Boinc on Linux for newbies

[Abarbarian]

This seemed an excelent and easy to follow set up guide for Ubuntu and Kubuntu and Boinc . I'm going to give it a go later on today .

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=164511

Read posts 10 and 11 as they contain some important info .

 

[floppybootstomp]

I've bookmarked that

I've just remembered the name of the other overclocking nutter (erm, enthusiast ) I knew from Icrontic forums all those years ago, it was Oppainter. I see he's a member of that Forum

I do believe him and DDTung were always competing - is it still the same?

 

[Adywebb]

Yep - Oppainter is at XS too, not sure whether he and DDTung still compete these days but they are are both awesome overclockers.

I see I am in that guide thread too

 

[Abarbarian]

Well that was easy . Just follow the step by step instructions .

Took me half an hour . I already had the 64 version of Gusty Gibbon downloaded and burnt to disc .

Now have it installed on me XXXX pc alongside XP Pro . Dual boots no prob . Boinc installed and running . Hardest bit of the whole exercise was trying to remember and find me password for WCG .

All in all took about twenty clicks of the mouse to complete the whole thing .

So now when I finnally get around to using XXXX I can XP and game with Boinc during the day .At night I can switch over to faster crunching with the Gibbon .

One question for the linux experts out there .

Me rig below returns cpu stats ,

2174 Floating point MIPS Whetstone per cpu
3972 Integer point MIPS Dhrystone per cpu


XXXX on XP Pro running 2 cores returns ,

2528 Floating point MIPS Whetstone per cpu
4671 Integer point MIPS Dhrystone per cpu


XXXX on 64 bit Gusty Gibbon running 2 cores returns,

902 Floating point MIPS Whetstone per cpu
2736 Integer point MIPS Dhrystone per cpu

Does that look about right ?? I expected the linux figures to be higher than both the XP results

Also the XP rigs run Boinc 100% and in device manager cpu usage shows a rock steady 100% .
The Gibon runs Boinc 100% but the cpu usage for both cores fluctuates from 22% to 100% with no real pattern to it . I expected the cpu usage to be a rock steady 100% Have I missed setting something ???

 

[Adywebb]

Firstly make sure the WCG Device Profile for XXXX under Ubuntu has the processor time set to 100%, save and then update Boinc Manager.

Secondly that benchmark looks way low to me, as when I used Boinc with 64bit Ubuntu 7.1 I was getting a hugely inflated Integer benchmark way higher than XP.

It could be you have CPU frequency-scaling active, a bit like the Intel Speedstep, which is adjusting the CPU frequency according to demand.......there is an applet which you can add to the taskbar to adjust for max frequency. Right-click the taskbar, select Add to Panel and add the Frequency Scaling Monitor, then left-click the applet and adjust for max performance. Do a reboot after just to make sure its taken

After all has been done, manually run the benchmark again and see what you get.......I take it the Boinc version via Synaptic is still 5.10.8?

 

[Abarbarian]

Found the Frequency Scaling Monitor and got it to show in the task bar . Shows cpu running at 40% . Tried to get it set higher but its not possible . According to the HELP file there should be a "Frequency Selector section and a Frequencies and Governors drop down box " showing when you bring up the Preferences menu well it ain't there so I can't change the way me cpu is running .
Downloaded a temp and fan monitor wit the ADD and REMOVE utility and it seemed to install ok . I get a icon and can use it to bring up a window , but the window is empty and there is no monitors or anything anywhere .
I got the feeling that maybe linux did not install properly or that it needs some of the 178 updates that are waiting in the wings don't know if I can be arsed to wait the 4 hours while they download and see if they fix the probs . If they don't then I have wasted yet more time .

I must say I was impressed with the ease of install of the os and overall it looks to have lots of nice features and loads of luverly looking extras . It seems to run very fast and surfing the net seemed fast as well . Mind you I haven't done much with it . Still it looks , feels and performs pretty nicely .
BUT
Its not much use if you can't easily set your cpu to run as you want it . An programs don't install properly .

 

[Abarbarian]

Well I fiddled around for a while and got the Frequency Scaling Monitor to show the cpu's as 2.50GHz , still no "Frequency Selector section and a Frequencies and Governors drop down box " but at least it ran for a while at full pelt . Figures were ,

2181 Whetstone per cpu
6845 Dhrystone per cpu

They look to be a lot better than when XXXX is running under XP so I may just keep the experiment running but I need some help .
Turned the pc of and started agin and I'm back to running at 40% cpu . I can't remember what I fiddled with to get it to run at 100% .
Also I won't run the pc without a temp monitor running as I'm paranoid about overheating and also I'm testing out various case and fan mods and need an acurate temp monitor to see what effect me mods are having .
Using the Synaptic Download utility , I think that is what its called , I downloaded GKrellM monitor and some add-ons . The Synaptic Download found them for me and asked me if I wanted to download and install , I did , and now I have no idea where they are or how to find them .

