Worrying entries on the message list
29 Jan 2009 13:37:16 UTC
Topic 194170
(moderation:
29/01/2009 13:11:31|Einstein@Home|Task h1_0516.95_S5R4__543_S5R5a_0 exited with zero status but no 'finished' file
29/01/2009 13:11:31|Einstein@Home|If this happens repeatedly you may need to reset the project.
29/01/2009 13:13:22|Einstein@Home|[error] Couldn't delete file projects/einstein.phys.uwm.edu/einstein_S5R5_3.01_windows_intelx86_2.exe
Please can someone advise what may be the cause of the problem that is causing the project to keep generating these messages .
I have had to suspend Einstein as it is seems to hijack all resources by spplying status "Running, high priority" but then keeps generating these ?error messages.
I am running four projects on a 5 minute rotation.
80% climateprediction.net
10% LHC@home
09% SETI@home
01% Einstein@Home
The following are the messages from BOINC at startup
and below the +++++++++++ line are the computing preferences I have set up on both the web page and on the internal preference settings
29/01/2009 12:08:31||Starting BOINC client version 6.4.5 for windows_intelx86
29/01/2009 12:08:31||log flags: task, file_xfer, sched_ops
29/01/2009 12:08:31||Libraries: libcurl/7.19.0 OpenSSL/0.9.8i zlib/1.2.3
29/01/2009 12:08:31||Data directory: C:\ProgramData\BOINC
29/01/2009 12:08:31||Running under account Test
29/01/2009 12:08:37||Processor: 2 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 4400 @ 2.00GHz [x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 2]
29/01/2009 12:08:37||Processor features: fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 pni mmx
29/01/2009 12:08:37||OS: Microsoft Windows Vista: Home Premium x86 Editon, Service Pack 1, (06.00.6001.00)
29/01/2009 12:08:37||Memory: 1014.83 MB physical, 74.19 GB virtual
29/01/2009 12:08:37||Disk: 111.70 GB total, 58.50 GB free
29/01/2009 12:08:37||Local time is UTC +0 hours
29/01/2009 12:08:37||Not using a proxy
29/01/2009 12:08:37||No CUDA devices found
29/01/2009 12:08:37||No coprocessors
29/01/2009 12:08:38|climateprediction.net|URL: http://climateprediction.net/; Computer ID: 923922; location: home; project prefs: default
29/01/2009 12:08:38|Einstein@Home|URL: http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/; Computer ID: 1818089; location: home; project prefs: default
29/01/2009 12:08:38|lhcathome|URL: http://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/; Computer ID: 9755497; location: home; project prefs: default
29/01/2009 12:08:38|SETI@home|URL: http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/; Computer ID: 4654816; location: home; project prefs: default
29/01/2009 12:08:38||General prefs: from climateprediction.net (last modified 27-Jan-2009 16:31:50)
29/01/2009 12:08:38||Computer location: home
29/01/2009 12:08:38||General prefs: no separate prefs for home; using your defaults
29/01/2009 12:08:38||Reading preferences override file
29/01/2009 12:08:38||Preferences limit memory usage when active to 101.48MB
29/01/2009 12:08:38||Preferences limit memory usage when idle to 913.35MB
29/01/2009 12:08:39||Preferences limit disk usage to 20.00GB
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Processor usage
Suspend work while computer is on battery power?
(matters only for portable computers) yes
Suspend work while computer is in use? no
'In use' means mouse/keyboard activity in last 1 minutes
Suspend work if no mouse/keyboard activity in last
(Needed to enter low-power mode on some computers)
Enforced by version 5.10.14+ 1 minutes
Do work only between the hours of (no restriction)
Leave applications in memory while suspended?
(suspended applications will consume swap space if 'yes') yes
Switch between applications every
(recommended: 60 minutes) 5 minutes
On multiprocessors, use at most
Enforced by version 5.10 and earlier 2 processors
On multiprocessors, use at most
Enforced by version 6.1+ 100 % of the processors
Use at most
(Can be used to reduce CPU heat)
Enforced by version 5.6+ 20 percent of CPU time
Disk and memory usage
Use at most 20 GB disk space
Leave at least
(Values smaller than 0.001 are ignored) 10 GB disk space free
Use at most 20% of total disk space
Write to disk at most every 60 seconds
Use at most 20% of page file (swap space)
Use at most
Enforced by version 5.8+ 10% of memory when computer is in use
Use at most
Enforced by version 5.8+ 90% of memory when computer is not in use
Network usage
Computer is connected to the Internet about every
(Leave blank or 0 if always connected.
BOINC will try to maintain at least this much work.) 0 days
Maintain enough work for an additional
Enforced by version 5.10+ 10 days
Confirm before connecting to Internet?
(matters only if you have a modem, ISDN or VPN connection) no
Disconnect when done?
(matters only if you have a modem, ISDN or VPN connection) no
Maximum download rate: no limit
Maximum upload rate: no limit
Use network only between the hours of
Enforced by version 4.46+ (no restriction)
Skip image file verification?
Check this ONLY if your Internet provider modifies image files (UMTS does this, for example).
Skipping verification reduces the security of BOINC. no
Worrying entries on the message list
)
Hi,
please increase to default value (60 min). The error message indicates, that no checkpoint was written before the application terminated.
