Right Way To Close A Core

[Ray_S]

Hi all,

I have just started folding and have joined the pcmech team, but I have a question. Is there a right way to close a core off before you shut down your PC? I was looking through the log file to see what was in it when I came across the following line:-
Previous termination of core was improper.
Will I cause problems just shutting down my PC.

Thanks in advance


Ray

[Kareeser]

I have a similar question... I routinely shut down the core by terminating it in the task manager (long story)... was wondering if that affected results...

I believe F@H saves your work every 1000 "steps" or something... I forget the term now... in the worst case scenario, the program would have corrupted data at the last (incomplete) block, and would just work off the last save... which is perhaps 10 minutes worth of work on an average computer?

[LeftyAce]

If you right click on the FaH icon, you can "pause work." Also, in configuration you can set up how often it saves its work, so if you forget to pause you won't lose too much time.

[Ray_S]

Thanks for the answer LeftyAce. At least I havent lost anything yet.

Ray

[enhanced08]

if you run folding as a service then shutting the pc down normally wont hurt anything. if you run the console version NOT as a service then press Ctrl + C to shut it down. the GUI version should shutdown fine when windows is shutdown but im not 100% sure. i recommend switching to the console version if anyone of running the GUI version.

[Ray_S]

Thanks for that enhanced08. Can you change from GUI to console without losing the work unit you are working on at the time and not lose the point you already have?

Thanks in advance

Ray

[Kov-Ice]

Ya, you can just drop the Console .exe file into the proper folder and leave everything else as is. It should pick up right where you left off. I'd do it more towards the beginning of a WU rather than near the end, just in case... but I've never had a problem doing so.

[Ray_S]

Do I have to do anything with the GUI version to stop it working? I have copied the Console exe to the folding@home folder. How do I stop it using the GUI version.

Thanks in advance

Ray

[Kov-Ice]

If I remember correctly, the GUI placed an icon in your startup folder. So I think all you need to do is edit the icon in startup so that the target points to the console .exe instead of the GUI one.

[enhanced08]

actually if you change the shortcut it will open the folding program in the command prompt. just delete the shortcut all together and when you run the config select to run it as a service.

[Kov-Ice]

hehe, I was coming back this morning to edit my post for that. You'd be running it, but on the taskbar...

As for stopping the core, I think I've read that they recommend you not stop the core through Ctrl-Alt-Delete / End Process. I'm not sure, but I think this can stop the program cold and not allow it to save properly.

You can do it by going to Start / Run / and typing services.msc. Find the executable and stop the service that way. You can do the same thing by right-clicking My Computer / Manage / and navigating to Services. When done through Services, the proper command is sent to the core to terminate before ending the program.

[Ray_S]

Thanks for all the information. I just wanted to make sure I have things right in my mind. If I understand right what i have to do ir stop the core and run -config and change to working as a service. Have I got it right?

Thanks in advance.

Ray

[Kov-Ice]

Right. Stop the program (if it's the Console box, use Ctrl-C). Create a shortcut to the Console executable. Edit the Target line of the shortcut by adding a space and then -config to the end of the line. Answer Yes to Install as Service.

After that, it will run at startup. If ever you need to shut that down, use the method in my previous post. If you ever need to change your configuration options, you can just use that shortcut again.

Happy Folding!