Hello,

I installed BOINC the other day and am still figuring out how this thing works.

I use a MacBook that is about four months old, with Intelcore 2 duo processor, 1 GB memory and 80 GB hard drive. When I run BOINC the computer gets very hot, and the fan seems to be working to the maximum.

I tried setting my preferences to

On multiprocessors, use at most 1 processors
Use at most 50 percent of CPU time
Use at most 10 GB disk space

Still my computer seems to be working very hard. Is there something I should change, or should I just not worry about it?

Thanks

Helena T
Sweden

Helena,

The preference change made in your account will be picked up by your machine the first time it submits some data, which is at the end of one model year, which might happen over the next day or so. At that point, the 50% limit should reduce the load on the machine. You can also make this happen immediately by pressing the \'Update\' button in BOINC Manager.

Laptops can get rather hot running something like this, because it\'s much more intense processing than any normal activity. If you decide to continue, then it\'s a good idea to make sure that there is good air circulation around the machine: raising it off the desk will help cool the machine, and may save your desk from getting too hot as well.

Let us know what happens.

Iain

Helena,

You can also make this happen immediately by pressing the \'Update\' button in BOINC Manager.

Thanks, Iain. Where can I find that button?

Found it! (Button called \"skicka och hämta\" in the Swedish version). It seems to work better this way. Thanks again!

Helena, there\'s a lot of useful information about running these models in the README posts which you can reach through my signature. Look at the top tips in Running the model, and Les\'s easy backup method - first item in the README about avoiding model crashes.

And look at the News thread there too - there will be a cpdn server outage this weekend from Friday evening!

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Macbook

Not a Mac person, but I think this means that it\'s a \'laptop\'?

If so, the problem with these is that they\'re intended for intermittent operation.
BOINC runs the processor continuously, as it\'s designed to use up all of the computer clock cycles that aren\'t being used by you and the programs that you\'re running.
So it gets hotter, and the fan works harder.
The cooling on laptops isn\'t intended for long periods of use (24/7 for days at a time), and neither are the small hard disks.

So, 3 things:
1) Keep the computer raised a few inches above the desk when you\'re not using it but it\'s still running BOINC (and the models).
2) Make sure that the air vents are kept free from dust. Even more important with laptops than desktops.
3) Consider using the option in general preferences on your server Account page to only use a percentage of the free time. This will run BOINC for a few seconds and then not run it.
The downside of this is that it apparently sometimes does strange things to the BOINC display, and will also stress the components more with the stop/start unless you get the percentage just right so that the fan doesn\'t need to start up.
I don\'t use it myself, so I\'m going on what I\'ve read from other\'s postings.

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Backups: Here

Thanks again. In one of the FAQs I read that it is not advisable to run the program on a laptop, so maybe I should consider uninstalling?

I have been looking for the option that says only to use a certain percentage of free time, but I can\'t find it. Unless you mean the options that says only to run BOINC at certain times during the day?

Use at most
Enforced by version 5.6 and greater

The default value is:
100 percent of CPU time

PS
The file servers will be shutting down in 8-10 hours, as per the notice in the news on the front page of the project, so you\'ll need to have set this option before then if you want to use it before Monday.

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Backups: Here

Some people do run distributed computing projects successfully on a laptop, but you must take precautions. Raise the whole laptop a little bit above the table surface (not just the little feet at the back). You could download the free trial version of Everest to check the computer\'s CPU temperature. (The temp will always be higher with the model running, even after you\'ve reduced the CPU % in your preferences.) If you\'re not happy about the temps, you could post them here.

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