Alternatively you can set preferences to "Leave applications in memory while suspended?" to "yes".
HTH
Michael
Team Linux Users Everywhere
Yes, definitely increase the
)
Yes, definitely increase the project rotation to 60 minutes. The 5 minute rotation probably does you more harm than good, considering that:
1) you are leaving apps in memory when suspended
2) you have only 1 gig RAM
3) climate prediction models alone can take up to 750 MB
Given the 3 conditions above, your computer is probably swapping a lot and a 5 minute rotation only makes it swap more.
Leaving apps in memory when suspended is arguable. It is definitely needed when a project's application indicates that it checkpoints but does not actually do so or else does so improperly. Otherwise it is not really needed. Since the projects you say you are running are known to checkpoint properly and reliably, leaving apps in memory when suspended is probably consuming RAM, virtual memory and CPU cycles with no real benefit. If in the future you attach to a project that sends an application that does not checkpoint reliably (for example MalariaControl's OPT application) then you have a reason to leave apps in memory but not with the projects you are running now.
BOINC FAQ Service
Official BOINC wiki
Installing BOINC on Linux
RE: 80%
)
No wonder that your Einstein tasks run at high priority.
That means that BOINC stops computation if you don't use your PC!
You should consider to set those values to 50% (of the processors) and 100% (of CPU time) to reduce CPU heat, because throttling (20%) can cause that "exited with zero status but no 'finished' file" error.
See my first remark (No wonder...).
Gruß,
Gundolf
Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)
Also an increase in ram usage
)
Also an increase in ram usage may help
29/01/2009 12:08:38||Preferences limit memory usage when active to 101.48MB
29/01/2009 12:08:38||Preferences limit memory usage when idle to 913.35MB
with fore projects on the go the ram settings seem very limiting
cpdn needs lots of ram to work,
limiting ram usage to such a small amount when active will slow things down a lot
if possible check what ram is being used during `active` use.
I think in setting to 100% when idle may help also,
if nothing else is going to use it, why not use all of available ram ??
Thank you for your comments -
)
Thank you for your comments - I really appreciate your help.
Michael Karlinsky
Dagorath
Am currently considering increasing RAM size.
I note that both of you suggest increasing the project rotation to 60 minutes, but one says Leave applications in memory and the other says don't :-)
I will increase cycle time to 60mins and will try running without leaving in memory to see what difference that makes.
Gundolf Jahn
Now I understand what the purpose of this bit is - if I set it to zero will this run whenever, or do I have to set it to a large number like 9999?
Gundolf Jahn + clive G1FYE
I use the PC as a music centre running background sound when not at the PC.
I have found that the music does not play cleanly and keeps hiccuping when BOINC CPU and memory usage are set higher than than these figures . As my music is more important to me than lending someone my PC ......
However, in conjunction with the changes above, I will see if increasing the CPU time to 50% improves things.
RE: Thank you for your
)
If the above doesn't work for you one thing you might do then is to restrict your pc from running Boinc during the hours you want to be listening to your music. If you double click the Boinc icon, then Advanced then Preferences, under processor usage you will see where you can fill in times for Boinc to run and times for it not to run. Be careful though, if you click okay anything you have changed is saved and is your new preference! If you do not like your settings or whatever, click cancel! There is also a box you can check to revert to the webpage settings, if you really mess up. You will need to update the program manually if you want the new settings to take affect immediately, or you can wait for it to happen by itself the next time your pc connects to the project. To update manually click the Projects tab and then click update for each project.
Doing this will slow down your contribution to any projects you are running and may cause you to miss some deadlines, so be careful how you make any changes.
RE: - if I set it to zero
)
Yep, zero will do fine and should show as "---".
With 50% (of the processors) and 100% (of CPU time) there should be no problems with response times.
Gruß,
Gundolf
PS: And what about reducing your work cache? ;-)
Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)
mikey Thank you. I was aware
)
mikey
Thank you. I was aware of the difference between the online and the on-PC settings.
Gundolf Jahn
While I was using the PC yesterday after I made the changes it was running like a dead slug on Mogadon, in fact my music player wasn't just hiccuping it stopped altogether! But at least BOINC is now running when I am not at the keyboard thanks to you, so some progress is being made on the projects.
Einstein is still giving the same errors, so until I get some additional memory, I will have to suspend that project.
I will change the "Suspend work while computer is in use" option to yes.
As I see it, I am lending BOINC my PC and while I appreciate that I haven't got the highest spec PC around I want to utilise whatever spare processing capacity I have available to assist in these projects WITHOUT affecting the way my primary PC activities behave.
If you agree to lend someone your car, you wouldn't want whoever you are lending it to put a governor on the engine so you can only travel at 15kph or lock three of the five doors!
Once again, thanks for your ideas.
RE: I will change the
)
Do know that this may still give problems with your music player. Most music players use little to no (discernible) CPU, so when you have music playing and BOINC finds you away from keyboard for long enough, it can still interfere with your music. Perhaps it's wiser to tell BOINC to only use one core, instead of both. Then you always have one core available for your other pleasures.
RE: Perhaps it's wiser to
)
That's what I had proposed, but it doesn't seem to work with mobydoc's PC, though I can't see why.
Gruß,
Gundolf
Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)
