to Message 43833.  

"Way back when", just as version 6 was being released, I spent the better part of a day testing it.
For the early versions of 6 at least, there was an automatic migration mechanism built in to 6, which split the 2 parts, and then moved them to their new locations.

I had some models running, and (with Network access OFF), I upgraded from 5 to 6 as a service install, restarted BOINC, and ran the models until they trickled.
Then I restored version 5, (I think by uninstalling 6, then installing 5), restarted it, and let the models again run to a trickle.
Then I repeated the process, but installing 6 as an ordinary install. etc.

I also tried making backups at each stage, and then restoring these.

In all cases, there was no problem with having the models continue running from where they were before any upgrade, or from before the down grade.

Then I documented the upgrade process, and posted it on both boards.

And still there were people who reported a failure of models when they tried it.

The stickies have long since been unstickied, and are now buried under several years of newer posts.


PS
BOINC version 7 is probably getting very close to release.
This is a complete rebuild, and can not be restored to the old version.


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Message 43848 - Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 5:05:09 UTC

Hm.
I now see the graphics after upgrading to 6.12.34 (x86) and downloading a fresh task hadam3p_eu_ager_1983. Could you guide me on where to seek the 'Next Savepoint' ?


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Les Bayliss
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Message 43849 - Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 5:53:26 UTC - in response to Message 43848.  

Could you guide me on where to seek the 'Next Savepoint' ?


Open the BOINC manager.
Click on the Tasks tab.
Click on the task of interest.
Click the Show graphics button.
Look at the info list in the bottom left corner of the graphics window.


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Message 43850 - Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 8:37:25 UTC - in response to Message 43847.  

Sorry if I have caused alarm -it must have been the upgrade to 7 I was thinking of. At the moment graphics don't work in 7 for me on ubuntu and I get various errors in the terminal I launch from but none of them seem to cause problems with the tasks so I am not that bothered.

Dave
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Message 43851 - Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 8:56:32 UTC - in response to Message 43850.  

No worries Dave. :)


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Message 43853 - Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 12:38:00 UTC

Here's what appears in the Graphics Window side-pane

Timestep 350 of 138624

Your progress
0.25%

Hours of computing
0000:49:55


I hope I'm not hijacking the forum bandwidth ... perhaps I might post directly to you in a message?

Regards,
Abhishek/Ev1
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Message 43854 - Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 13:17:35 UTC - in response to Message 43853.  

That looks on the high side to me, On a 2.7Ghz machine I am averaging about 3.1s/timestep. It would probably be a fraction less on a windows machine I am told.
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Profile Iain Inglis
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Message 43856 - Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 14:50:16 UTC - in response to Message 43853.  
Last modified: 23 Feb 2012, 20:02:16 UTC

[Everyone wrote:]I hope I'm not hijacking the forum bandwidth ...
Don't worry about that: that's what the message board is here for. And if you continue to post then others may contribute to the solution and yet others may learn from it.
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Message 43860 - Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 18:17:22 UTC - in response to Message 43853.  

Here's what appears in the Graphics Window side-pane

Check that you have Checkpoint Countdown enabled in your project preferences (it used to be switchable within the graphics but that option was removed long ago). You might have to disable Side panel to see the countdown. The new options will be applied on your next scheduler request.
"The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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Message 43864 - Posted: 24 Feb 2012, 8:48:57 UTC

Appears to be resolved. After the last reboot, the calculations continued from around 0.8%

Thank you all.
Abhishek/Ev1.
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Questions and Answers : Windows : Progress retarded on reboot

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