This post is for those that are having trouble or that want more info/control of folding.
General
Folding expects the CPU to work 100% correctly. Most other programs (games, video, etc.) can handle a fair number of CPU errors without any noticeable impact. Different projects use different parts of the CPU, so maybe there might not be any error with one project, but with another there may be many errors. Some core types are TINKER (FPU intensive), GROMACS/DGROMACS (SSE intensive) and QMD (bandwidth intensive).
PRIME95's torture test (blend) for 12 hours at priority 10 and real-time will usually find out if there are any CPU problems and heat problems. I recommend this even for non overclocked PCs. For overclocked PCs, after finding the max stable FSB (using Prime) and verifying the memory using memtest (2 passes should be fine), I strongly suggest dropping the FSB by a little (e.g. on mine, I dropped the FSB from 219 to 216) as different applications (e.g. folding) might have slightly different results, plus power is never 100% perfect. On some of the older motherboards, they don't have PCI lock - beware of pushing the PCI bus as it can cause unpredictable errors (I corrupted a hard drive at PCI bus speed of only 38 !).
Prime95 is found at:
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm Click Advanced, password is 9876. Click Advanced, priority and set it to 10. Then click options, Torture Test and select blend. When running the torture test, the computer will act hesitant.
memtest is found at:
http://www.memtest86.com/ the best method is to get the ISO image and burn it to a CD and boot-up on that CD.
Spyware and viruses
You think you don't have any. Maybe, maybe not. I had Adaware, spybot and Microsoft spyware with zonealarm, hardware firewall and AVG. Pity none of them caught the keyboard logger, the password catcher and the credit card tracker programs that I found on my PC! (and I don't even go to suspicious sites!). My computer was acting a little strange (nothing that I could see, more of intuition?) so I downloaded (from cnet) Spy Sweeper and CounterSpy that both immediately found them. I also downloaded a few more malware and spyware trial programs but nothing else was found. So... if things are going a bit strange with folding, or even if it isn't, it is worth trying other spyware/malware programs.
If you are using the windows client (instead of the console client), and have problems with graphics... uninstall the windows client and install the console client (see the 4th post).
The log file
Check the fahlog.txt file
Errors would be noted in here.
Here are some of the lines to look at (comments are indicated with a >>>)
# Windows Console Edition ######################### ######################### ###
>>> Specifies the type - the Windows Console (when in service mode) is normally considered the best as it is fast, uses up little room and doesn't cause problems with some graphic cards. It is however not as easy to setup as the problematic Windows Graphic version.
FoldingbHome Client Version 5.02
>>> Specifies the version - 5.02 is the latest Windows Console version
Service: C:\folding\FAH502-Console.exe
Arguments: -svcstart -local -forceasm
Launched as a service.
Entered C:\folding to do work.
>>> Looks good - it is starting up in service mode with those flags. If you don't see all those flags, see the instructions in the changing flags in a service paragraph later in this post. The -forceasm -local flags are optional if folding is running fine and not using a dual cpu/core. Note that with the -forceasm flag, it gives a warning message about the dangers of using this flag if you are not very sure your overclock is stable.
[15:41:54] Core required: FahCore_78.exe
[15:41:54] FoldingbHome Gromacs Core
>>> The core type. See the first paragraph in this post about the different core types. Folding will automatically download the appropriate core if it is not on your PC.
[15:42:03] Project: 1150 (Run 52, Clone 28, Gen 6)
>>> So this is the project your computer is working on. The Run/Clone/Gen is variation of that project.
[15:42:53] Extra SSE boost OK.
>>> You MUST see this unless you are running an old Athlon/Duron (before the XP), a PII, K6 series or older CPU for Gromac projects (other projects may or may not display it). If you don't (for a Gromac project), that mean the folding program had ended abruptly (e.g. power failure, crash, etc.) and has gone to a slow safe mode. Make sure your PC is running ok (see the second paragraph of this post). You can force it back to SSE boost by adding the -forceasm flag. See the changing flags in a service paragraph later in this post. If not using the service, just add -forceasm (with a space in front of the -) to the end of the shortcut (outside of any " marks if any).
[17:16:52] Completed 172500 out of 250000 steps (69)
>>> How much is completed in the current project.
