My new Windows 7 home premium pack arrived yesterday (1 day early! Thank you Amazon for using DHL and not the Royal Mail!) and I will be installing it during next week after my new external backup hard disk arrives. I need to backup all my music, films etc... blah, blah, blah.

I'm going to do a fresh clean install on a freshly formatted hard disk, as I need to start from scratch anyway.

However, I want to preserve the computer's identity as far as BOINC goes, and save all the work in progress, as this machine has crunched over a million credits in about 4 months since building it.

What I need is an idiot-proof guide to stopping Boinc, saving all the work in progress, and restoring it all after Windows 7 is installed. I'm running one of the Lunatic's optimized packs, I think the first one, and that will be going back on after install too.)

I also have a new Graphics card coming in the next few days as well, a GTX260, which will replace the 9800GTX+ in this machine, and the 9800GTX+ will then replace the 8600GTS in my other machine.

Will I be able to save the machine identity with the Graphics card update? None of the other components will be changing.

Please can you all advise me of any pitfalls or problems, and the best way to do this. Like I said, it has to be idiot-proof. I'm sure I had more questions, but they've melted away like snow in the sun...

Answers on a postcard please... (No, wait. The damn Royal Mail is on strike still. Better just post them here. :-)

Many thanks in advance.

regards, Gizbar.

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A proud GPU User Server Donor!

Good luck!

I read earlier today that XP users cannot upgrade to 7....
Requires a complete new install of both OS and all programs.

So much for enticing the largest Windows user base to switch over.

I might have been willing to try it, but not if I have to start a rig over from scratch.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Thanks Mark!

I'm not upgrading XP to Win 7 tho. I'm already running the Win 7 64bit RC on this machine, and the 64bit beta before that. It seems as quick as XP and very stable too. Just a few problems now and then while I'm still learning my way around. I found drivers for all the components and peripherals for everything I've got too.

Never played much with Vista either, although I understand the principles of operation are much the same.

regards, Gizbar.

(P.S. That RAC of yours is still climbing too, isn't it?)

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A proud GPU User Server Donor!

You'll find the BOINC data directory under Documents and Settings, probably in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\BOINC\

You'll find the BOINC program files, probably under C:\Program Files\BOINC\

Preserve both directories.

Restore them to the Win7 system and then install BOINC.

I think that'll work fine. If not, you should be able to tell almost immediately.

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It looks like YOU get to write the Guide :-)

I would absolutely try what Ned and others say first, it should work, but if something goes wonky, have your ducks in a row to quickly & trully fresh build the drive. After a full rebuild, worst case you get a second Machine Profile in Boinc, then you do a Boinc Machine Merge later.

If it was me (and it is not), I'd just rebuild from ground up to begin with. Why? It tends to be faster and more stable (because overstamping sometimes gets you into a troubleshooting marathon), and I'm not a big fan of XCOPYing back applications after a fresh install of an OS. As Boinc isn't a big Registry user (aside from autostart), I'm sure it works, but if you're gonna clean shop, then do it across the board. Tidbits left around by overstamping can still have curious ripples (and you'd be amazed what a true fresh install does to recoop lost disk space). I'm not just speaking about Boinc, but all sorts of software comes and goes over the months.

So if you're opposed to the above, then reading the remaining thoughts are moot ;-) And I'm not suggesting any of these as steps for anyone, this is just a laundry list of musings that I usually go through (and of course it's overkill, there are easier ways).

-- As you'd be facing a fresh install of apps, including Boinc, S@H, the optimized apps, optimized DLLs, ReSchedule, nvidia driver, etc ... maybe pre-stage these critical things on a thumb drive first.

-- I know it's a nuisance, but turn off New Work and run out your Boinc queues. Why risk it? Sure, your RAC will fall, but with the newer GPU card later, it'll catch up fast. Remember: if you need to do a Machine Merge, you can NOT have any overlap on communication dates. After that final ping, exit out of Boinc.

-- Make sure you know what email acct and pw you use to enlist machines in S@H. It would be a bummer to realize later they've been forgotten.

-- Document existing machine settings like a hawk. ComputerName(Cmd prompt, 'SET'), network card (maybe also note what ipconfig /all says), monitor driver, video driver, mouse type, CMOS settings, CD/DVD, etc. This is stuff you'll really want to know if Win7 doesn't auto detect everything cleanly. Also note any OC settings you've found to be best (those are easy to forget).