So now I have a temp monitor that shows 40 C in the task bar or I can get it to show 3 C but I have no idea what the temps relate to . This was part of the original distro .

I have a temp monitor called " X Syst " I think that I found with the ADD/REMOVE progs . That has a icon and a blank window that I can minimise and maximise .

GKrellM with add ons somewhere but I can't find it .

A cpu limiter that has no controls , well it does have some sort of control somewhere but I can't find it and it got a bit missing .

So I turned XXXX of for the night and will wait and see if any of you folk can help out . If you can't mebees you could point me towards a Linux forum that might be able to helpout .

 

[vaio]

Linked to this thread at DC Zone.........mebbe someone there can help.

http://forum.thedczone.com/index.php/topic,1801.msg161535.html#new

 

[Abarbarian]

Ta fer that vaio .


Well I got XXXX with Gutsy Gibbon running at 100% by fiddling around . I deleted a program that was auto installed to limit the cpu . Can't remember what I did as I'm a bit confused by too much reading .

My Synaptic Manager says I have downloaded and installed GKrellM monitor thingy but I still can not find it to use it ??

So I'm getting there slowly .

Now have XXXX GG running as its a cool day so I should get some hunky points showing soon .

 

[Abarbarian]

No I ain't running at 100%.

Icon shows cpu at 2.51 GHz .

I got GKrellM to work and it shows cpu usage fluctuating , lowest 30% to 100% . So I don't know what to do .

 

[Abarbarian]

Well I haven't a clue whats going on .Suddenly I'm running both cores at 100% . Think this started as the two units I was working on finished and were uploaded to WCG .

The GKrellM monitor seems to be working fine which is nice and it looks pretty and there are loads of different skins for it so I'm going to have a play with it sometime .

I'm still worried that I do not have a temp monitor that I can use that is reliable . So any help with finding and helping me install one would be great .

I'm starting to like this Gutsy Gibbon a lot .

 

[vaio]

Have you disabled cool n quiet/thermal throttling?

By the way........the Ubuntu forums are a mine of info.
Have you visited?

 

[Adywebb]

I'm still worried that I do not have a temp monitor that I can use that is reliable . So any help with finding and helping me install one would be great .

I think that thread link in your OP mentions temp monitors?

 

[Abarbarian]

Have you disabled cool n quiet/thermal throttling?

By the way........the Ubuntu forums are a mine of info.
Have you visited?

An how would I do the disableing cool and quiet/thermal throttling ??

Yes I have spent nearly 48 hours straight looking at quite a few linux forums and info sites .

I seem to have cured the cpu usage problem . Though I still have to see if is still solved next time I start up .
Me main worry is that I do not know how hot or cold me pc is running . I just lost one pc and can not afford to have this one toast on me . An there is no way I am going to dust of me trusty 1..4 Athalon Thunderbird , oh no , no way .

 

[vaio]

Cool and quiet can be disabled in bios.

 

[Abarbarian]

Cool and Quiet was already disabled so that wasn't the problem . Seems it is sorted now as I'm running 100% .

The monitoring thing . Well I got gkrellm running but am not able to follow the instructions given at the site ,

"It is installed as a plugin for gkrellm here, you just have to set up lmsensors with synaptic, and then run "sensors-detect" as root in a terminal.
then add the sensors plugin into gkrellm. you can access the gkrellm menü by clicking on the upper edge of gkrellm."

I get lost around " run as root in a terminal " etc etc . Not idiot proof enough for me to follow .

Still one step at a time . If someone else did it so can I .

 

[Urmas]

Do: sudo sensors-detect

Just go with defaults... goes somthing like this (am I the only one having trouble using bold, colors, smilies etc. with Opera here?):

urmas@rocinante:~$ sudo sensors-detect
Password:
# sensors-detect revision 1.413 (2006/01/19 20:28:00)

This program will help you determine which I2C/SMBus modules you need to
load to use lm_sensors most effectively. You need to have i2c and
lm_sensors installed before running this program.
Also, you need to be `root', or at least have access to the /dev/i2c-*
files, for most things.
If you have patched your kernel and have some drivers built in, you can
safely answer NO if asked to load some modules. In this case, things may
seem a bit confusing, but they will still work.

It is generally safe and recommended to accept the default answers to all
questions, unless you know what you're doing.

We can start with probing for (PCI) I2C or SMBus adapters.
You do not need any special privileges for this.
Do you want to probe now? (YES/no): y
Probing for PCI bus adapters...
Use driver `i2c-viapro' for device 00:11.0: VIA Technologies VT8233A/8235 South Bridge
Probe succesfully concluded.