[00:20:10] Foldingbhome Core Shutdown: INTERRUPTED
[00:20:15] CoreStatus = 66 (102)
[00:20:15] + Shutdown requested by user. Exiting.
FoldingbHome Client Shutdown.
>>> I did a regular shutdown of the computer. These are normal exit messages.
Checking folding on your system
1) Run the task manager. You can see it by hitting ctrl-alt-del and selecting "Task Manager", or hit Start button then click on run and then type taskmgr.
Click on the "Processes" tab. Click on the "Image Name" heading. That will sort the list of processes. Scroll down to where you should see FAH502-Console.exe and FahCore_XX.exe (the XX varies - e.g it can be FahCore_82.exe). You should not see more than one of each of these (unless you are running dual core/cpu). If you are, it is normally a bad thing and you should remove it. See the instructions on how to remove a folding service later in this post.
2) Check the services. In the windows control panel, select click "Administrative Tools" and then select "Services" ( or you can also just go Start->Run->Services.msc). You should only see one folding program e.g. (unless running two for dual cpu/core)FAHbC:+folding+FAH50 2-Console.exe . If you see more, note all of them down. Check to see what ones are running, and what directory they specify. If more than one has the status of "Started" and is pointing to the same directory (even with dual core/cpu), that is a problem. Stop all of them (right click on the service and select Stop). Remove the extra ones (see How to remove a service section in this post).
To Stop & Start a service
Go to Start->Run and enter services.msc or click "Administrative Tools" and then select "Services"
You will see the list of services. Find the one that you wish to start or stop e.g. FAHbC:+folding+FAH502-Console.exe The current status will be listed beside the description. Right click on the service and select either stop or start (depending on what you want to do). It can take up to a minute to start or stop a service.
If the Startup Type for the service is listed as Automatic, that means it will start again when the computer is rebooted. In the properties for the service, that can be changed to Manual or Disabled if you wish.
Note: Check the 5th post of this thread for an very easy way to stop and start folding with an icon.
How to remove a service
If you don't have a problem with folding, just use the instructions mentioned in the 8th post of this thread to remove the service. If that doesn't work, then come back here.
If you are running this as a service, stop the service. (see the above section "To Stop & Start a service" on how to do that). If you are not familiar with regedit, do this with someone who is.
Start regedit (Start->Run).
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM \CurrentControlSet\Servic es and find the folding service you want to delete.
Right click on it and select delete.
How to change flags for a service
Stop the service. (see the above section "To Stop & Start a service"). Again, if you are not familiar with regedit, do this with someone who is.
Start regedit (Start->Run).
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM \CurrentControlSet\Servic es and find the folding service you want
You will see a item called ImagePath. Edit this such as adding the additional parameters you want (don't delete -svcstart) (don't put -config or -configonly either) and click OK to save it.
e.g. C:\folding\FAH502-Console.exe -svcstart -forceasm
Then reboot the computer.
Flags available for folding
Most flags are applicable for different type of folding programs (e.g. windows graphic, service console mode)
Here are some of the available flags are:
-local Run in the current directory instead of using the registry settings. Used primarily for dual core/cpu for the second folding client
-forceasm If the folding program has crashed (primarily due to CPU OC pushed too far), the folding program will run in a significantly slower safe mode. This forces the fast mode to be used in any case.
-advmethods Used to get beta projects
-verbosity 9 Gives extra info in the log file
-configonly After it asks the questions, it exists instead of starting to fold in the window. DON'T add this to the registry settings!
And in DOS/Command windows mode (e.g. Start->Run->command), you can do the following commands to delete problem projects. If you are not familiar with DOS/Command windows mode, do it with someone who is.
-queueinfo Lists what there the current project is in the queue
-delete x Deletes a troublesome project from the queue (x being the queue number)
Other notes
1. Cool n' quiet and speed step are not known to cause problems. As folding is the lowest priority, the cpu may go to a slower speed. If this is the case, for question 8 (in the 4th post), answer low priority instead of idle.
2. Windows XP64 is not well tested. It should normally work, but there is no guarantee.
3. If you have a project that is just not working well (e.g. the AMBER core based projects sometimes seems to cause problems), you can use the -delete flag (see the section on flags available for folding).
Official QJ.Net Folding@Home Team FAQ
