Odd folding conflict?

[dekez]

I keep randomly getting machine id conflicts between my 3 clients on my main rig. It doesn't happen all the time and I can close them all down and re run the same batch file (bottom right) and it will work fine. It also doesn't seem to happen on any particular clients more than others.

I though it could just be the 3 clients starting up at the same time that was causing the problem so I added a pause between each one starting but it is still happening.

Anyone had anything similar or any ideas what it could be?

It's not a massive issue when I turn the machine on, as I just restart it. But it's pretty annoying to come home and find my someone as turned the rig on but it hasn't been crunching all day.

 

[dekez]

hmm never had the config file reset thankfully, that must be a right PITA.

 

[dekez]

Ah well, must just be one of the quirks of folding, at least you got your config file problem sorted didgemaster

 

[dekez]

Oh no problem, glad you got it sorted, and thanks I just checked the Stanford forums and looks like I may have found the cause in a similar thread:

Was the client shut down cleanly? It may have been the PID of the FAH client before the restart which happens to be the PID of TPSMAIN.EXE after the restart.

The process id of FAH clients is stored in the temp directory in files named f<machine id> when the client is started. For e.g., my temp directory has a file called C:\Documents and Settings\abhat\Local Settings\Temp\fah\f1 with the following contents:
Code: Select all
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C:\Documents and Settings\abhat\My Documents\FAH\Core1This is used to display a warning like what you saw when the client is accidentally started again. However, if the client shutdown isn't clean, this file will not be deleted. When the client is restarted, if there happens to be a process with a PID corresponding to what is present in the file, the check returns a true and the warning is displayed. To force this warning to appear, one can manually create a f1 file when the client isn't running, put in a PID that is is use and then start the client.

The odds of this happening are pretty slim. To avoid this situation during system startup, one could remove the direct shortcut link from the Startup folder and instead create a shortcut to a batch file that 1) Cleans the temp directory of any FAH PID files 2) Starts the actual client. Something similar can be thought of for those running the client as a service. Just be careful not to use the same batch file when the client is already running, as it'll invalidate the check

source

I'll give what he says ago about clearing out the temp directory when the batch file runs and see how that goes.

 

[dekez]

Anyone remember the -local flag? I wonder if this would help.

-local
Use configuration files from local directory. This option has no meaning on Linux, but is vital on Windows and Macintosh for running multiple clients on a machine. It instructs the client to read its config information from the client.cfg file in the current directory rather than, on Windows, from the installation directory specified in the registry, or, on Macintosh, the Library/Folding@home directory. Information such as the user name, team name, proxy information, machine ID are maintained in the client.cfg file. The flag ensures that work does not conflict. Use "-local" only if you are planning on running more than one instance of Folding@Home on the same machine (this is only useful if you are running on a multi-processor machine). Create as many directories as there are processors on the machine, copy the exe files and client.cfg file into each of these directories, run "FAH3Console -local -config" on each and specify unique machine IDs for each directory (under the Advanced Settings option). From then onwards you may run each copy by switching to its directory and running with the -local flag.

Good memory, not sure I ever used this before but it's definitely worth a try, I can't find the temp directory that the other guy was on about anyway. Cheers Snapshot