F@H Adopt-A-Rig Information, Status, & Questions

[Force Flow]

Now that you made here…

What’s The Purpose Of Our Adopt-A-Rig Program?
The PCM Adopt-A-Rig program is designed to make use of random spare parts that PCM members have, which are sitting unused and collecting dust, and put them to good use by
building a functioning computer that can fold for the PCM Folding@Home Team.


What Kinds of Rigs Can Be Used?
Any Windows, Linux, Unix or Mac boxes can be used, so long as there is a F@H client available for the Operating System.


What Kinds of Parts Can I Donate?
Anything in working order will be accepted. We will make best use of the donated parts when possible, but there are always those oddball or rare components that may not be utilized if compatible parts are unavailable.


How Can I Become A Candidate To Host An Adopt-A-Rig Machine?

1) A candidate must be in good standing with the PCM Folding@Home Team and on the PCMech forums. They also must have shown dedication to the PCM Folding@Home Team by being an active participant and/or folder.

2) A candidate must be able to provide the Adopt-a-Rig machine with a safe and secure environment for an extended period of time, which may or may not be determined.

3) A candidate must be knowledgeable in building, maintaining, and loading Operating System for the rig.

4) It is essential that a candidate have an active Internet connection, be it broadband or dial-up.

5) The candidate must be 18 years of age or older. If not, the candidate must have the expressed permission of a legal guardian to act as a host.

6) When contacting us about becoming a potential host, any useful information like your general location (or country), hosting facilities, Internet connection, and general computer experience would be helpful.

7) To express interest in becoming a host, please either contact myself (Force Flow) via PM, or give a shout somewhere in the Distributed Computing forum. The decision to allow a candidate to become a host is to be decided by myself (Force Flow) and the consent of a majority of active folders.


Where Can I Check The Status Of The Donated Rigs?
Each rig shall be listed in the following post and will include the host’s name and the rig’s specs.


How Is Rig Assembly Handled?
For now, those willing to be hosts (and who have been granted permission by myself (Force Flow) and the PCM Folding@Home Team), shall be sent the necessary parts by the donors.


What Happens When a Rig Is Assembled?
You are required to notify myself (Force Flow) via PM to receive a designated Adopt-A-Rig machine number. Depending on the situation, it is either to be hosted by the builder, or a request for a host will be listed in this thread.


What Are The Guidelines For An Adopt-A-Rig Host?

1) The adopted computer shall fold for team #13761 exclusively, under the user name of "PCM_X" (where X stands for the Adopt-A-Rig machine number) exclusively. This number shall never change even if the rig is adopted by another host. The team can/will monitor the rig’s production on any of the official stats pages. Be sure to use the designated user name as shown here so as to be consistent with the other Adopt-A-Rig computers.

2) The computer must fold 24/7 exclusively (If you go on vacation or leave for an extended period of time you are allowed to turn it off). The computer is not intended to replace your computer for gaming, surfing, graphics rendering, etc. Keep in mind that 24/7 operation will increase your electric bill by up to a few dollars per month (rates vary by provider and geographic area). The Team expects the host to make good faith efforts to keep the computer up and running as much as possible.

3) In the event that the host can no longer support the adopted computer, or they are not able to run the computer for an extended period of time (4 weeks or more), the host is expected to either post in the Distributed Computing forum to try to find a new host, or to contact myself (Force Flow) via PM, in order to appraise the F@H Team of the hosting situation.

4) If a newer and better part becomes available on the donation list that is better than a part in the machine you are hosting, these parts may be swapped out if you so choose. After all, we want to get the most out of these machines.


What Happens If A Hosted Machine Fails? What About Replacement Parts?

In the event the computer should fail, the host is expected to make good faith efforts to repair it (yes, asking on the PCM forums counts). The host is NOT expected to pay any repair costs out of their pocket.

A replacement part may be chosen from the F@H Adopt-A-Rig Parts Donations list if something fail. If there is no replacement part available on the list, a donation request may be put out in either the Donations thread by emailing me (as per the directions in the Donations thread), or by making a post in the Trading Post forum.

The only thing required of the host is to swap out the components to get it back up and running, and reinstall the Operating System when applicable.

If the host should choose to purchase a replacement part by paying out of their own pocket, that part is owned by the host, not the PCM F@H Team. If the host decides to donate the part to the rig, they can do so at their own discretion. If the time comes to give the rig to another host for adoption, they original host is not required to include this purchased part, unless it has been declared as donated.


