Hi everyone,
I enjoy trying to help with the seti@home project very much.
But I am having problems getting things to work efficiently.

I do not know if its my BOINC or seti@home settings, I am not a geek.
but my computer & internet should be more than good enough to run these tasks.
(i admit its not the best, but not the worst either)

Besides my computer details in the profile section.
My internet connection is high speed cable, I did 4+ speed tests.
The lowest result was downloads were 5 Mbps and uploads were 1 Mbps.
And best result was downloads were 15 Mbps and uploads were 3 Mbps.
I can download a 1 GB movie in like 30 minutes or less.
so internet transfers should not be an issue at all.

My computer details show i have a dual core AMD processor.
(not the best of course, but should be decently fast enough for tasks)

2 main problems I am having are...

- downloading of AstroPulse v7 v7.03 (sse) and SETI@home v7 v7.00 (cuda22) tasks.

- Processing time of the regular (SETI@home v7 v7.00) tasks.

downloading AstroPulse v7 v7.03 (sse) and SETI@home v7 v7.00 (cuda22) tasks
were so painfully slow, I suspended and aborted them every time.
(each task would take at least 10 hours to download)

I disabled all the GPU options to stop the downloading of them.
(but i shouldnt need to disable them)

As for the Processing time of the regular (SETI@home v7 v7.00) tasks,
they download fast,(within seconds) but take 3 to 5 hours to complete 1 task.

3 to 5 hours seems like a long time to complete for the resources i have.

I would really appreciate any suggestions to help improve these issues.
thanks in advance for any help.

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

Three to five hours is about right for the processor you have.
A quick glance at the CPU tasks running on one of my crunchers (a 4.4Ghz AMD FX8350) shows that the "typical task" is taking just over two hours, you have an AMD Atholn 64, running at about 2.5 GHz (if my memory serveS me right). The FX series are a bit more effective than the Athlon 64 family (per GHz), so I would expect your times to be about double the ~2hrs of my FX. so about 4 hours.

What may be confusing you is that mine is an eight core processor, and yours is a two core processor. The SETI processes are not multi-threaded, so each core runs one task, not two (or eight) cores per task which you would get with a multi-threaded application.

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Thanks Rob,
things must of really changed a lot since the seti@home classic days.
i used to use that on a real old computer and it seemed fast then.

The SETI processes are not multi-threaded, so each core runs one task, not two

yes i can tell, that explains why normally im only processing 2 tasks at a time.
(Dual core)

i just dont know if i have the %'s and stuff set properly for my computer.
besides the fact that its set enough to at least work.
i wasn't sure if maybe changing %'s or other settings would help it in any way,
or not.

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

Let it run for a couple of weeks to make sure it is stable, and get a feeling for what sort of output it is giving. Then try and get the GPU working (that should be a fairly simple step, but there may be some sorting of drivers needed)

Key thing is don't abort tasks unless they are actually taking DAYS to complete - you have to have about a dozen tasks complete and validated before the servers can start to sort out their side of the fence.

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

The lowest result was downloads were 5 Mbps and uploads were 1 Mbps.
And best result was downloads were 15 Mbps and uploads were 3 Mbps.

Just for clarification, and also because you said something different in this post in your other thread: what do you mean with Mbps?

In the other post you said you download at 3 MB/s, which means 3 megabytes per second. Here you say you download with anything between 5 and 15 megabits per second. Is that what you really mean with the Mbps? Or did you mean MB/sec with all those before?

Table, Mbps divided by 8 == MB/sec.
1 Mbps = 125 KB/sec.
3 Mbps = 375 KB/sec.
5 Mbps = 625 KB/sec.
15 Mbps = 1,875 KB/sec.

So reverse,
3 MB/sec = 24 Mbps.

My internet connection is high speed cable

Which tells us exactly nothing. What is the speed your ISP says you have? Your ISP will advertise in Megabits per second.

E.g. my ISP advertises my line as 180Mbits/8Mbits. It's also cable.
Steam will upload (so I will download) games to me at 22.3MB/sec. That's very close to what I pay for.

