First try here (yes offline at the time) weird messages about deleting in-use files?
If anybody has similar please post otherwise will try again when queue clear.
Thanks -- very strange messages maybe did something wrong. Maybe missed some notes on the BOINC upgrade from 6.10 to 6.12
Maybe should just detach before upgrade -- whatever?

Yeah -- the files the BOINC upgrade wanted to delete were just the upload files that are pending hardware fix. Fell back to old BOINC 6.10 and all seems ok.

Eric

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I have not experienced any issues when upgrading. Did you shutdown the old BOINC instance before installing the new version? What type of system pc, mac, etc?

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Hi Erik, I notice your boxen are all nix like my computer. I had not problems with the upgrade, though there are things about the inerface of BOINC manager that I prefer on the old one. - Have to go to Advanced - Event Log to look at messages re uploads etc. It doesn't annoy me quite enough to make me go back though.I am however old enough to remember when an upgrade meant an improvement to something and not just that they had fiddled and made things more awkward for those used to the old model.

Dave

... Have to go to Advanced - Event Log to look at messages re uploads etc. It doesn't annoy me quite enough to make me go back though. ...

Many experienced BOINC users feel the same. However, some new users were apparently interpreting the messages tab as a string of errors - and giving up. So the messages tab has been deliberately made less obvious.

A suggestion has been made to make the messages tab optional, with the default being the new system; that seems like a good idea to me, but hasn't persuaded the developers, yet. An alternative might be to make the messages themselves a bit more intelligible and less alarming, but that's really a project responsibility ...

You can use an earlier manager (one that has the Messages tab, 6.10.58 for example) with a 6.12.34 client if you can't stand the 1 extra click needed to get to Event Log.

For me the Event Log is a big improvement. Now I can have the manager and Event Log, each reduced to half a screen, visible at the same time so that I can easily see which events are triggered by my clicking in the other tabs. Love that!

An extra icon on the task bar? Maybe in Windows but on Linux with KDE the icon for Event Log integrates with the one for BOINC manager and when you hover the mouse over the manager icon 2 more icons slide out, 1 each for manager and Event Log.

There are other alternatives. Fred Efmer has an alternate manager called BoincTasks which is supposed to be every bit as wonderful as BOINCView. It's a Windows app but runs on Linux under Wine very nicely I've heard.

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Thanks for the information. Looks like I should do a bit more research before installing a new version after a few years of changes - both BOINC and OS.

My big concern here is possible loss of upload files on upgrade.

Here's a more detailed version of my problem after some days but only a few hours of research.

Running Ubuntu LTS 10.04 with BOINC 6.10.58 for a long time
The problem machine was installed with the Beta-2 (Plus updates) of Ubu 11.10 Onereic including whatever BOINC comes with that. At install I verified and fixed the Ubu default config to use data files and user where I want them in the filesystem - done it before with other Ubus few problems.
No obvious changes to Ubu/Deb file layout or start scripts.

Then installed the BOINC from berkeley - 6.12.33 x86_64-pc-linux-gnu - and did an ldd on the executables just in case -- looked OK.

BOINC failed to start with only a few messages in BOINC/stdoutdae.log -- all like
This

[error] Deleting file hadam3p_eu_65qs_2007_1_007469457_1_3.zip while in use

Then boinc just quit on errors.
Luckily -- none of the files were deleted, but restored BOINC directory from backup anyway. Next time will do a diff -r on everything.

Re-installed old BOINC 6.10.58

Restarted BOINC service -- runs fine .

That's why I now think, in this particular case anyhow, that there may be a problem doing this upgrade on Linux while uploads are pending.

I have now re-verified that the Ubu /etc/* files and startup scripts have no significant diffs from Ubu 10.04 and -- with all it's endearing changes -- BOINC 6.12.34 should work in this context.
Tried again with a new backup and double-checked no BOINC or had* process running -- same result -- BOINC refuses to run -- same error messages (plus a few more error messages because more uploads pending)

Will wait until the upload problem is fixed before any more diagnostics
Then will disable network, shutdown, backup, try again --and file a BOINC bug -- if it still seems that there are problems with the upgrade with uploads pending

Thanks for support

"ex Berkklei semper aliquid novi"

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Interesting Erik,
I know I did the upgrade when I had no work. - worried I might make a mess of it and lose something.

Dave

The problem machine was installed with the Beta-2 (Plus updates) of Ubu 11.10 Onereic including whatever BOINC comes with that.

OK, that's one BOINC install from Ubuntu repos.

Then installed the BOINC from berkeley - 6.12.33 x86_64-pc-linux-gnu - and did an ldd on the executables just in case -- looked OK.

That's another BOINC installation. It seems to me you now you have 2 BOINC installations. Or maybe I don't understand what you did.

BOINC failed to start with only a few messages in BOINC/stdoutdae.log -- all like
This

[error] Deleting file hadam3p_eu_65qs_2007_1_007469457_1_3.zip while in use

Then boinc just quit on errors.

