I put together a new system this weekend, http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/show_host_detail.php?hostid=6711005 and installed the software like I usually do, XP, associated MB & video drivers, SP2, Windows update it a couple times, EVGA Precision, BOINC, then optimized apps. I've done it a number of times recently, and never had an issue. This time, after starting BOINC and letting it get some tasks, I pulled up EVGA Precision, and noticed that unlike my other machines, the GPU useage on this one is flatlined. 0%. I hit test in Precision, it pops up to 650+ Mhz, and said it passes, all ok there, and then drops right back down to around 400, while useage stays at 0%. I've never see this before, so I re-installed the optimized apps, and restarted the machine. Same thing. On the tasks screen, I see the CUDA tasks listed, and they start running, get to about 26 seconds, and go into Waiting to run mode, then it starts another GPU task. They never get past 0%. This is kind of a weird one, any thoughts as to why it isn't running are appreciated. Here is the beginning of my startup messages:

6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Starting BOINC client version 6.10.60 for windows_x86_64
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Libraries: libcurl/7.19.7 OpenSSL/0.9.8l zlib/1.2.3
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Data directory: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\BOINC
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Running under account Administrator
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Processor: 4 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU X3360 @ 2.83GHz [Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 7]
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Processor: 6.00 MB cache
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Processor features: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss htt tm pni ssse3 cx16 sse4_1 syscall nx lm vmx smx tm2 pbe
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM OS: Microsoft Windows XP: Professional x64 Edition, Service Pack 2, (05.02.3790.00)
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Memory: 3.93 GB physical, 5.69 GB virtual
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Disk: 232.88 GB total, 222.75 GB free
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM Local time is UTC -5 hours
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 260 (driver version 19745, CUDA version 3000, compute capability 1.3, 896MB, 583 GFLOPS peak)
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM SETI@home Found app_info.xml; using anonymous platform
6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM SETI@home URL http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/; Computer ID 6711005; resource share 100
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM SETI@home General prefs: from SETI@home (last modified 14-Jun-2012 05:53:08)
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM SETI@home Computer location: home
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM SETI@home General prefs: no separate prefs for home; using your defaults
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM Reading preferences override file
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM Preferences:
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM max memory usage when active: 2014.67MB
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM max memory usage when idle: 3827.87MB
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM max disk usage: 100.00GB
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM (to change preferences, visit the web site of an attached project, or select Preferences in the Manager)
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM Not using a proxy
6/25/2012 6:40:00 AM SETI@home Restarting task 22fe12ab.11147.144601.13.10.72_1 using setiathome_enhanced version 603

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How it GPU usage option set?
The web setting is:
"Suspend GPU work while computer is in use?": Yes
Enforced by version 6.6.21+
The BOINC 6.10.x GUI setting would be:
"Use GPU while computer is in use": Unchecked

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SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 260 (driver version 19745, CUDA version 3000, compute capability 1.3, 896MB, 583 GFLOPS peak)

If you're installed the Optimised apps from the 0.40 Lunatics Installer you need 26x.xx Cuda 3.2 drivers minimum, Cuda 3.0 drivers are too old.

Claggy

6/25/2012 6:39:59 AM NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 260 (driver version 19745, CUDA version 3000, compute capability 1.3, 896MB, 583 GFLOPS peak)

If you're installed the Optimised apps from the 0.40 Lunatics Installer you need 26x.xx Cuda 3.2 drivers minimum, Cuda 3.0 drivers are too old.

Claggy

Whoops! So, I remember hearding 26x. drivers were the "best", but of course they are not availble, the oldest are 275. Is there truely a best for XP and the current version of the optimized app? I will of course update the drivers right away. Thanks for the heads up!

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To get it working and start testing, I installed the latest 295 drivers. Still looking for the "best" though. Here is my startup screen now:

