After SETI was shut down, I decided to check this BOINC deal out. What a confusing, stupid waste of time! The main page reads "To participate in a project, download and run BOINC software, then enter the project's URL." What could be simpler, right?

I did exactly what that says, almost two weeks ago, and I am no closer to folding a protein than I was then. My screensaver reports various states of disfunction, and the BOINC Manager has said nothing but "communication deferred" the whole time.

How SIMPLE!!

Different accounts for everything? SIMPLE! I was just thinking the other day that I just don't have enough passwords and account numbers to remember. Rosetta account email, rosetta account key, rosetta account screen name, seti account email (no longer active, but I'm not about to try and change it using this interface), seti account password - er, no, wait, that must be my account key. Uh...or is that the account key I got from Rosetta? Password doesn't work, but maybe that's because it demanded a format different than the one I used on seti...

Steps to run SETI@home: Download. Install. Enter email address. Run.

Steps to run BOINC: Unknown. Haven't gotten there yet.

Big step backward here, guys.

I'll come back to look for a reply if I can remember how to log on to this board...

Different accounts for everything? SIMPLE! I was just thinking the other day that I just don't have enough passwords and account numbers to remember. Rosetta account email, rosetta account key, rosetta account screen name, seti account email (no longer active, but I'm not about to try and change it using this interface), seti account password - er, no, wait, that must be my account key. Uh...or is that the account key I got from Rosetta? Password doesn't work, but maybe that's because it demanded a format different than the one I used on seti...

Scott,

Yes, there is more of a "learning curve" to climb, but take my word, it's a short and easy grade. The account #s and passwords need only be entered once (or twice, if you're posting to the messageboards) for each project, and your browser will do all the remembering for you. It may help if you create a folder on your email client and save the the various account emails, but again, not a difficult step. I would not suggest that your mind is inflexible enough to absorb the differences, and I don't think you should sell yourself short in that regard; we all retain the capacity to learn and advance our knowledge. :-)

Buck up, chap, the dinosaur is now extinct, but the new world awaits you, and it's a rewarding experience.

Regards,

Michael

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"The arc of history is long, but it bends toward Justice"

Yeah! and they told Orville and Wilbur that flying was for the birds also ;0) This is so simple even this oldman can figure it out,,,,,

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BOINC Wiki

Actually Scott left out the most important step and its details. The same step that many Seti@home users left out and/or forgot about.

That step involves collecting into a document, and then printing it out, that includes their account number(s) and sign in/up details such as date, e-mail address, web page URL's, passwords, etc. OR at least carefully writing them all down. Saving a copy of that document onto a Diskette and/or CD. Then placing a printed/written copy of this in a folder kept near the computer along with the diskette/CD, a printed/written copy of it somewhere safe in your other important records, and a copy of it next to your will in a safe deposit box.

You would be amazed at the number of Seti@home users who never saved or lost their account number, and even forgot what their e-mail address was when they signed up. Or realized that changing ISP would have any effect on changing their access to their account.

The second thing you need to do is get an overall view of what BOINC is about and how it works. Bit of a slog, but read the following two papers. It gives the best overview. A bit of grand positioning, but useful information to understand what is going on, how BOINC works, where you fit in, ....

BOINC: A System for Public-Resource Computing and Storage
High-Performance Task Distribution for Volunteer Computing

When reading those, note the names on those papers at the top, as you might run into them or references to them somewhere in these or related message boards.

Then address your problem logically. Try an Update of the project and then look at the Messages tab. It should tell you something about what is going on. Then go to that projects web site with the "Your Preferences" button and make sure you have changed your preferences to allow it to use your disk space (some require more than 50MB of disk space) and that you have adjusted your Days value to at least 1 day from the default setting of 0.1 days. More if necessary depending on the projects you have signed up for. Their web sites should give you some useful information on that setting.

If you are just having problems Downloading, check with your software Firewall an make sure it has not blocked access from that projects Data servers. It uses different URL's and IP address than the Scheduler and Web pages. If you use a Firewall router (Linksys?), try connecting directly to the modem as a test (requires rebooting of the system to work best) and see if it downloads and that you can Update. Or try making a Dial-Up connection if you still have one as a backup. That might get you started, while you sort out the connections problems. You are not alone in having problems with this. Its not BOINC or the Projects web sites. Its something in between.

Actually Scott left out the most important step and its details. The same step that many Seti@home users left out and/or forgot about.

That's why Seti Classic was so easy: you did not have to remember much. Let alone be bothered by the back-end, as when the project was down, it would either send the same units over an over again from volatile memory, or would point you to a 3rd party server with lots of units stored when you had sufficient 3rd party software installed.

But that's also a fact that most try to forget. :)
Hence how Classic was easier.

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