Hi,

My High School leaves all of their computers on throughout the day (although they turn them off for the night), many of which are not in use for considerable time periods. However, in between sessions, they are logged off, and each person who logs on has a different account. Is there a way to run SETI@HOME while the computers are logged off?

Thanks.

Before we go deeper to answer your Question - you have
already read the first Rule here on SETI?

Run SETI@home only on authorized computers

Helli

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A loooong time ago: First Credits after SETI@home Restart

Of course. I am planning on asking the school for permission.

The first thing you have to consider - mostly this School/Company PCs don't put high
Load like SETI on the CPU. They are used for Programs like Office, SAP, Autocad. The
PCs are often old and are not cleaned very well, mostly full of Dust.

Like this one: Dusty CPU Cooler

With such a dusty Cooler you shouldn't be suprised when a PC crashes with
a Blue Screen if you run the CPU under full Load because of overheating.

In Case all is Ok at your School - BOINC can be installed as a Service running
in the Background without the need of someone is logged in.

Helli

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A loooong time ago: First Credits after SETI@home Restart

Thank you! I will ask my school to determine if their computers are in good enough shape to handle SETI@HOME.

Also, wouldn't simply lowering the CPU fix the problem?

Helli, could you possibly message me about what your specs are on computer: 5478679 . I love what I see, just not sure if I can swing it right now. Thanks.

PS I clean all my systems 2-4 times per year. How long was the one in the pic you posted last cleaned?

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Also, wouldn't simply lowering the CPU fix the problem?

It would help the problem. There's no "fix" for the problem that the computer will simply be using the CPU more. Hopefully throttling the CPU usage would lead to fewer crashes from overheating and so forth, but chances are that your school has not invested in high end PCs that are designed to be running all the time. The more a computer uses each of its components, the faster they wear out. This is most obvious with something like a hard drive, but most CPUs don't really like being in heavy use constantly. Discuss it with the school's IT manager. They'll certainly be aware of the issues and will have an opinion.

Actually, CPUs are very well tested by the manufacturer to run under full load for long periods of time. The failing point is in the design of the system (cooling) and the environment that the system is run in that can create unknown variables which can cause a machine to fail prematurely.