Hi,
I installed BOINC a month or five weeks ago to use with Einstein-at-home, which really interests me. Previously, I had participated in SETI@home for several years and felt good about showing some civic scientific responsibility.

Unfortunately, after piddling with BOINC every day or two to try to get it to work and stay working, it's just become more trouble than it's worth. Even though I subscribed to Einstein, when there's no work, which is most of the time, it doesn't even list the Einstein project when I click on projects. I can't figure out how to "recall" Einstein or cause it to go after new work. Several times I've re-"ADD"ed Einstein, and then BOINC shows it up twice, then it will get work for a few days ... then no work again, no active projects, just clogging up memory .. instead of virtual memory, BOINC has "virtual amnesia".

Sorry, w/o adequate documentation and given that it works just marginally (with a great deal of piddling around), there's just no point in carrying on with it. I'm sorry 'bout this, because I would love to participate in the Einstein, just like I participated in SETI@home for several years (not with BOINC, though).

FYI, I'm not a novice. I've always worked in computer software development, having joined IBM in 1965 right out of college. Operating systems and telecommunications are my specialties, and although I'm now retired, I can easily spot "good" software from so-so stuff. I'm sure BOINC will get better (it has to or its fate will be its demise), but it's just not worth the effort now.

Tom

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Wow! Tom I do not know what to say, I am retired also, but unlike you I have no background in computers, other that working a terminal for a number of years, and I have had Boinc running for over a year.
I would say that you need to have your computer checked out by a professional.
Here is the Docs and howtos, that I wish I had when I first started last year, so have fun.......


Step by step by step Guide for Getting started in BOINC

Link to Unofficial BOINC Wiki

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BOINC Wiki

If you have specific problems we can most likely help you.

Sadly, the Berkeley documentation of BOINC is lacking. However, there has been a volunteer effort to fully document every aspect of BOINC and many of the projects.

Please, if you would like some help, tell us about your computer(s), OS, BOINC vers, and any other pertainant info.

Jim

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Unfortunately, after piddling with BOINC every day or two to try to get it to work and stay working, it's just become more trouble than it's worth. Even though I subscribed to Einstein, when there's no work, which is most of the time ....

[deleted a whole lot of useless drivel which is simply not true]

Tom,

You started a similar thread on this same message board back on Sept 03 and I gave you a detailed response, including questions, about things you could do or information you could give which would help to sort out whatever problem you were having. Did you bother to respond or give any useful problem report?? Nope, you gave zip, nada, zilch ....

And yet here you are again making a whole raft of useless assertions which the rest of us simply know to be false. If you can't be bothered actually giving a concrete example, complete with the details that someone would need to try to assist you, why should we be bothered even reading this rubbish??

In the snippet I kept above, you are making the outrageous claim that EAH is out of work most of the time. To my knowledge, EAH is one of the most reliable projects and has <b>never</b> been out of work and has only rarely been uncontactable for the odd very short period of time. Are you sure you are not talking about Seti?? Are you also sure you understand the difference between BOINC and the individual projects that use the BOINC framework to do their thing?? BOINC itself is quite stable and useable at the moment and nobody really has too much of a problem getting the basic framework to run as designed. It manages multiple projects well and new features are being added and existing features are being improved at a healthy pace.

You claim not to be a novice. It's very immature and novice-like to blame something as heatedly as you do for what are your own mistakes. You claim there is no documentation when in fact there is heaps of good documentation that hard working volunteers like Paul Buck have lovingly put together for people just like you. There are also many hard working volunteers that frequent all the message boards just waiting to be of assistance if only the person needing the assistance would get off his high horse and give a little bit of detail about what the problem actually is.

Here is a challenge for you. Please just give us the project name and the CPUID for a box that is supposedly struggling with BOINC and/or the project in question. Please cut and paste any relevant messages (information or error) that appear in the BOINC manager window when the problems are occurring.

If you can't be bothered doing that then I'm sure we can't be bothered even listening to your silly rant.

Unfortunately, after piddling with BOINC every day or two to try to get it to work and stay working,

That might be your problem. There are many cases where leaving BOINC alone and letting it do it's thing is more productive than fooling with it.

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BOINC WIKI

BOINCing since 2002/12/8