We will now try to load each adapter module in turn.
Module `i2c-viapro' already loaded.
If you have undetectable or unsupported adapters, you can have them
scanned by manually loading the modules before running this script.

To continue, we need module `i2c-dev' to be loaded.
If it is built-in into your kernel, you can safely skip this.
i2c-dev is not loaded. Do you want to load it now? (YES/no): y
Module loaded succesfully.

We are now going to do the adapter probings. Some adapters may hang halfway
through; we can't really help that. Also, some chips will be double detected;
we choose the one with the highest confidence value in that case.
If you found that the adapter hung after probing a certain address, you can
specify that address to remain unprobed. That often
includes address 0x69 (clock chip).

Next adapter: NVIDIA I2C Device
Do you want to scan it? (YES/no/selectively): y
Client found at address 0x21
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM78'... Failed!
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM78-J'... Failed!
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM79'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83781D'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83782D'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83627HF'... Failed!

Next adapter: NVIDIA I2C Device
Do you want to scan it? (YES/no/selectively): y

Next adapter: NVIDIA I2C Device
Do you want to scan it? (YES/no/selectively): y
Client found at address 0x50
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 1, driver `eeprom')
Probing for `DDC monitor'... Success!
(confidence 8, driver `eeprom'), other addresses: 0x51 0x52 0x53 0x54 0x55 0x56 0x57
Probing for `Maxim MAX6900'... Failed!
Client found at address 0x51
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 1, driver `eeprom')
Client found at address 0x52
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 1, driver `eeprom')
Client found at address 0x53
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 1, driver `eeprom')
Client found at address 0x63

Next adapter: bt878 #0 [sw]
Do you want to scan it? (YES/no/selectively): y
Client at address 0x43 can not be probed - unload all client drivers first!
Client at address 0x50 can not be probed - unload all client drivers first!
Client found at address 0x51
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 1, driver `eeprom')
Client found at address 0x52
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 1, driver `eeprom')
Client found at address 0x53
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 1, driver `eeprom')
Client at address 0x60 can not be probed - unload all client drivers first!

Next adapter: SMBus Via Pro adapter at 5000
Do you want to scan it? (YES/no/selectively): y
Client found at address 0x2f
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM78'... Failed!
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM78-J'... Failed!
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM79'... Failed!
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM80'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83781D'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83782D'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83791D'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83792D'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83791SD'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83627HF'... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83627EHF'... Failed!
Probing for `Asus AS99127F (rev.1)'... Failed!
Probing for `Asus AS99127F (rev.2)'... Failed!
Probing for `Asus ASB100 Bach'... Failed!
Probing for `Analog Devices ADM9240'... Failed!
Probing for `Dallas Semiconductor DS1780'... Failed!
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM81'... Failed!
Probing for `Analog Devices ADM1029'... Failed!
Probing for `ITE IT8712F'... Failed!
Client found at address 0x30
Client found at address 0x31
Client found at address 0x50
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 8, driver `eeprom')
Probing for `DDC monitor'... Failed!
Probing for `Maxim MAX6900'... Failed!
Client found at address 0x51
Probing for `SPD EEPROM'... Success!
(confidence 8, driver `eeprom')
Client found at address 0x69

Some chips are also accessible through the ISA bus. ISA probes are
typically a bit more dangerous, as we have to write to I/O ports to do
this. This is usually safe though.

Do you want to scan the ISA bus? (YES/no): y
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM78'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM78-J'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `National Semiconductor LM79'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83781D'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83782D'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83627HF'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `Winbond W83627EHF'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `Silicon Integrated Systems SIS5595'
Trying general detect... Failed!
Probing for `VIA Technologies VT82C686 Integrated Sensors'
Trying general detect... Failed!
Probing for `VIA Technologies VT8231 Integrated Sensors'
Trying general detect... Failed!
Probing for `ITE IT8712F'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `ITE IT8705F / SiS 950'
Trying address 0x0290... Failed!
Probing for `IPMI BMC KCS'
Trying address 0x0ca0... Failed!
Probing for `IPMI BMC SMIC'
Trying address 0x0ca8... Failed!

Some Super I/O chips may also contain sensors. Super I/O probes are
typically a bit more dangerous, as we have to write to I/O ports to do
this. This is usually safe though.

