Lunatics' Unified Installer v0.2 ReadMe & FAQ(Obsolete)[WARNING - drain cache first, recommend detach/reattach as effective release of tasks prior to installation] Added 30th November 2009Contents:
System Requirements
- Win32 edition
- Win64 edition
- Win98me edition
- nVidia Cuda Multibeam Application Specific Requirements
Known Issues
- General
- Cuda Multibeam Specific
FAQ
- General
System requirements: Win32 edition: - Windows NT/2k/XP/Vista/Windows7RC - 32 Bit
- Minimum CPU - x86 compatible, with SSE level instruction support.
- Boinc 5 or 6 series, (v6.6.20+ recommended for Cuda Installs)
- attached to, and successfully processing seti@home project work.
- special requirements for nVidia Cuda Multibeam application.
Win64 edition: - Windows 64 Bit editions ( e.g. XP Pro x64/Vista x64/Windows7RC 64 Bit )
- Minimum CPU - 64 Bit, with SSE3+ level instruction support. (Intel/AMD)
- Boinc 5 or 6 series, (v6.6.20+ recommended for Cuda Installs)
- attached to, and successfully processing seti@home project work.
- special requirements for nVidia Cuda Multibeam application.
Win98me edition: - Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition
- Minimum CPU - x86 compatible, with SSE level instruction support.
- Boinc 5 series
- attached to, and successfully processing seti@home project work.
- NO nVidia Cuda Multibeam application for this platform.
nVidia Cuda Multibeam Application Specific Requirements: - A Cuda enabled GPU listed on
nVidia's CUDA Enabled GPU Products page - nVidia Drivers version 185.85 (or Higher)
- >220MiB AVAILABLE video RAM.
Known Issues:General: - There are no <flops> tweaks in the automatically generated app_info's. You can find your old app_info (If you had one) in the backup directory created in the project folder, and use the values you had before to add the <flops> fields to the app_info AFTER installation. If the current Boinc mechanism, of project wide 'Task Duration Correction Factor' persists for some time, a separate GUI based tool to add those fields may be developed, to assist with getting duration estimates as stable as practical.
- Detaching from, or resetting the project would likely break the uninstaller references. Simply reinstalling after reattaching should fix the uninstaller reference, though your old app backups would be gone.
Cuda Specific:- There is no checking for Cuda availability or functionality, so make sure you meet the requirements before attempting Installation of Cuda Type.
- Cuda applications don't like Boinc installed as a service on Vista and upwards (Protected mode application/daemon)
- 'Very Low Angle Range'[VLAR] tasks are known, with stock applications and derivatives, to render severe display usability issues on most machines using the Cuda Multibeam Applications. To this end the default Cuda build supplied here safely aborts theses tasks, in an effort to maintain usability for the uninitiated user. These will be resent to other users that can effectively process these tasks, some using more advanced customised installations outlined briefly below, to mitigate some of the side effects that are encountered processing these tasks.
- A V12 build without VLARKill feature is available via our downloads page, FOR ADVANCED USERS that know exactly what they're getting themselves into. Most Lunatics use, and recommend the use of, the evolving 'rebranding' tools to move tasks from GPU to CPU, and hope these tools, and application improvements with respect to the handling of 'very low angle range' tasks, will improve for inclusion in future installer releases.
FAQQ: What is this?:A: This is the first official release, Windows installer in three editions, for Lunatics' optimised applications, Astropulse and/or Multibeam (optionally with Cuda support for MultiBeam).
Q:Who is this for?:A:These installers are Windows users that:
- whose intended host has a CPU that has SSE or higher instructions,
- meet the system requirements described,
- are already attached & processing tasks for the Seti@Home project on that host, and
- wish to install Lunatics' optimised applications for Multibeam (setiathome_enhanced) and/or Astropulse ( Astropulse_v5 & _v505 ...), with or without Cuda support for Multibeam.
Q:Who is this NOT for?: A: Users not willing to periodically monitor the websites and/or forum posts for updated releases, and prefer to use stock applications because they auto-update via Boinc. Managers of large networks sometimes prefer stock applications for this, quite sensible, reason.
These applications are also not designed for people having problems with stock applications or deciding what applications to run, those issues should be resolved before trying this installer.
Q: What should I do now?A: If you have read & understood all the the above, the system requirements , and FAQ, and have decided to continue:
- In Boinc manager, ensure seti@home project is already attached and processing, using the normal stock applications, and that your preferred applications have been selected on your project preferences page, for the venue assigned to your host. For stock issues seek help on Q&A or Number Crunching forum before continuing.
- Know your machine.
- Run the Installer
Q: Why did the Installer fail to recognise my CPU properly, and choose SSE applications?A: There is no automatic CPU detection incorporated at this early stage for technical reasons. You need to manually select the applications to install on the "Select Applications" page. SSE Applications with No Cuda are defaults as 'Safe' option simply because Hosts not meeting at least this specification would be few. Please see the image above, to identify the available options on the "Select Applications" page, and if in doubt ask for help at Lunatics, or Seti@Home Number Crunching Forum, for help to identify your CPU capabilities.
