Posted on 12/31/2005 8:43:40 PM PST by Klutz Dohanger
A continuation of the Freeper Folder Thread
Folding@Home FAQ for new users:
What is Folding@Home?
A Stanford University project to find out how proteins fold.
Why it's important:
Proteins folding wrong causes all kinds of diseases, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and forms of cancer. Folding@Home uses novel computational methods and large scale distributed computing, to simulate timescales thousands to millions of times longer than previously achieved. Through Folding@home, scientists now have the horsepower to study the mechanics of protein folding. With its ability to share the workload among hundred of thousands of computers economically, Folding@home can help scientists understand how proteins snap, or don’t, into their predestined shapes — and may help to explain the origins of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and apparently unrelated diseases. We're fueling research that could end all that.
How it works:
You download a safe, tested program that is certified by Stanford University. It gets work from Stanford, runs calculations using your spare computer power, and sends the results back to the University.
Is it safe?
Yes! Folding@Home rarely effects computer performance in any way and won't compromise your privacy in any way. It only uses the computing power you aren't using so it doesn't slow down other programs.
How to starting folding for Team FreeRepublic:
1.)Download the folding program from Stanford University's folding download page. Type in your desired username. 2) Type in 36120 for the team number. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - if you get the number wrong, you won't be folding for team FreeRepublic! 3) The third question asks, "Launch automatically at machine startup, installing this as a service?" - We recommend you answer YES. Otherwise you will have to manually start the program after every reboot.
How can my computer help?
Even if he were given exclusive access to all of the world’s supercomputers, Standford still wouldn’t have as much processing power as they get from the supercluster of people’s desktop systems Folding@home relies on. Modern supercomputers are essentially a cluster of hundreds of processors linked by fast networking. But Stanford needed the power of hundreds of thousands of processors, not just hundreds.
There's no reason to not get involved!
It's free, easy, and you can know you're helping every minute without lifting a finger.
Summary - Folding Links of Interest (as compiled by Klutz Dohanger on the previous thread)
1. Where to get the Folding@home client
http://folding.stanford.edu/download.html
2. FreeRepublic.com Folder Stats
http://vspx27.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=36120
3. Extreme Overclockers stats for FreeRepublic.com
http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/team_summary.php?s=&t=36120
NOTE:
Only the top 2000 teams are included on Overclockers, and when a team reaches the top 800, individual stats are included.
4. Our Competition:
a. Democratic Underground
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=48157
b. Daily Kos
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=48083
5. Another Statistics Page
a. Sortable Team Member Stats
http://fahstats.com/t.php?t=36120
b. Team Production
http://fahstats.com/tp.php?t=36120
c. Teams on the Radar Scope
http://fahstats.com/tr.php?t=36120
6. Third Party monitoring software
http://fahmon.silent-blade.org/
7. DU Folding Thread.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5672092
8. How much are those work units worth?
a. http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/allprojects
b. http://fah-web.stanford.edu/psummary.html
8. Stat Image Generator
a.Link http://www.statgfx.com/statgfx/getlink.cgi?service=folding
Dad won't let me join, :-(.
Previous threads (for those who wish to catch up):
(Vanity) FreeRepublic Folding@Home Project Update (#1700)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1537549/posts
(Vanity) FreeRepublic Folding@Home Project Update (We're in the Top 1,550)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1541538/posts
(Vanity) FreeRepublic Folding@Home Project Update (We're in the Top 1,450)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1542884/posts
(Vanity) FreeRepublic Folding@Home Project Update (We're in the Top 1,200!)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1547014/posts
(Vanity) FreeRepublic Folding@HOme Project Update - top 1000
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1549077/posts
Awww... tell dad, it's harmless fun, and for a good cause. :)
Ping for later perusal
I'm in, 80% of my 2.875ghz P4 w/1GB of memory.... Holding back the throttle because of my O/C... Username is of course my handle...