Do you want to scan for Super I/O sensors? (YES/no): y
Probing for `ITE 8702F Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (skipping family)
Probing for `Nat. Semi. PC87351 Super IO Fan Sensors'
Failed! (skipping family)
Probing for `SMSC 47B27x Super IO Fan Sensors'
Failed! (skipping family)
Probing for `VT1211 Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (0x60)
Probing for `Winbond W83627HF Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (0x60)
Probing for `Winbond W83627THF Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (0x60)
Probing for `Winbond W83637HF Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (0x60)
Probing for `Winbond W83687THF Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (0x60)
Probing for `Winbond W83697HF Super IO Sensors'
Success... found at address 0x0290
Probing for `Winbond W83697SF/UF Super IO PWM'
Failed! (0x60)
Probing for `Winbond W83L517D Super IO'
Failed! (0x60)
Probing for `Fintek F71805F/FG Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (0x6012)
Probing for `Winbond W83627EHF/EHG Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (0x6012)

Do you want to scan for secondary Super I/O sensors? (YES/no): y
Probing for `ITE 8702F Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (skipping family)
Probing for `Nat. Semi. PC87351 Super IO Fan Sensors'
Failed! (skipping family)
Probing for `SMSC 47B27x Super IO Fan Sensors'
Failed! (skipping family)
Probing for `VT1211 Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (skipping family)
Probing for `Winbond W83627EHF/EHG Super IO Sensors'
Failed! (skipping family)

Now follows a summary of the probes I have just done.
Just press ENTER to continue:

Driver `eeprom' (should be inserted):
Detects correctly:
* Bus `NVIDIA I2C Device'
Busdriver `UNKNOWN', I2C address 0x50 (and 0x51 0x52 0x53 0x54 0x55 0x56 0x57)
Chip `DDC monitor' (confidence: 8)
* Bus `bt878 #0 [sw]'
Busdriver `UNKNOWN', I2C address 0x51
Chip `SPD EEPROM' (confidence: 1)
* Bus `bt878 #0 [sw]'
Busdriver `UNKNOWN', I2C address 0x52
Chip `SPD EEPROM' (confidence: 1)
* Bus `bt878 #0 [sw]'
Busdriver `UNKNOWN', I2C address 0x53
Chip `SPD EEPROM' (confidence: 1)
* Bus `SMBus Via Pro adapter at 5000'
Busdriver `i2c-viapro', I2C address 0x50
Chip `SPD EEPROM' (confidence: 8)
* Bus `SMBus Via Pro adapter at 5000'
Busdriver `i2c-viapro', I2C address 0x51
Chip `SPD EEPROM' (confidence: 8)

Driver `w83627hf' (should be inserted):
Detects correctly:
* ISA bus address 0x0290 (Busdriver `i2c-isa')
Chip `Winbond W83697HF Super IO Sensors' (confidence: 9)


I will now generate the commands needed to load the I2C modules.

To make the sensors modules behave correctly, add these lines to
/etc/modules:

#----cut here----
# I2C adapter drivers
# modprobe unknown adapter bt878 #0 [sw]
# modprobe unknown adapter NVIDIA I2C Device
# modprobe unknown adapter NVIDIA I2C Device
# modprobe unknown adapter NVIDIA I2C Device
i2c-viapro
i2c-isa
# I2C chip drivers
eeprom
w83627hf
#----cut here----

Do you want to add these lines to /etc/modules automatically? (yes/NO)yes

As you can see, it's not "satisfaction guaranteed"... it would take some tweaking to get everything up and running on my oldie AMD 3000+.

BUT: if it's just processor temp info you're after, install a panel applet called "sensors-applet". You can do this with Synaptic Package Manager, or in Terminal (let's install "libsensors3" as well):

sudo apt-get install libsensors3 sensors-applet

Once installed, right click on an "empty spot" on a panel, choose "Add to Panel". Choose the right applet (monitoring sensors or something like that) from the list.

 

[Abarbarian]

Hi Urmas . Thanks fer the excellent walkthrough . Tried out all your sugestions and now have some reasonable temps (see screenshot) They look a little low to me cpu temp should be around 30 to 35 C .
Oh well its another step forward. .


I messed up big time and had to re-install the whole os . In doing so I had to start from the beginning again. . Downloaded gkrellm and now it is not showing up anywhere , tried to re-install several times but no lick . Will have to try again later . If I got it once I shopuld be able to get it again even if I did not have it running with all its bits .

Don't know about the Opera as I'm using FF .

Do you crunch ?? We have a team running under the World Community Grid . If you fancy joining us we would make you most welcome .

https://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3432920.php

https://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3442342.php

 

[Abarbarian]

Well some more info has appeared in the terminal window and Temps 1 and 2 look good if they are the cpu temps . Temp 3 at 49 C is a bit of a worry if it is the mobo though . I don't recon its the hdd as I think that I need an extra plug in to show hdd temps .

Managed to work out how to install GKrellM but no luck in integrating the tepms into the interface .

Seeing as I only started with Linux 4 days ago I'm quite chuffed with me progres .

Main objective has been achived and that was to get XXXX crunching in the most productive way .