---

hi ageless,

What is the speed your ISP says you have? Your ISP will advertise in Megabits per second.

the package i have says Download speeds up to 15 Mbps,
and Upload speed up to 2 Mbps

Just to clarify a few things, in my other post i said..

I have a cable internet connection over 3MB/s download & over 300kb/s upload.

mainly intending to show it was not a slow dial up connection.
later in the post i had done the 4 speed tests and stated it was shown in Mbps not kbytes/sec like the settings for network usage in BOINC are listed as kbytes/sec not Mbps and i did not know the proper formula to add my connection speed there.

the point i was trying to make was that either way,
my connection should have been ample for downloading the (AP) or (cuda) tasks,
and i could not understand why it would take 10+ hours to get 1 of those tasks,
based on the size of the task file and my download speed.

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

Let it run for a couple of weeks to make sure it is stable, and get a feeling for what sort of output it is giving. Then try and get the GPU working (that should be a fairly simple step, but there may be some sorting of drivers needed)

Im suspecting I may have driver issues as this is a custom xp box to begin with.
im using many "universal drivers" to get xp to work on this Acer Aspire x1200.

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

The one that is most likely to give issues is that for your GPU, which is why it is worth knowing the system is working and stable without it being used before trying to get it working.

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

downloading AstroPulse v7 v7.03 (sse) and SETI@home v7 v7.00 (cuda22) tasks
were so painfully slow, I suspended and aborted them every time.
(each task would take at least 10 hours to download)

How do you know? = Where do you look and what do you see there?

(since there is no difference between SETI@home CPU and GPU (CUDA) WUs (all are ~360 KB) - all they have to Download in seconds)

I'm 99% sure the tasks have no problem to Download (if they show "Waiting to run" they are already there and were started at least one time)

This "SETI@home v7 v7.00 (cuda22)" and "Aborted by user" is for sure totally Downloaded as it Started/Restarted 3 times:
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/result.php?resultid=3942290325


You just don't give the GPU a chance to compute - by your Preferences to use GPU 'only when idle' and not giving the computer any idle time (probably by sleeping it immediately when you leave the keyboard)

---

 


- ALF - "Find out what you don't do well ..... then don't do it!" :)
 

thanks rob,

The one that is most likely to give issues is that for your GPU, which is why it is worth knowing the system is working and stable without it being used before trying to get it working.

I cant really say if the GPU is actually a problem or not.
as ive not run any of those tasks that tried to download.
because i was concerned why they would take so long for downloading.
and never actually let 1 download to try it.
(which leads back to the download issue)

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

Hi BilBg,

How do you know? = Where do you look and what do you see there?

you must use something other than boinc for seti@home if you never seen those
show "downloading" under the tasks tab in boinc.

the time remaining showed at least 10 hours on 1 of those tasks, and 30 hours on another, and 26 hours for another one, and that was just to download the task.

(since there is no difference between SETI@home CPU and GPU (CUDA) WUs (all are ~360 KB) - all they have to Download in seconds)

The ones with (AP) or (cuda) were NOT the same as the other ones for me.
the ones named just SETI@home v7 v7.00 (no (AP) or (cuda)) would download fast.
but ones with (AP) or (cuda) showed longer than 10 hours just to download.

I'm 99% sure the tasks have no problem to Download (if they show "Waiting to run" they are already there and were started at least one time)

yes i understand that, but again for mine i only saw "Waiting to run" on the tasks with just SETI@home v7 v7.00 (no (AP) or (cuda) in the name)

This "SETI@home v7 v7.00 (cuda22)" and "Aborted by user" is for sure totally Downloaded as it Started/Restarted 3 times:
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/result.php?resultid=3942290325

Yes, that one and many others were aborted because they were in the process of "downloading" not "Waiting to run" or "running"

You just don't give the GPU a chance to compute - by your Preferences to use GPU 'only when idle' and not giving the computer any idle time (probably by sleeping it immediately when you leave the keyboard)

they need to download first before i can give it a chance to compute.
and i was not going to wait 10 hours or longer just to download it.