-- Backup all critical data (songs, pictures, docs, etc).

-- Again, as its a fresh install, I use this opportunity to clean shop by a low-level, re-partition to suit your experience, and drive check. Might as well blow out the dust bunnies too and check all the seatings.

-- After Win7 is installed & activated, I run an Update, install any motherboard apps for clocking, then I tweak all perf stuff to suit how I run S@H. How you do security & virus checks is something to consider (I keep those a layer away to not bog down the crunch box, but that could be horrible advice for others). Notes: I do turn off auto-updates so I control when it occurs, but again that's probably horrible advice for most. I also disable sleep & hibernate, and adjust other power settings. Finally, I turn off AERO (it's overhead I'd rather have on SETI).

-- Clean install Seti, and re-baseline how many WU's it gets through in an hour. Just turning off AERO alone should up your RAC ;-)

Good Luck

52 Aces gave some good advice, but as he stated himself, there's some overkill :-)

You only need to back up your BOINC data directory, unless there are CUDA drivers/dlls in the program directory.

Before the last shutdown, report all uploaded tasks and suspend network activity in BOINC manager's Activity menu.

After the OS install, restore the BOINC directory(s).

Then install BOINC, telling the installer where you put the data.

Before you start BOINC for the first time, disconnect from the net. This assures that the servers don't get aware if something goes wrong when starting BOINC. So, you can fix everything and restore the state before the error without losing any work.

If all works well, don't forget to resume network activity.

Gruß,
Gundolf

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Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)

SETI@home classic workunits 3,758
SETI@home classic CPU time 66,520 hours

You only need to back up your BOINC data directory, unless there are CUDA drivers/dlls in the program directory.

I suggested backing up both because, while I'm confident there isn't anything unique or identifying in the program directory, I know that wasn't always true.

I also know that if you back up something you don't need, it's a very small loss, but if you don't back up something and you needed it, that's a huge issue.

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Many thanks for the answers so far. I'm not gonna rush into this anyway, as the new gear hasn't arrived yet for a start. I'm not sure how long it will take to run down the machines' cache, but I'm not at work next week either so I can organise it properly.

I also have a new large usb memory stick coming too, so I will be able to back all of the Boinc directories up to that as well.

@52 Aces - I'm asking here because I'm not sure I'm competent to write the guide, and I felt sure that someone here would have done it before as well! ;-)

Still no answers on whether the graphics card update will snaffle the machine id?

regards, Gizbar.

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A proud GPU User Server Donor!

Still no answers on whether the graphics card update will snaffle the machine id?

I see no reason why it should. Nobody had even thought about using graphics cards to crunch when they wrote the rules about HostID - if anything, it would be the clean installation of Windows7 which might confuse matters, but not if you do it the way that's already been suggested here.

The key is to re-load your backed-up BOINC Data directory (which is where your HostID is stored) before you install BOINC under the new OS. Provided you tell the BOINC installer where that data directory is to be found, it'll re-use your existing IDs, programs, even work-in-progress.

I did this twice last week. The first time (which worked), I saved all the data in the Boinc directories (including the WUs), installed Windows 7 - keeping the computer name the same. From XP, the installation is nearly a clean install, not an upgrade. Once the installation was finished, I reistalled Boinc and copied the Boinc files back. Windows 7 has a different directory structure for the "application data" stuff. I could only get to it through the search functionality and not through explorer. Boinc picked up where I had left off, without skipping a beat. The second time (which was a disaster), the machine name was changed. All hell broke loose, and I had to manually abort the WUs. I am sure I missed some, so those will time out eventuially. Bottom line, is that it is pretty painless provided the computer name remains the same.

I did this twice last week. The first time (which worked), I saved all the data in the Boinc directories (including the WUs), installed Windows 7 - keeping the computer name the same. From XP, the installation is nearly a clean install, not an upgrade. Once the installation was finished, I reistalled Boinc and copied the Boinc files back. Windows 7 has a different directory structure for the "application data" stuff. I could only get to it through the search functionality and not through explorer. Boinc picked up where I had left off, without skipping a beat. The second time (which was a disaster), the machine name was changed. All hell broke loose, and I had to manually abort the WUs. I am sure I missed some, so those will time out eventuially. Bottom line, is that it is pretty painless provided the computer name remains the same.