Well what were the errors? Quit perhaps because you had 2 BOINC clients running. You seem to have 2 installations so it's plausible you had 2 clients running.

Luckily -- none of the files were deleted, but restored BOINC directory from backup anyway. Next time will do a diff -r on everything.

Do a diff -r? What for?

Re-installed old BOINC 6.10.58

Restarted BOINC service -- runs fine

How did you reinstall 6.10.58? From repos or via Berkeley installer?

That's why I now think, in this particular case anyhow, that there may be a problem doing this upgrade on Linux while uploads are pending.

Its up to you but considering all the work that goes into a CPDN model I don't upgrade ANYTHING when I have a model in progress unless it's absolutely necessary. I wait until the model is done, uploaded, reported and shows as such on the website. I am that cautious even though I do daily BOINC directory backups.

I have now re-verified that the Ubu /etc/* files and startup scripts have no significant diffs from Ubu 10.04 and -- with all it's endearing changes -- BOINC 6.12.34 should work in this context.

Now you're back to the Berkeley install because I don't think 6.12.34 is in the Ubuntu 11.xx repos. When I installed 6.12.33 (via Berkeley installer) on Ubuntu 10.10, I did an ldd on the binaries and it said I had all the required shared libs, same as you reported. But neither the client nor the manager would run. So then I tried running boinc and boincmgr in a terminal and they crashed. The error messages from boinc indicated a library was missing or wrong version or something, it was so long ago I don't remember exactly. I did something with that library and got the client (boinc binary) to run. Errors from the manager (boincmgr binary) said something wrong with libgtx or something like that, again I don't remember exactly. I looked hi and lo for the right lib but never did. I took the easy way out and just run a 6.10.58 manager with the 6.12.33 client and call it close enough. On my Fedora box too there were missing/screwy libs for 6.12.33 but I solved that and now have matching 6.12.33 client and manager.

Tried again with a new backup and double-checked no BOINC or had* process running -- same result -- BOINC refuses to run -- same error messages (plus a few more error messages because more uploads pending)

Will wait until the upload problem is fixed before any more diagnostics
Then will disable network, shutdown, backup, try again --and file a BOINC bug -- if it still seems that there are problems with the upgrade with uploads pending

I suggest you decide whether you're going to have a Berkeley installation or a repo installation and stick with that. The errors you experienced with the Berkeley install are likely due to the same lib problems I encountered. I'd be surprised if there was a bug due to pending uploads but ya never know.

Thanks for support

Not sure if this post is support but I tried.

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Summary -- always do backup before any "upgrade" automatic upgrades can set you back to your last backup.
Please do backups
Oneiric won't run the Berkeley newer versions.


I think I have figured out my problem with Berkeley boinc and Ubuntu Oneiric -- took a while. Sorry first report not very clear.

For several years when I wanted to upgrade boinc I would just download the latest berkeley stable, stop boinc and all apps, do a backup, and then in the appropriate directory -- sh "latest berkeley version" and start up again. But I never did this very often because new boinc versions didn't offer much only for CUDA users.

This procedure didn't work under Ubuntu oneiric.
Except for this one new machine, all my others were running Ubuntu 10.04 LTS with updates and boinc 6.10.58 x86_64-pc-linux-gnu

When my oldest slowest machine (Ubu 10-04LTS boinc 6.10.58) finished its wu's I did the old procedure -- stop -- backup -- in boinc user dir do "sh boinc_6.12.34_x86_64-pc-linux-gnu.sh" -- and start boinc again. Worked just fine with 6.12.34 started downloading new work and still working fine after a week or so.

So the problem started with the new Ubuntu release.

So why does the old procedure work with old Ubuntu, not with new?

As Dagorath posted -- it's the linked libraries.

boinc 6.10.58 the core client boinc ldd shows 10 linked system libraries (DLL's for you Windows folks)
boinc 6.12.3x shows 29 such linked system libraries (the additional ones are mostly crypto stuff)

as for boincmgr the gui thing -- too many pages of linked libs for me to grok.

And I discovered that the latest Ubuntu Oneiric has updated some of these libs to newer major versions. Especially libssl from 0.98 to 1.0.0 . And libnotify -- and some others -- Can of worms.
The Oneiric release has (for the first time in a while) an up-to-date boinc in their repositories that has been built from Berkeley but with the new libs.

For Ubuntu users recommend use the Ubuntu oneiric release boinc version 6.12.33.dfsg -- - - from the repository until Berkeley catches up with new lib versions.

[Edit] -- what this means for other distros I don't know

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For Ubuntu users recommend use the Ubuntu oneiric release boinc version 6.12.33.dfsg -- - - from the repository until Berkeley catches up with new lib versions.

... the release that comes with Oneiric is working fine for me.

Good to see that the Ubuntu maintainers are on top of the game.
For so long many distros had really old boinc. Getting better all the time.

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