6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Starting BOINC client version 6.10.60 for windows_x86_64
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Libraries: libcurl/7.19.7 OpenSSL/0.9.8l zlib/1.2.3
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Data directory: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\BOINC
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Running under account Administrator
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Processor: 4 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU X3360 @ 2.83GHz [Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 7]
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Processor: 6.00 MB cache
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Processor features: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss htt tm pni ssse3 cx16 sse4_1 syscall nx lm vmx smx tm2 pbe
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM OS: Microsoft Windows XP: Professional x64 Edition, Service Pack 2, (05.02.3790.00)
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Memory: 3.93 GB physical, 5.69 GB virtual
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Disk: 232.88 GB total, 221.67 GB free
6/25/2012 5:50:16 PM Local time is UTC -5 hours
6/25/2012 5:50:17 PM NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 260 (driver version 29610, CUDA version 4020, compute capability 1.3, 896MB, 612 GFLOPS peak)
6/25/2012 5:50:17 PM SETI@home Found app_info.xml; using anonymous platform
6/25/2012 5:50:18 PM SETI@home URL http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/; Computer ID 6711005; resource share 100
6/25/2012 5:50:18 PM SETI@home General prefs: from SETI@home (last modified 14-Jun-2012 05:53:08)
6/25/2012 5:50:18 PM SETI@home Computer location: home
6/25/2012 5:50:18 PM SETI@home General prefs: no separate prefs for home; using your defaults
6/25/2012 5:50:18 PM Reading preferences override file
6/25/2012 5:50:18 PM Preferences:
6/25/2012 5:50:18 PM max memory usage when active: 2014.67MB
6/25/2012 5:50:18 PM max memory usage when idle: 3827.87MB
6/25/2012 5:50:20 PM max disk usage: 100.00GB
6/25/2012 5:50:20 PM (to change preferences, visit the web site of an attached project, or select Preferences in the Manager)
6/25/2012 5:50:20 PM Not using a proxy
6/25/2012 5:50:20 PM SETI@home Restarting task 25ap10ac.30991.3512.6.10.2_1 using setiathome_enhanced version 610
6/25/2012 5:50:20 PM SETI@home Restarting task 20fe12ae.30765.1467.10.10.240_2 using setiathome_enhanced version 603
6/25/2012 5:50:20 PM SETI@home Restarting task 20fe12ae.30765.1467.10.10.223_2 using setiathome_enhanced version 603
6/25/2012 5:50:20 PM SETI@home Restarting task 23jn11ag.32127.97127.8.10.99_0 using setiathome_enhanced version 603
6/25/2012 5:50:20 PM SETI@home Restarting task 23jn11ag.32127.98763.8.10.97_1 using setiathome_enhanced version 603

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To get it working and start testing, I installed the latest 295 drivers. Still looking for the "best" though. Here is my startup screen now:

6/25/2012 5:50:17 PM NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 260 (driver version 29610, CUDA version 4020, compute capability 1.3, 896MB, 612 GFLOPS peak)

That driver has the "sleep bug". See Claggy's Sticky Thread.

May be okay if VGA connected, but the 295 & 296 drivers are banned at Einstein due to this bug.

Whoops! So, I remember hearding 26x. drivers were the "best", but of course they are not availble, the oldest are 275. Is there truely a best for XP and the current version of the optimized app? I will of course update the drivers right away. Thanks for the heads up!

Think that 275.33 driver is okay. Looks like 266.58 is avail for XP 64 bit at Nvidia's site.
I used the 32 bit version with my GT240 and never wanted to change.

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Another Fred
Support SETI@home when you search the Web with GoodSearch or shop online with GoodShop.

To get it working and start testing, I installed the latest 295 drivers. Still looking for the "best" though. Here is my startup screen now:

6/25/2012 5:50:17 PM NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 260 (driver version 29610, CUDA version 4020, compute capability 1.3, 896MB, 612 GFLOPS peak)

That driver has the "sleep bug". See Claggy's Sticky Thread.

May be okay if VGA connected, but the 295 & 296 drivers are banned at Einstein due to this bug.

Many of my boards have VGA built in, so it may be a better way to go for those boards. Do they run faster than the 266 driver, do they benefit from about 2 years of improvements, or just code bloat?

Whoops! So, I remember hearding 26x. drivers were the "best", but of course they are not availble, the oldest are 275. Is there truely a best for XP and the current version of the optimized app? I will of course update the drivers right away. Thanks for the heads up!

Think that 275.33 driver is okay. Looks like 266.58 is avail for XP 64 bit at Nvidia's site.
I used the 32 bit version with my GT240 and never wanted to change.

You say you never wanted to change, but reading between the lines of that statement, it looks like you did. Any reason why, maybe getting a newer card that wasn't supported by that old a driver? I ended up downgrading to the 266.58 version, we'll see how that one goes.

6/25/2012 9:08:10 PM NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 260 (driver version 26658, CUDA version 3020, compute capability 1.3, 896MB, 634 GFLOPS peak)

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You say you never wanted to change, but reading between the lines of that statement, it looks like you did. Any reason why, maybe getting a newer card that wasn't supported by that old a driver?

Yes, I upgraded to a GTX 670 and have to use the 301 series drivers. The GT240 is in a box waiting for a build for my daughter.

I ended up downgrading to the 266.58 version, we'll see how that one goes.

Think that driver's a good one for the 200 series cards. Others may know of other good choices.

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Another Fred
Support SETI@home when you search the Web with GoodSearch or shop online with GoodShop.