Release Notes for BOINC 7.8

From BOINC

Previous version: release notes for version 7.6.

Changes in 7.8.5

(Mac only release)

  • Mac screensaver: under OS 10.13+ if the BOINC screensaver cannot display a graphics app with hardware acceleration using the IOSurface APIs because the app has not been linked with the current graphics libraries, then display it using the much slower CGWindowListCreateImage API.

Changes in 7.8.4

(Mac only release)

  • Fix the calculation of GPU memory when running under OS 10.13 High Sierra.

Changes in 7.8.3

  • client: extensions, fixes to account manager functionality
  • client: eliminate possible buffer overflow in reporting result errors
  • lib: fix boinc_file_exists() on Windows
  • Mac: Changes to Xcode project to support screensaver changes for Mac OS 10.13.
  • Screensaver: Changes for screensaver to support Mac OS 10.13
  • api: BOINC graphics library changes to support Mac OS 10.13
  • client library: inconsistent terminology for intel_gpu
  • update project list
  • Locale: Update french localization files
  • update installshield files



BOINC 7.8 now compatible with Domain Controllers

With BOINC 7.6.1 the test whether BOINC is being installed on a domain controller no longer returns an error. In the past the installer would make BOINC limited user accounts for the client to run with whether you installed as a user installation or as a service installation.

Since some time now these limited user accounts only get installed when BOINC is installed as a service, no longer on user installations. Because these limited user accounts were a problem for DCs that run with a global user account, you can install the new client and see that it now works. Do make sure to install as the user install, not as a service. (It may be that the service install is disabled, we'd like to get feedback on that.)

Note: do know that when you only allow BOINC to do work when no one is logged on, that this only works with the service installation. Using the user installation will only allow BOINC to do work when someone is logged in.

For all changes, fixes and additions, see the BOINC Version History.

Known Issues

The following issues are already known to the developers:

Windows

Service Installation, GPU detection and Windows XP: Due to problems with up-to-date GPU drivers causing BOINC to crash or hang, it was decided that for all versions of Windows the GPU detection will no longer work when BOINC is installed as a service. This may change in a future version, but only after the GPU manufacturers have adjusted their driver code. So even in Windows 2000 and XP you can now no longer install BOINC as a service yet still have it detect your GPU(s) and run work on it. This change is present since 6.12.38

Error 1069: Service cannot be started because of a faulty login:

This happens after something has removed the "Logon as a Service" from the "boinc_master" user account that was created during setup.

Known reasons for why this might happen:

  • The administrator for your network has specified which accounts are allowed to "Logon as a Service" via Group Policy. Any account not on that list is stripped of that user right.