Hi everybody,

I've read the other posts and have not found info for this specific problem.

Over the last week or so, my work units for Seti@Home have been Getting stuck. I just downloaded and installed 6.2.18 for Windows XP SP2.

For example, I've got one work unit that has been going for over 4 hours, which is longer that most Seti@Home work units take usually, but the Progress is stuck at zero.

I could leave it there for days or even weeks I think and it would never finish. The only way is to abort the unit and hope the next one will actually work.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Oldcode

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Exit and restart BOINC.

Default ways to exit and restart:
1. If installed as a service, BOINC Manager->Advanced view->Advanced->Shut down Connected client and BOINC Manager->File->Exit; Start->Programs->BOINC->BOINC Manager.

2. If not installed as a service, BOINC Manager->File->Exit; Start->Programs->BOINC->BOINC Manager.

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Thanks! That did it!

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I have noticed the same problem in recent week or so.
But for me, simply restarting BOINC didn't seem to do the trick,
I have to reboot my system every time I encounter the problem....

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Bumanzu, http://www.bumanzu.com

I tried this advice, and it seem to work at first, but the software works on one or two work units, and then gets stuck again. Since my system can do a SETI work unit in about 4 to 5 hours, I often come to my computer after a while to find it has been sitting on a work unit for hours and nothing has been done.

This is very frustrating for it is a waste of CPU time and electricity.

This problem is growing steady worse. Exiting the program once was enough at first, but now I have to exit 2 or 3 times to get it to work or even reboot like Total Eclipse.

Any ideas? I'm running Ver 6.2.18

Exit and restart BOINC.

Default ways to exit and restart:
1. If installed as a service, BOINC Manager->Advanced view->Advanced->Shut down Connected client and BOINC Manager->File->Exit; Start->Programs->BOINC->BOINC Manager.

2. If not installed as a service, BOINC Manager->File->Exit; Start->Programs->BOINC->BOINC Manager.

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What are your preferences?

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Wendy



Click Here for BOINC FAQ Service

What are your preferences?

Especially

On multiprocessors, use at most XX of the processors
Use at most XX percent of CPU time

Sorry for the delay,

I've left all the preferences at default.

Here is the other settings you asked for...

Switch between applications between every 60 min
On multiprocessors, use at most 100% of the processors
Use at most 100% percent of CPU time

Each processor, after one unit will get stuck. The only way to get it unstuck is to exit and reopen the program, sometimes as many as 3 or 4 times.

Any ideas?

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I also have this very same problem and would also like to know to fix it please.It is a very big pain to have to shut down and restart the manager all the time. I also would some help please.

Thanks Heaps.

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Mine has started too..

I couldn't work out what to do at first - work unit got stuck at 98% for about 3 hrs - so I pressed abort - then I searched and found this answer! Seems to be OK now - can I "rescue" the aborted work unit?

can I "rescue" the aborted work unit?

No. Once aborted on your system, BOINC assumes you didn't want it. Without a full backup of the BOINC (Data) directory, you're out lof luck. If in the mean time you've had contact with the Seti servers as well, it'll be reported as aborted to the server and sent out to another person.

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This problem is getting worse and worse! Almost every Seti@Home work unit gets stuck when it starts, and some are now even getting stuck part way through.

This is a terrible waste of time and recourses. The only thing that has changed recently is I installed SP3 for XP Pro. It didn't seem to change anything with Seti@Home either way.

I really want to keep helping out with this project (I've been using Seti@Home since 2000), but this is getting ridicules.

Any idea that can fix this?

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Major operating system changes like installing SP3 can easily mess with other software.

My suggestion:
Under Projects tab, click No new tasks.
Once all of your work units are done and uploaded and reported, click Reset project. That will delete the applications and re-download them, which is why you should wait until the tasks you have now are done.

If that doesn't work, it might be time for an uninstall of BOINC and re-install. You might want to update to the newest version (6.2.19) in the process, if the above suggestion doesn't work.

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Cruiser
Gateway GT5692 L-f-S Edition
-Phenom X4 9650 CPU
-4GB 667MHz DDR2 RAM
-500GB SATA HD
-Vista x64 SP1
-BOINC 6.2.19 32-bit client
-SSE3 optimized 32-bit apps

All tasks getting stuck for you only point towards you having a hardware problem. Your AMD 64 X2 Dual Core seems to show no problems, it's churning out tasks without problems, as far as I can see, so it must be your laptop (AMD Turion(tm) 64 Mobile Technology ML-34) that has the problem?