NOTICE – Part & Rig Distribution:
If someone is willing and able to act as the base of operations for the PCM Folding@Home Team’s part and rig distributions, this process will be amended. If you wish to volunteer for this position, you can contact me (Force Flow) via PM. You must be an upstanding member on the PCM forums, active on the folding team, and must have the expressed consent of a majority of active folders to allow you to perform this crucial, trusted, and important task. You must also be able to commit to this for an extended period of time, for obvious reasons.

If and when a base of operations is established, donors and hosts shall pay for the shipping of parts and rigs, unless another arrangement is reached. The person(s) in charge of part and rig distribution shall NOT pay for shipping out of their own pocket. A donation system for shipping & parts replacements may be established as we see fit, later down the road.


Disclaimer:
-PCMech.com, and/or its owner(s), and/or administrator(s), and/or moderator(s), and/or member(s), and/or sponsors shall not be held responsible or liable for any losses incurred either directly, or indirectly as a result of hosting any Adopt-A-Rig computer.
-Any disagreements or problems that should arise between donors and/or hosts shall be handled privately without the involvement or arbitration of any of the abovementioned parties of PCMech.com.
-The host selected shall bear full responsibility for adopted computer. By applying to be selected as a host, you acknowledge, understand, agree with, and will abide by these rules as set forth here and as may be amended in the future as required.


FINAL WORD:
This entire project and the rules set forth above is/are based on TRUST. We, the team, trust that you, the host, will do all you can to keep the computer folding as much as is possible, in its name, for the PCM Folding@Home Team. You, the host, trust, that we the PCM Folding@Home Team, support you in every way we can. Good luck to all, and happy folding!

[Force Flow]

Rigs Up For Adoption:

None at this time.


Active Rigs:

None at this time.

[Force Flow]

Guys, it's been a while since there has been any activity here. Is there still interest, or should I shut 'er down?

[enhanced08]

i think the problem is that EOC has a bunch of members that are active in DC, they have a seti and folding subsection in their forums, and pcmech just doesn't have the numbers.

more people = more involvment = more spare parts

i think its a good idea to keep in mind as the active member count grows but until then maybe its a waste.

[netnamakan]

Yeah, I wondered if it would really take off.

I think the problem here is that we have very few folding members compared to other sites, but mostly our members are not regulars, and aren't dedicated to the site and comunity. Most are just people who know where to go when they need a quick fix. We have a real great community, but the regular members are few. It is also hard to become a respected regular here, as many of the established members/mods are so intelligent, Joe Average just cant compete with them.

Anyway, I guess we try again later.

nam

[bigandy]

Another problem (which is the reason why I cannot currently house a machine) is that people just don't have the space for them. If not for that, I would gladly take a machine. Perhaps if this is still going, I can house one in my dorm room this fall, but then there's always the worry about theft.

[David M]

I have room and would be willing to house a few decently fast machines.

[mjkovis]

Actually, Kov-Ice and I have talked about this and we have some parts that can be donated. I actually have my old AMD 550 sitting in my basement waiting to be reformatted and reinstalled with good ole Win 98. I wanted to sell her, but I doubt I can get anything for it.

If anyone wants to adopt her I am willing I guess. I have a monitor to go with it as well.

AK

[enhanced08]

if this is still going, i found 3 cpu's i can donate. they are all PII's 300, 350 and 450mhz. i am workin on building a folding-farm but i don't have any motherboards for these chips, if anyone has some old ones laying around i would gladly take them and use them in the farm. it would be like "Adopt-A-Rig-For-The-Folding-Farm" i guess.

if anyone has any boards, let me know or if you would like the cpus for another adopt-a-rig machine send me a PM and their yours!

[enhanced08]

I have some mostly complete systems I am willing to donate if someone wants them. The only problem is that they are slow. I have 5 PII 233's and a 450 which all need hard drives and could use a little more RAM. One of the 233's is missing a CD-ROM but other than that they all run.

I was trying to make a folding farm out of them but couldn't get PXE to work so I have decided to donate them. If no one takes them I will be selling them on ebay before I leave for Alaska (oct 17.)

btw, those 3 CPU's are still up for grabs if anyone wants them.

[cuog]

I may be able to do some donated Folding as a host(first gotta convince parents) we will be getting high speed internet soon so that should not be a problem of sending stuff. I will update on being a host if my parents O.K. it


Good Luck everyone,
Cuog