The order you do things in is crucial. I (and others) have been advising "copy the data first, and install BOINC afterwards". That is more likely to succeed - you seem to have done it the other way round.

If you let BOINC install with just the default settings, yes, it will tuck the data away in an obscure location where it is free from meddling - accidental or deliberate!

But if you take control of the installation process by clicking the 'Advanced' button - as you have to do if you follow the procedure I'm advocating - you can keep the data out in the open where you can see it. At your own risk.

You'll find the BOINC data directory under Documents and Settings, probably in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\BOINC\

You'll find the BOINC program files, probably under C:\Program Files\BOINC\

Preserve both directories.

Restore them to the Win7 system and then install BOINC.

I think that'll work fine. If not, you should be able to tell almost immediately.

Windows 7 ought to be like windows Vista - the BOINC data direct is at c:\programdata\BOINC

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BOINC WIKI

Windows 7 ought to be like windows Vista - the BOINC data direct is at c:\programdata\BOINC

7 ougtta be like DOS/
Where do you wanna go today?

Type it and you shall be there.....................................

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Thanks for all the answers.

New question:- If i reload the Boinc directories before re-installing Boinc, won't it write over the personalized files with the generic versions that Boinc installs?

regards, Gizbar.

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A proud GPU User Server Donor!

Thanks for all the answers.

New question:- If i reload the Boinc directories before re-installing Boinc, won't it write over the personalized files with the generic versions that Boinc installs?

regards, Gizbar.

What generic versions would those be?

All the personal stuff is in the xml files, which don't get created until you attach to a project - and most of the stuff comes from the server anyway. I've just checked: the only data file which BOINC actually provides in the installation is all_projects_list.xml, the one which gives you the URLs in the 'attach to project' wizard. The only other files are the placeholder.txt which allow the installer to set up the projects/slots folder structure.

The whole point of loading the data first, and installing BOINC second, is so that everything BOINC needs to know about who you are, what projects you're attached to, how much work you've done, what your preferences are, what colour socks you wear, which side of the bed you get out in the morning, .... (OK, I made those last two up) .... are ready and waiting when the installer has finished its work: BOINC can get straight on with crunching (possibly after a benchmark, depending if you changed versions along the way) without asking you any of those start-up questions.

Thanks Richard. I don't tend to poke around too much in the Boinc folders. I started using the Lunatics install, and then let Boinc do it's thing. I've always been happy to get a new machine id in the past, this is the first time I've wanted to preserve the machine id.

I'm learning more about the way Boinc works now though, thanks to you and all the other guys that have chipped in.

Thank you all very much.

regards, Gizbar.

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A proud GPU User Server Donor!

What's the trick now for installing Boinc as a "service" on Windows?

That is, so that it runs regardless of who is logged in or not.

Happy crunchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

What's the trick now for installing Boinc as a "service" on Windows?

That is, so that it runs regardless of who is logged in or not.

Happy crunchin',
Martin

They call it 'Protected Application' now, IIRC under advanced setup. Under XP this will work fine with Cuda, but not under Vista or Win7.

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"Living by the wisdom of computer science doesn't sound so bad after all. And unlike most advice, it's backed up by proofs." -- Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human decisions.

Do we know if/when protected app will work with Vista/Win7?
Also, I run several Domain Controllers at home for experimental purposes. At this point in time I have to run boinc in a VM on those as it will not install on a DC. Any ideas when that may be remedied? I have no idea why they decided to change all that.

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And after the spanking comes...



Ni !

Do we know if/when protected app will work with Vista/Win7?
Also, I run several Domain Controllers at home for experimental purposes. At this point in time I have to run boinc in a VM on those as it will not install on a DC. Any ideas when that may be remedied? I have no idea why they decided to change all that.

The only problem is with the triple combination: Vista (or Win7) + protected mode + CUDA (or I guess ATI). You can have any two, but not all three.

When I install on a DC, I use BOINC v5.10.45 (or even v5.10.13) - still runs, works in service mode. That does preclude using CUDA, of course, but I don't know many domain controllers with that class of graphics card.