Thread 'Problem with computer change'

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geronimo52

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Joined: 28 May 12
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Message 44315 - Posted: 28 May 2012, 1:07:41 UTC

My computer crashed and I had a new HD installed and went from XP to Windows 7. I was able to get my existing projects running in BOINC Manager, but after running a couple of days I see that tasks compute, complete and then just seem to disappear. There is no record of them uploading. I just did a computer merge, but saw no evidence of a change. I have searched the old HD and can't find the cc_config.xml file mentioned in the manual. My Statistics screen has only a single vertical line for one project and nothing for the other. I have been running one of them (seti) since 1999 and the other (Rosetta) since 2006, so I really don't want to start over.

Any help out there?
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mo.v
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Message 44316 - Posted: 28 May 2012, 3:01:52 UTC

When you attached your new installation of BOINC to your projects, did you say you were an existing member of each project (not a new member)? And did you give the same email address as before? The email address is how BOINC identifies us as the same person as before.

Have you looked at your account in your projects to see what's there in your results?

If you suspend network activity for a while (do this in the Activity menu of BOINC manager) instead of leaving it available all the time you'll see whether when tasks complete they are in fact generating files to be uploaded. The files will stay in the Transfers tab for you to see what they consist of until you allow network activity again.

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geronimo52

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Message 44323 - Posted: 28 May 2012, 11:26:56 UTC - in response to Message 44316.  

I have taken your advice and suspended network activity. I also checked my two project accounts to see what is documented for my computer pre-crash and post- rebuild.

Rosetta: Total credits: 314,156
Pre-crash: 312,845 Difference: 1,311
Post-rebuild: 257

Seti: Total credits: 319,638
Pre-crash: 316,912 Difference: 2,726
Post-rebuild: 0

So, it looks like something got through, but not much. I am currently set up to process a higher percentage of Rosetta tasks than Seti, so the 0 figure for post-rebuild is not surprising. I wonder why the totals for each project minus the pre-crash numbers don't equal the post-rebuild numbers.

I hope this information helps someone diagnose the problem.

Thanks,
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geronimo52

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Message 44324 - Posted: 28 May 2012, 11:31:05 UTC - in response to Message 44316.  

Moe V. - Forgot to answer - I set up the new BOINC installation as an existing member.
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mo.v
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Message 44339 - Posted: 28 May 2012, 22:44:17 UTC

Your new computer has been attached to your old project accounts, so that's a good thing.

Sometimes when you complete tasks it can take at least two days for the credits to be exported from the project to the stats websites like BoincStats. That's is you are given the credits at once. I don't know exactly how or when they give you the credits for your completed work at Rosetta and Seti, but it could be that you're having to wait for the credits until the other person's computer that yours is paired with also completes the task and the results from both computers can be compared and validated. It's a while since I crunched any Seti, but I did once have to wait weeks for credits until the other person also finished quite a big task.

In your accounts if you look at the Tasks (or sometimes they call them Results) you only see your own computer, but if you click on the Workunit that each Task belongs to you'll see how they want two computers to do the same job. It's to check that the results are scientifically valid.

As long as you are sure that each task you crunch is generating a final file and these files get uploaded when you allow network activity I'd be very surprised if you don't eventually receive all the credits you're earning.
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Message boards : Questions and problems : Problem with computer change

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