It worked before, but now if I select \"Show Graphics\", under the Work tab, my system completely locks up. This is a total crash of the OS! Push the reset button time!

Some info:
Windows 2000 with all the latest patches,
home built dual AMD 1800MP system,
dual display, (Matrox Parhelia)
plenty of ram & hd space,
stable system for years, on-line 24/7 months at a time,
workhorse of a cruncher.
Boinc Beta version 4.03


Any ideas?


The progress percentage moves so slowly (I’m up to 188:55:19 of CPU time and only 18.9% done with the WU,) it was nice to fire up the graphics display now and then to see what year the model was up to. The last time I was able to see the graphics, things were up to the mid 1800’s. Watching this older data modeling made me wish there was a numerical value indicating how closely the model my machine was crunching on, compared with recorded historical data. … .but that’s a different topic.

Thanks

> dual display, (Matrox Parhelia)

Got ya... the graphics used are OpenGL. OpenGL doesn't like dual monitors, so before you even try to show your graphics, disable the dual monitor option.

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Jordâ„¢
<img src="http://boinc.mundayweb.com/cpdn/stats.php?userID=2&amp;trans=off">

&gt; Watching this older data modeling made me wish there was a numerical value
&gt; indicating how closely the model my machine was crunching on, compared wit
&gt; recorded historical data. ? .but that's a different topic.


The dates don't correspond with historical data. Yet. (Besides, there was no world-wide observation net 150 years ago, as now exists; so, no way to quantify.) That isn't what is going on at this stage of the experiment; the dates are arbitrary but serve the purpose.

Many answers here:
http://www.climateprediction.net/project.php

________________________________________________
Video meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor
I see the better way, and approve it; I follow the worse
-- Ovid (43BC-17AD)

&gt; Got ya... the graphics used are OpenGL. OpenGL doesn't like dual monitors, so
&gt; before you even try to show your graphics, disable the dual monitor option.

I reported a similar bug 11 ago. Me too, I lost one WU. I have a S3 Super Savage graphic card on my laptop. More details in this <a href="http://climateapps2.oucs.ox.ac.uk/cpdnboinc/forum_thread.php?id=111">thread</a>.

&gt; &gt; dual display, (Matrox Parhelia)
&gt;
&gt; Got ya... the graphics used are OpenGL. OpenGL doesn't like dual monitors, so
&gt; before you even try to show your graphics, disable the dual monitor option.

Thanks for the tip Jord.

I'll give it a try...disabling one of my monitors before looking at the graphics; AND being prepared for a system crash. {this is an ugly picture}

Actually, I may wait until the remaining 840 hours of cpu time needed to complete the simulation has finished before changing anything.

If it's OpenGL to blame for the OS lockup, I'm impressed with the gaming coder's ability to stay away from the GL land mines. Articles about BOINC mention it can rip your cpu's heart out, so be careful. Good thing this is beta version software and crunching for a good cause...otherwise my policy is to delete any program consuming cpu time that requires me to push the reset button more than once per month.

Any coders that read this forum, please note the BIG issues. Lock-up is BIG.
My recommendation to fellow coders (IF OpenGL is the problem): quickly add code to detect dual monitor conditions; say you are sorry; disable the cool graphics. NEVER EVER let your code lock up a machine unless intended; it's particularly important when you bum a ride...
.
.
.
Deep breath...

&gt; Any coders that read this forum, please note the BIG issues. Lock-up is BIG.
&gt; My recommendation to fellow coders (IF OpenGL is the problem): quickly add
&gt; code to detect dual monitor conditions; say you are sorry; disable the cool
&gt; graphics. NEVER EVER let your code lock up a machine unless intended; it's
&gt; particularly important when you bum a ride...

I think that is something BOINC is working on. By the time we get a request from the BOINC client to show graphics it has already setup a window &amp; thread for OpenGL etc, so it's "too late" and would still lock up a dual monitor.

&gt; &gt; Any coders that read this forum, please note the BIG issues. Lock-up is
&gt; BIG.
&gt; &gt; My recommendation to fellow coders (IF OpenGL is the problem): quickly
&gt; add
&gt; &gt; code to detect dual monitor conditions; say you are sorry; disable the
&gt; cool
&gt; &gt; graphics. NEVER EVER let your code lock up a machine unless intended;
&gt; it's
&gt; &gt; particularly important when you bum a ride...
&gt;
&gt; I think that is something BOINC is working on. By the time we get a request
&gt; from the BOINC client to show graphics it has already setup a window &amp;
&gt; thread for OpenGL etc, so it's "too late" and would still lock up a dual
&gt; monitor.

Can you _detect_ a dual monitor environment without creating a lock up?
If so, detect &amp; disable. Can you turn off the ability to select the fatal feature? ...figure out what's wrong later?

Most OpenGL APIs can detect if a dual monitor system is being used and will just refuse to run at that time. But those APIs we're then talking about are big ones, like games and applications. Meaning there is enough room in the code to build the detection into.

BOINC is being kept as small as possible though, so it can still be downloaded by those on 56k, without them needing to wait an hour or more for the API itself to come in.

And it is possible to run some OpenGL applications on dual monitors, it's just that the OpenGL will revert back to software rendering at that moment. This takes up quite a lot of CPU though. Plus it doesn't look nearly as nice as full hardware rendered OpenGL does. Plus it takes up extra coding lines for the software renderer to sit in.

So your best way of action with any OpenGL API is to just disable the second monitor.
--------------------
Jordâ„¢
<img src="http://boinc.mundayweb.com/cpdn/stats.php?userID=2&amp;trans=off">

also got a matrox parhelia running SINGLE monitor, and i too get the system freeze.
will contact matrox on monday about it ...