|
The problem is actually within Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol. When you use RDP, it uses it's own video drivers instead of the ones on the system. BOINC sees that the video driver being used (RDP) is not compatible with GPU crunching and therefore disables the GPU crunching function. When you log off of RDP, the system goes back to using the drivers included on the system, and BOINC is able to detect this and resume using the GPU again.
This is not a function or problem with BOINC; this is how RDP is designed. Therefore, no matter which version of BOINC you use, you will always see this behavior until Microsoft changes their program to use the system's drivers (which is unlikely, because Microsoft's RDP video driver is designed to be dynamic, usable over slow and/or high latency connections using video compression if necessary while the local video drivers assume that everything being done is local).
As for the download errors, I believe this is unrelated. Currently we are having what is known as a "shorty storm"; short workunits that complete in a matter of seconds, typically because of too much local noise. Because workunits are completing within seconds, everyone is pounding the servers to return the results and get more, and the servers can't keep up with the demand.
To make matters worse, it appears that one of the download servers is having issues and is not responding to requests, leaving only the single server to service all requests from 500,000+ active computers.
The only solution is to be patient while they get the other server back up, and to wait out the "shorty storm". | 