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

AP tasks are a different type of task to "MB" tasks.

MB are the more common task and are 336kB long.
AP are less common, and are 8MB long.

"Cuda" tasks are exactly the same as "cpu" tasks, but have been sent to be processed by an Nvidia GPU.

In the BOINC task manager:
MB task names start with a date, along the lines "26ja13"
AP task names start with "ap_", followed by a date, in the same format as the MB date.

Cuda tasks have an additional cuda version identifier, so you may see tasks "CUDA22", or "CUDA50". These are just the same task as one saying "Seti_v7 7.00" in the task manager. This is used to indicate to you what verion of the the Nvidia CUDA driver to use.

One thing to understand is that if, in the task window, the message says "Waiting to run" it means that task has already started, but has stopped for some reason, not that the download has stalled. In the task window tasks being downloaded are indicated a "downloading", but most of the time you don't see that message - if you want to see it you have to be watching the "transfers" tab (and unless something is really wrong, even then most of the time that is blank as transfers happen so quickly). If it is "waiting to run", just let it sit there as BOINC is very good at making sure it will get run in time.

Until such time as you get enough tasks validated the estimated tome to completion for all your tasks will be a very high estimate, bearing little or no resemblance to that finally achieved. I think you have to get 11 "typical" MB validated, and just now you only have four, so there's a bit to go.

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

hi rob,
thanks for trying to explain all that.

But Im getting the idea that either no one is understanding the problem i have,
or i need to re-enable the GUI Wu's and get a screenshot to show what i see.
i will just need to wait until an (AP) or (cuda) tries to download again.

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

In the mean time, try changing the DNS server entries. Perhaps that your ISP has a problem with one of the Seti download servers and not the other.
Best change the DNS entries in both Windows AND the modem/router you have.

Good ones are those from Google:
Address 1: 8.8.8.8
Address 2: 8.8.4.4

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305553 for how to change the DNS servers in Windows XP.

---

Thanks Ageless,
I made the changes you suggested.with the same DNS entries.
i just have a cable modem nothing to change there, just in the
Network and Internet Connections section in xp.
it may be a while before i can post a screenshot i got loaded up with the
regular SETI@home v7 v7.00 tasks lol. (17 of them)
id usually on see 4 or 5 tasks at a time but changing settings loaded me up.

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

Ok, here is the latest scoop.
it appears the downloading of SETI@home v7 v7.00 (cuda22) tasks is solved.
thanks to the suggestion by Ageless.
it did download at about the same speed as the other ones do.

The remaining(estimated time) to finish that 1 is at 10 hours.

But i am experiencing some major graphics drag from it.
if i try to move a window or run my browser or do anything else,
it gets very sluggish.

this is telling me there is major problems trying to use the GPU.
i cant update drivers,i get other display issues with the new ones.
so unless there is a way to optimize the GPU, i may have to abort GPU tasks.

Suggestions?

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44
  

this is telling me there is major problems trying to use the GPU.
i cant update drivers,i get other display issues with the new ones.
so unless there is a way to optimize the GPU, i may have to abort GPU tasks.

The default preference setting for using the GPU is when the system isn't used by anyone. It was set that way because of the lag/drag that will occur when you run calculations on the GPU. This has always been the case, it won't change in the future. Although it does seem to depend on the task and the angle range it was recorded at.

In any case, the best advice is to reset the GPU preference to let BOINC only use it when the computer is idle, and set Activity for the GPU to "Run based on preferences".

---

thanks for advice Ageless,
the pc is usually in use most of the time,
so it would cut down the time id get to complete GPU tasks.

I think i will just disable the GPU usage for seti@home tasks
and just stick with doing the CPU tasks. (non AP or cuda tasks)

---

• win7starter
  
• boinc: 7.14.2
  
• boinc tasks: 1.78
  
• Lunatics Win32 v0.44