Question:
Okay, first a description:
My kids have a separate logon on one of the computers. It looks like the FaH client wasn't running when the kids were playing their LOTR game on the other profile. Clear as mud? We set up a restricted profile for them.
Anyway, do I need to get rid of the graphical client and use the console dealie? Is there a way for me to have it run on all instances for all users (hmm, that is ringing a bell) without having to start all over and use scary DOS? LOL
And Happy New Year to all you folders!
I've been running something similar for almost two years. It's run by United Devices and is currently working on a "folding" project too. In the past it was searching for cures for smallpox and cancer. Who knows what's next!
bump!
PING to new thread!
In your case, I would uninstall the graphical client...
1. Right click on your red Protein O, and select quit.
2. Start-Run-Programs-Folding@home - select uninstall.
3. Download the console client for your flavor of windows, and put it in a separate folder on your hard drive. Creating something like C:\fah usually works the best.
4. Run the console client by browsing to that folder, and doubleclicking on the red O.
5. Put in your username, and teamnumber 36120.
6. IMPORTANT - When it asks you if you want to run FAH as a service, type in YES, and hit enter. Continue on, using the defaults, until the program launches.
7. At this point, when the CMD box is open the service is running. But when you close it out, the FAH client quits. You can either:
a. Reboot
b. Open up Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, Administrative Tools, and then find services.
c. Once you've opened services, find the entry for FAH...
d. Right Click it, and select start.
The FAH client will run automatically whenever the computer is running, regardless of who is logged in, and will continue to run, even if all users are logged out.
You can manually stop it, by again opening up services, right clicking, and selecting stop. You can also set it to manual, or disable it, via the right click/properties option.
And welcome to the team !!!
bttt
[04:42:43] Completed 335000 out of 500000 steps (67)
Grunt groan - don't know if I'm gonna make it for the new year - sys hung while watching a movie - didn't like the restart and now is not using altivec which slows it down 100% ..
P'book 667 G4
Not too familar with altivec... I know it's an enhancer for Mac, like SSE2 and SSE3 is for the PC, but after that, it's *shrug*
Perhaps one of the others on the team, know of Mac peculiarities....
I do know, in the brief period that I had a G4, OSx, there were a few programs that did not play well when they were started up in console mode, from a cold start. Perhaps shutting it down, making sure Altivec is running ok, and then restarting... and then giving it 10 minutes or so to adjust to the system clock...
Other than that... *shrug*
Good info. As soon as I finish the current work unit, I'm going to switch to the console version.
Thx - I'll just let it crunch 'n see what happens.
I wonder what the sidebar moderator has to say on the issue of adding this continuing thread to Technical instead of the one that's in there now.
We're 906 and drawing a bead on some new marks. Yay!
On the disheartening side, I left my 'puter on all night [monitor off, closed all possible programs, closed web connection]. This morning, only 12 more frames were completed. Thought I'd have more than that done. Tinker core is tough--160/400.
Ok, I'm in & running!
I have a question, though. How do I tell how many "frames" I've completed? I'm running on a Mac PowerBook and I get a picture of the protein and a progress bar that tells me 8.25% complete, but nothing about frames.
336 out of 400 frames done...should have some results today?
Thanks, that doesn't sound so bad. I'll wait for the current WU to finish, then we'll switch.
Ping for the husband to find where we are...
The earlier tinker frames went REALLY slow for me. My main machine is near completing its first wu and it's taken around 4 days (I think). I got 60+ frames done overnight, and was happy to see that much progress.
It's slow, but you'll likely be rewarded with over 200 points :)
When I went to bed, I had an expected completion of around 3:30 today. This morning I have an expected completion of around 1:30 tomorrow! However, that expected completion time falls about seven seconds each time the display changes.
That's quite a head scratcher.
Until I realize my antivirus probably ran a complete system scan overnight, effectively putting F@H to sleep, and throwing my projected times all to hell.