Any science application under BOINC makes the CPU very hot, as it'll be under full load constantly. I see this laptop of yours has only one CPU, so you could try to use the BOINC throttle function (in computing preferences set "Use at most 50% of CPU time"; If you use the local preferences in BOINC Manager->Advanced view->Advanced->Preferences->Processor usage and set it through there).

Else, make absolutely sure you get good cooling into the laptop. Any laptop/notebook is notoriously difficult to cool as all you have to work with is tiny grates that the air has to be sucked in through and blown out of. They easily clog with dust. On some laptops, you don't even want them on your lap or on a flat surface, as then they won't be cooled adequately. Putting it on two books may already help, but extra help is always welcome (e.g. table fan blowing into it).

But try the BOINC throttle first. Or don't use the laptop to crunch Seti with...

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I have tested this problem extensively. SETI work units (SETI@home Enhanced 6.03) get stuck, and can run for weeks and be at 0%. They can also run to other percentages like 50.374% and then stop.

I thought it was my hardware, but testing has proved otherwise:
* Astropulses do NOT get stuck on this machine.

I joined other projects to test, and after many weeks of running 24/7,
* Rosetta@home does NOT ever get stuck.
* Superlink@Technion does NOT get stuck.
* The World Community Grid projects do NOT get stuck.

Again, I have tested them all on the same machine that gets stuck on Seti@home Enhanced 6.03 blocks. Restarting Boinc, and rebooting the machine rarely help. I had this problem with Boinc 6.2.18, and still have the problem with Boinc 6.2.19.

Right now, I have stuck blocks in my system, one shows 4:45:30 hours of processing time, 0.000% complete, 5:00:55 to go. I finally just suspended Seti@home on this computer, and it just turns in blocks all day long from the other 3 projects I joined to test with.

THE PROBLEM IS THE 6.03 ENGINE.

-Kyle

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Again, I have tested them all on the same machine

And which of your computers is that, or is that a secret we have to unravel ourselves? ;-)

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Tests show it is not the hardware, but here is the information you request:

ID: 3433781
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/show_host_detail.php?hostid=3433781

You will notice 120,426 is the total credit, with all but the last bit of that problem free. This problem only cropped up recently, coinciding with the use of SETI@home Enhanced 6.03.

-Kyle

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Use an optimized version of Seti then. I'm running two of them (the SSE and SSE2) on both my computers and they sure don't get stuck.

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Hi Leaps and Ageless,

Okay, here’s what I’ve got. This trouble started long before I installed SP3, and there was no change after I installed SP3.

Ageless, the problem is NOT with my laptop, it is with my desktop AMD 64 X2 Dual Core. The reason it shows no problems is that I have been manually stopping and starting the software so the work will continue. I don’t use the laptop much for I no longer have the job I was using it for. I’m a PC tech and the CPU temp seem to be well within safe limits for both the laptop and the desktop.

Leaps, I had already uninstalled and reinstalled the BOINC software, but that was with Ver 6.2.18. So, when I noticed that 6.2.19 was out, I installed that, and it made no difference. What I did do was follow your suggested steps, waited for everything to finish, uninstalled 19, rebooted, and reinstalled it. It downloaded a new set of work units and they started working right away! Yeah! I’ll keep my eye on it.

Wyle E., Astropulse does not seem to get stuck here either. I’m going to see what happens today before I install the optimized version. My desktop can do an average Seti@home work unit in less than 4 hours. If the problem is still there, I’ll know very soon.

Thanks everybody.

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Ageless, the problem is NOT with my laptop, it is with my desktop AMD 64 X2 Dual Core.

Then please, next time you post about a problem, tell up front which computer it is that you have the problem with. Or post its BOINC startup log. Especially when you have multiple computers, it can be very difficult to give out clear and concise help, you as a PC tech should know this. We can't know what computer you talk about until you say so.

So then, some things to try:
When a task gets stuck again, check in Windows Task Manager what is taking up the CPU(s).

Go to your BOINC Data directory and make a file called cc_config.xml

Copy and paste the following into Notepad (or any other text editor). Save it in your BOINC Data directory as cc_config.xml .. When saving with a text editor, make sure you save as "All types". That way the editor won't auto-add a TXT extension.

<cc_config>
  <log_flags>
     <state_debug>1</state_debug>
     <task_debug>1</task_debug>
     <app_msg_send>1</app_msg_send>
     <app_msg_receive>1</app_msg_receive>
  </log_flags>
</cc_config>

After saving this in your BOINC data directory, open BOINC Manager->Advanced view->Advanced->Read config file. Now when you look in the Messages tab, a whole plethora or new messages should start to appear. Let the task run until it's stuck again and then post the messages of the last 5 minutes before it got stuck. Don't post all the messages, please, the bit you're going to post is long enough already.

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