Hi, I'm trying to install one more instance of Boinc on a family member's computer. In this case it's an older model Surface Pro. It was my intention to not allow Boinc to run at login. My big mistake was to also uncheck "run the client" in the options. After doing that, Boinc Manager is unable to connect to core client, and I cannot switch the option to run the client back on because Boinc Manager is offline (unable to connect). I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling. Then I tried uninstalling, locating Boinc's AppData folder and deleting it, and then reinstalling. Somehow Boinc insists on retaining this setting I've mistakenly used. Obviously I will re-check "run the client", and just for good measure, I'm going to allow Boinc to run at login so I don't run into any further hassle. But how do I get there from here?

I can give you one of those now:

'Run BOINC [Manager] at login' is a registry key.

All of those setup choices are in

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley\BOINC Manager]

The specific value for 'run at login' is

DisableAutoStart, value dword:00000000

(note reverse sense - zero to run Manager, one to disable run)

The other one - run client - is

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley\BOINC Manager]

The key is

RunDaemon, value dword:00000001

(note both of these are at the 'current' - i.e. logged-in - user level, not the machine level)

Edited because I got it wrong the first couple of times - I think you can rely on these now.

And never mind...

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3 cheers for Richard! You got me all sorted out in under an hour - even accounting for the time I spent googling how to safely make changes in regedit, lol. Very kind of you to help me sort this out.

The other one - run client - is

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley\BOINC Manager]

The key is

RunDaemon, value dword:00000001

Which is a bad design flaw, because of just such a situation as this user is in: he now has to hand-edit the registry to get things working again. Either BOINC should start removing/resetting registry settings upon uninstall/reinstall, or this needs to be moved to a more editable file, such as client_state.xml (also bad because of potential to lose all work when edited wrong) or a configuration file.

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Yes, fortunately I'm just tech savvy enough to have been able to fix this with the right guidance. It might even be a good idea to hide the "run the client" option as an advanced option, or even remove the option. Alternately, if they could manage to find a way to give users the ability to switch those options within Boinc Manager while the manager is offline. Must have been an oversight.

Well, I do wonder what happens if one just manually starts the client (boinc.exe) but I'll test that tomorrow.

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The other one - run client - is

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley\BOINC Manager]

The key is

RunDaemon, value dword:00000001

Which is a bad design flaw...

Agreed. FWIW, this is a fairly recent addition to BOINC, to fix a feature request from way back in the mists of time - see #79.

The plan is to have the ability to run the Manager (only) on a lightweight machine like a tablet, and to use it to monitor and control a remote machine powerful enough to run the client. The Windows installer always installs both Manager and Client, so your lightweight monitor has the client as well, and will keep nagging you to attach to a project. At the moment, we probably don't have the development resources to create an installer or installers to separate manager from client (the expert in this field, Rom Walton, has moved on to pastures new), so "don't run client" is probably the best solution available.

But we need to have an escape route. There has been additional programming work in this area since BOINC version 7.14.2 was released, so we need to test with a Manager built from the latest pre-release code: I can do that. Normally, the way to start the client from a disconnected manager under Windows is to choose "Select computer..." from the File menu, and leave both boxes (name and password) blank. I'll test whether that still works with "Run the client?" disabled. If so, we might be able to get away with a wording or documentation change.

Boinc Manager is unable to connect to core client, and I cannot switch the option to run the client back on.

Hmmm. Odd. I had no trouble switching the option back, even in the current v7.14.2 and disconnected from the client (client not running).

Lightbulb moment! You must be in Simple view - yes, that option dialog doesn't seem to be working when disconnected. Most of us on this message board always work in Advanced view, and you would have had a working escape route there. It's simple view that needs fixing.

Reported upstream as #3187. The developer says he'll work on it when he gets back from vacation, so it won't make it into v7.16, but if you (or anyone else) get caught out again in the meantime, use the 'View' menu to switch to Advanced view and sort it out there.

Well, I do wonder what happens if one just manually starts the client (boinc.exe) but I'll test that tomorrow.

Yes, that is one of the things I tried. I saw that there were some old threads that suggested this and it seemed to work in that instance, but for me launching the executable manually still resulted in Boinc Manager being unable to connect. In fact, I tried launching all the components I could find (the command line executable, the screen saver and boinc.exe) before launching the manager. Curiously, the manager still couldn't connect. At least in this particular case.

Boinc Manager is unable to connect to core client, and I cannot switch the option to run the client back on.

Hmmm. Odd. I had no trouble switching the option back, even in the current v7.14.2 and disconnected from the client (client not running).

Lightbulb moment! You must be in Simple view - yes, that option dialog doesn't seem to be working when disconnected. Most of us on this message board always work in Advanced view, and you would have had a working escape route there. It's simple view that needs fixing.

Oh I see! I'll consider swapping to advanced view if it becomes necessary. I don't anticipate it will be immediately necessary, but that's great to know. Thanks Richard!