In addition to previous posters' help, depending on your version of Linux, you could download an installable package, e.g. for Debian and the like http://wiki.debian.org/BOINC

In the Links section at the end of the URL in my sig, I have various links, including BOINC installable packages for others like Redhat-derived Linux (RPM) etc.

As for security, as you wrote, it's better to run BOINC in its very own account (under Linux or WinXP). The abovementioned packages will do it for you.

I've done it (creating separate user etc) by hand.

"Standard" BOINC for Linux from Berkeley ( http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php ) will under-report CPU speed under Linux by almost 50% vs the same hardware under WinXP (I don't know if newer versions have fixed this). It doesn't affect actual science, but it's unfair if you also care about credits. This BOINC-under-Linux is an issue for ALL BOINC projects.

In this case you can install one of the "optimised" clients, as previous poster suggested.

Have looked at those "Optimised Clients",and,It is a bit above my knowledge.

Ah, don't let it scare you. Most of the optimized boinc clients are just a single file that you download to replace your existing file with. Now, to get an optimized seti app working is a little more involved, but still not hard.

If you decide to try one, just download the file and extract it into your boinc directory. In the case of Harold Naparst, you'll get a file named "boinc_naparst_p4", which is the replacement for your file named "boinc" that you have in your boinc directory now. Rather than try to make everything that may be linked find the new filename, it's much easier if you just stop boinc from running then change the name of the file now named "boinc" to something else (boinc_old, for instance). After that, change the name of the file "boinc_naparst_p4" to be just "boinc". You'll probably have to make it executable - which is the only kind of weird part of the whole thing. You can do this by right clicking on the file and choosing "properties", then click the "permissions" tab and put a mark in the box for "execute" on the "owner" line (or if you use the command prompt, from within the boinc directory just type "chmod+x boinc" without the quotes). After that, start boinc just like you normally do and you'll be using the optimized client - it should tell you right at startup that a new version is detected and it will then run new benchmarks automatically.

In the event there is any kind of a problem, you still have the old one, so you can just delete the new "boinc" and rename the other one back to boinc and you're right back where you were.

It sounds like a lot when you read it, but it's not really difficult at all. If you've gotten as far in linux as you obviously already have, I don't think this will give you much trouble.

Run Boinc is User instead of Root due to problems I could cause as a newbie.

That's not just a newbie thing. Everyone running boinc should be running it as a user, and not as root. The only thing you should normally do as root is make general system changes, like upgrading core software, setting up your network, and stuff such as that. Running everything else as a user instead of root not only keeps things from getting messed up, but it's one of the key things that makes linux systems so safe from hackers and virus/trojan software and such.

But again, don't be intimidated by it. Have your friend look over the web sites with the optimized clients and have him look over the instructions I gave you for installing one and he'll likely agree that you'll do ok with it.

Doug, your benchmarks seem a bit low for your cpu from others I've seen, but I'm not all that up on what different cpu's should be giving so I could be wrong.

I see you're using boinc 5.2.13, and I assume you're using the standard download rather than an optimized version. If you're not aware, the standard versions don't benchmark properly on linux - which would be my guess as to why yours look on the low side. And your credit is directly determined by your benchmarks.

If you go back to the download page (from the homepage of any of the projects) and follow the link at the bottom for "download executables from a third-party site" (which will take you here), you'll find a few optimized versions of boinc that may work better for you. I personally use the version from Harold Naparst's site (here), as his does better for me than anything I could come up with for myself. If you go there, just be sure you get the one labeled "moral", as it is fully legitimate and doesn't try to implement any kind of cheats.

Short of trying an optimized boinc client, you can try rerunning your benchmarks (in the boinc manager, choose Commands | Run Benchmarks) and see if you can get better benchmarks. If you try that, make sure the system isn't doing anything else really cpu intensive at the same time (no busy programs running, stop any music, etc.).

Other than that, there's probably not really a lot you can easily do. I assume from your kernel name you're running Mandrake (or Mandriva). There's not going to be a lot you can easily change there - if anything at all - to get any big improvements.

Good luck.

I am crunching one right now,that is why I am here.
The last 3 w/u had weird/great names.Should have written them down.I was Flabergasted.They were all very funny and I am sure the Moderators will
tell us some more names.I can go look back at the old w/u.
See Ya
Doug Here are the "Other" funny w/u,now I get-it,dohh.
"NO BARRCODE FRAGS" and
"NO MORE RELAX CYCLES" good ones guys.
Doug Worrall

To figure how long a W/U takes,look in your Message tab.Right down
the start time of that w/u.Once it has crunched its time.You simply
compare start time and actual crunching Time.Surfing Emailing donnot affect
the outcome of any W/U,Having 800Ram gives me lots of power.

You are comparing "CPU Time" to "clock time". CPU time will _always_ be less. Your computer must do many things, even if you are not surfing, emailing, or playing a game; it must update the clock on the computer (every second), it must refresh the video screen (many times per second, and even if this is done by separate hardware, that hardware must be refreshed from the CPU every so often), it must check to see if you have moved a mouse or hit a key, or if a network packet has come in...

In every "clock second", the computer probably does 100 things _other_ than just work on Rosetta. The fewer things it is doing, the closer the two numbers will come, but a "lag time" of a few minutes per hour is perfectly normal.

Also - to fix your problem with errors in Rosetta, change the preference "leave applications in memory when suspended" to YES. Then it will switch with other projects without a problem. It _will_ still give an error if you quit BOINC, at least sometimes.

How did you determine the 4hr 10min figure????

Is your machine crunching Rosetta 100%? or are you crunching other projects?

If you're doing multiple projects you could be losing some time when the projects are switched.

I believe that Rosetta checkpoints 10 ten times. If your crunching Rosetta and your between checkpoints, say you're at 88% completion (ie. between the 80% and 90% checkpoints), and then you switch projects, you will loose the crunch time you did after 80% because when you switch back to Rosetta you'll start 80% not 88%.



Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

How did you determine the 4hr 10min figure????