I want to remove the background image that I had set up in my S@H preferences, but I can't find a way to do it. The entry that I changed to activate the background image is blank, but the image is still there even after doing an update. Can someone tell me how to get rid of this background image? I thought it might look interesting but I think I prefer the standard screenblanker graphics.

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I want to remove the background image that I had set up in my S@H preferences, but I can't find a way to do it. The entry that I changed to activate the background image is blank, but the image is still there even after doing an update. Can someone tell me how to get rid of this background image? I thought it might look interesting but I think I prefer the standard screenblanker graphics.

I've never set my own graphics but I should think that all you need do is edit your SETI@home preferences.
Graphics preferences and Color preferences
and select an option other then 'custom'.
Click update preference button at bottom.
In Boinc Manager Advanced View - Projects tab - Select Seti project - Update button.

I want to remove the background image that I had set up in my S@H preferences, but I can't find a way to do it. The entry that I changed to activate the background image is blank, but the image is still there even after doing an update. Can someone tell me how to get rid of this background image? I thought it might look interesting but I think I prefer the standard screenblanker graphics.

I've never set my own graphics but I should think that all you need do is edit your SETI@home preferences.
Graphics preferences and Color preferences
and select an option other then 'custom'.
Click update preference button at bottom.
In Boinc Manager Advanced View - Projects tab - Select Seti project - Update button.

I know how to edit my preferences, that's how I set the image to show up in the first place. But I can't remove the image information from the preferences because it doesn't show up in the settings even though it's still on my local machine.

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All the preferences on the Seti web site are cached. It is remotely possible that this caching continues onto your system, so that it can take up to 24 hours before it propagates. You did Update?

The actual image will be stored in one of your account's .XML files, but which one I don't know. My guess is either in the account_*.xml or the client_state.xml file. But since manually editing either can have grave consequences, I'd wait out the 24 hours first. Just to be sure.

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All the preferences on the Seti web site are cached. It is remotely possible that this caching continues onto your system, so that it can take up to 24 hours before it propagates. You did Update?

The actual image will be stored in one of your account's .XML files, but which one I don't know. My guess is either in the account_*.xml or the client_state.xml file. But since manually editing either can have grave consequences, I'd wait out the 24 hours first. Just to be sure.

Yes I've used Update - several times in fact. What I can't make any sense of is that there doesn't seem to be a way to REMOVE a background image. I can select one easily enough - type in the URL of it in the backgrond image entry in the settings, but when I go back to that now it's blank again just as it was to start with, so I can't simply delete my original entry. Doesn't make any sense.

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I can select one easily enough - type in the URL of it in the backgrond image entry in the settings, but when I go back to that now it's blank again just as it was to start with, so I can't simply delete my original entry. Doesn't make any sense.

What if you type in "none" (without the quotes) and save that?

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I can select one easily enough - type in the URL of it in the backgrond image entry in the settings, but when I go back to that now it's blank again just as it was to start with, so I can't simply delete my original entry. Doesn't make any sense.

What if you type in "none" (without the quotes) and save that?

Well that sort of worked. When I tried that and clicked update I got the following messages in my queue:

4/8/2009 11:27:49 AM|SETI@home|Started download of background_1239204464
4/8/2009 11:27:51 AM||Project communication failed: attempting access to reference site
4/8/2009 11:27:51 AM|SETI@home|Temporarily failed download of background_1239204464: can't resolve hostname
4/8/2009 11:27:51 AM|SETI@home|Backing off 1 min 0 sec on download of background_1239204464

Now I have a solid WHITE background behind the S@H graphics <sigh>, so SOMETHING changed. Seems to me like there needs to be an easy way to remove a background image - maybe there is but I don't know what it might be.

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OK, I'll forward this to the administrator. perhaps that he knows of an easy way to disable background graphics, or else that he can add a reset button.

In the mean time, can you do a search on your system, preferably in your BOINC Data directory only, for all files (*.*) which contain background_1239204464 and post that info here?

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I think you may need to set it to blank and then go into your BOINC/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/ directory and erase the background_1239204464 file.

Resetting the project would also probably do the job.

Eric

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@SETIEric@qoto.org (Mastodon)

I think you may need to set it to blank and then go into your BOINC/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/ directory and erase the background_1239204464 file.

Resetting the project would also probably do the job.

Eric

I don't see any way to set the Background URL to blank, as the entry for it in the settings is always blank every time I access the settings. The only time it ever shows anything is when I put something in it, but as soon as I save my settings the text I have entered apparently vanishes because if I go back into settings again it's gone. There doesn't seem to be a way to erase the setting.

I deleted the file but the background still shows up on the screensaver graphics, both before and after I clicked Update. This is really confusing.

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Try to exit BOINC completely, then restart it. That may loose the file.

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OK, I'll forward this to the administrator. perhaps that he knows of an easy way to disable background graphics, or else that he can add a reset button.

In the mean time, can you do a search on your system, preferably in your BOINC Data directory only, for all files (*.*) which contain background_1239204464 and post that info here?

I found the file exactly where you said it would be, but I don't understand what you mean by "post that info here". I'm not sure what kind of file it is, as it doesn't apparently have an extension and windows XP just calls it a 'file'. I tried deleting the file per the next message, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Going to try rebooting next just to see if that changes anything.

EDIT - After rebooting BOINC redownloaded the image <sigh>, so that didn't work either. Deleting the file apparently does no good at all.

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Try to exit BOINC completely, then restart it. That may loose the file.

Nope, doesn't help. Something keeps telling BOINC to download that file if it doesn't exist. If I delete the file, shut down BOINC and then restart it here's what happens:

4/8/2009 12:34:45 PM|SETI@home|Started download of background_1239205337
4/8/2009 12:34:51 PM|SETI@home|Finished download of background_1239205337

Oh well, I can put up with it for now. There definately needs to be a way to reset the background though.

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There was a bug in the preferences code.
Please edit your preferences, clear the background image field,
and do an update from the Manager.
Existing jobs will continue to have the background,
but new jobs won't.
-- David

There was a bug in the preferences code.
Please edit your preferences, clear the background image field,
and do an update from the Manager.
Existing jobs will continue to have the background,
but new jobs won't.
-- David

AH HA! This time when I went into my preferences the URL that I had previously entered showed up! I deleted it and updated. Thank you very much! I'll wait until the two AP WU's my system is currently processing are finished and see if it's different afterward.

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With thanks for the swift fix, David. Glad to see it finally worked out Danny.

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With thanks for the swift fix, David. Glad to see it finally worked out Danny.

Just wanted to confirm that the solution worked. My system just finished one AP WU and started another, and the graphics display for the new one doesn't have that background image in it. Thanks for all the help.

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