I'm on a PC and all I do is double click the icon in the taskbar. The resulting display shows how many.
Also available via right-click (might be a program menu item on the Mac) is status -> user statistics. This takes you to the website and shows your stats.
I'm not sure on a Mac, but see if you can find and open a file named "FAHlog". That's where my results are. (As I've not finished my first WU, no results are posted online for me yet)
I just signed up for the FR team, and it says my first work unit is scheduled to end in 78 DAYS!
Does that sound right?
I just got my PIII 700 laptop on the program. Watch out world !!!
After anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours, it will display an accurate time, usually from 24 hours to 4-5 days.
I'm on the list!
LOL...if you are running a 286.
I think most should finish in a day or two. Post some more information on the type of 'puter you are running and some of the gurus here can help you.
Ok, will look for that, thanks!
Okay, now it shows the work unit will end tomorrow. 78 days seemed a bit much!
"I wonder what the sidebar moderator has to say on the issue of adding this continuing thread to Technical instead of the one that's in there now."
It would also be helpful to have the Freeper that starts a new F@H thread use a F@H pinglist to include all active F@H Freeper members.
I'd like to keep current on the latest threads and be added to such a list.
BTW, I need to update my anti-virus subscription and will probably upgrade to the latest NAV at the same time. Will installing a new program seriously degrade or crash the F@H program? Should I pause it first or exit it before the install? I don't want to lose the WU currently in progress (88% done, 181 points).
Also, there is a new console beta for WinXP - any chance it would lose WUs & points by switching to it?
Just wondering.
RT
Shouldn't be a problem. The client "check points" every 3 to 30 minutes defaulting to 15.(via GUI See advanced tab under configure). This means you'll lose back to your last checkpoint if you have to reboot. With the GUI version, you can move the slider all the way to the left to minimize re-work. In the console version, it's under advanced options.
As to the ping list, that's not me :). I am just one of the noisy regulars as of late, hehe.
If you're switching from GUI to console, there's a "Pause when done" option. When it's done, shut it down and uninstall then install the console version. I've got a number of identical machines, several run the console, most run the gui(not the screensaver though). They are all clipping along at the same number of WUs completed more or less. One day one is ahead, the next it's a different one. Dynamic equilibrium, so in my opinion don't change to the console purely to pick up some cycles because you frankly won't notice any difference. There are other valid reasons of course, clean system tray, runs across various accounts, etc.
"Dynamic equilibrium"...I like that term. :)
:O)
P
I can't blame my slowness on anything but my processor. ~sigh~ Anyway, I have a question that perhaps you can answer. I notice that Firefox uses something like 30,000K of memory (plus more for each tab that's open). However, Opera (of which I am no fan) only uses 20,640K (a little more for each tab opened). Am I right that Opera therefore frees FAH to use more memory? Is 10,000K worth being worried about? (Seems like it would over time.)
Laundry day at the FreeRepublic.com Folders!
Please let me know if you want on or off the ping list.
You are on the ping list, which is now up to 158 members.
Several folks are from papasmurf's GetLoaded.com site, and don't have FR screennames. Others I can figure out what the screen name is. Several I have no clue.
I keep the ping list up-to-date, so please ping me or FReepmail me if you want on or off.
The key factor is CPU utilization and not memory. It's doing a lot of math and not much data processing. If it's pegging your CPU, it's running well.
Thannk you. MY CPU usually says 95. Satisfactory?
Very.
Firefox, in my experience, has a memory leak. Put it this way, the longer I leave it running, the more memory it uses. Eventually (after three or four days), I notice it using 90,000K then 100,000K+, then it crashes.
Your mileage may vary, and I have no experience with Opera or FAH memory needs.
What I do know is that Firefox benefits from being shut down and restarting.
Camino is my favorite browser. Not sure why though... just to be different perhaps.
We're ranked #898 according to http://fahstats.com/tr.php?t=36120
Welcome all new members to the team! Every CPU helps!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.