I think the 40 posts in this thread (before mine) have provided the answer to the original question.

What is so hard about Linux? To get civilised people to hold a civilised conversation on the subject.

Exactly the same question, and answer, apply to Windows.

Going back to topic again, two things I find hard about Linux is:
1. Installing things by yourself or updating BOINC to the latest version. If I installed it wrongly, not being the owner of the directory, I never can get to that directory, look in it and change things like the cc_config file.
2. Monitoring and adjusting software for GPU, CPU like temperature, fan speed, memory use and the like.

@microchip, I am sorry to hear that you lost your mother. My mother is almost 6 years dead but it always struck me when I hear or read that someone has lost her or his mother. It is very sad.

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Greetings from TJ

Now to help get this thread back on topic, how difficult would it be to add a feature where we could manually control the video card fan speed on the second or third video card? Getting tired of seeing one video card at 52c and the other at 71c. If I could do that I would ditch Windows on all but two of my computers (work related issues) as that is the only real reason why I have Windows.

You can already do that via the nvidia-settings app that ships with Linux drivers. It's a GUI app, you click an icon to run it. I have used it to control the fan speed on 2 cards and set them at different speeds. I have heard it works with a maximum of 4 cards but others have said the limit is much higher than that. I haven't seen many motherboards with more than 4 slots so 4 should be plenty.

The thing is it allows you to set the fan speed but not a target temperature. So you set the fan at say 40% because that speed keeps your card at a nice 70*C then the ambient temperature goes up for whatever reason (your AC quits, the sun rises and shines in the window and heats up the room, your wife catches a chill and cranks the thermostat up, whatever) and suddenly your cards are running at 85*C. What you really need is an app that allows you to set a target temperature, say 70*C, and then automatically adjusts the fan speed to keep the card at that temperature. If the ambient temp goes up the app adjusts the fan speed up to keep the card at the target temp. If the ambient goes down then the app adjusts the fan speed down to conserve a little power, reduce noise and avoid unnecessary wear and tear on the fan.

I think that's what you really want and I happen to have exactly that. I wrote the app myself, it works perfect with 1 fan so far because all I had was 1 fan when I wrote it but I'm sure it could work with several more fans. I have it setup to start when the OS boots though it can also be setup to start by clicking an icon on your desktop or an icon on the Application Launcher (Start Menu in Windows speak).

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BOINC <<--- credit whores, pedants, alien hunters

I think the 40 posts in this thread (before mine) have provided the answer to the original question.

What is so hard about Linux? To get civilised people to hold a civilised conversation on the subject.

Exactly the same question, and answer, apply to Windows.

You Apple fanboys always dump on Linux and Windows.

</sarcasm>

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BOINC <<--- credit whores, pedants, alien hunters

Going back to topic again, two things I find hard about Linux is:
1. Installing things by yourself or updating BOINC to the latest version. If I installed it wrongly, not being the owner of the directory, I never can get to that directory, look in it and change things like the cc_config file.
2. Monitoring and adjusting software for GPU, CPU like temperature, fan speed, memory use and the like.

I have tested and proven solutions for all those concerns except memory use and CPU temperature. For memory use there probably is a solution but I don't know what it is at the moment. For CPU temperature I don't have a working solution that I have tested but I read an article on how to do it and it sounds pretty easy, I'm confident I can code something simple for it.

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BOINC <<--- credit whores, pedants, alien hunters

I think the 40 posts in this thread (before mine) have provided the answer to the original question.

What is so hard about Linux? To get civilised people to hold a civilised conversation on the subject.

Exactly the same question, and answer, apply to Windows.

+1

I resent your insinuation that I am civilized and I suspect Jim1348 does too.

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BOINC <<--- credit whores, pedants, alien hunters

How did she fix the VNC crash? I can still try it out before the Windows disc arrives. I don't want to stand in the way of your search for truth.

I am NOT a Linux user today, but have been kinda sorta in the past and I think "Wine" is what you are looking for. It lets people runs Windows type software on Linux machines without crashing them. I use WinVnc to control my Windows machines now but in the past was able to control a Linux machine remotely using Wine and some other VNC program. Wine is installed thru the software package manager and then you also install VNC on the Linux machine and then you can connect to it using a Windows machine, I think anyway as it has been awhile.

I think the 40 posts in this thread (before mine) have provided the answer to the original question.

What is so hard about Linux? To get civilised people to hold a civilised conversation on the subject.

Exactly the same question, and answer, apply to Windows.

Hi, The question of using Linux to run BOINC already been discussed on several occasions and not only here , personally I can only repeat my experience in the matter.

8.1 Windows and Linux to run BOINC either on the same computer , just change the system disk and ready and all my records (six) are removable .

According to project me interested in working use an OS or another as yields vary widely , especially for the CPUs , In Linux have differences of more than 50 % yield CPUs in some projects, when it comes to GPUs differences are not so great but no .

For example, 10-15% GPUGRID there for Linux but generally in other projects, not usually spend 25 % improvement. GPUs.

Install and use BOINC in Linux is easy or rather is not very complicated , personally I have published more than a tutorial to make this easier and right here in this forum , mo long ago, the issue has been discussed widely .

There are two basic installation options , for example in Ubuntu :

A) - From repositories, has advantages and disadvantages .

B) - From a shell , direct download of the latest version available on the website of Boinc , currently 7.2.39 Recommended version = " boinc_7.2.39_x86_64 -pc- linux- gnu.sh " also has its advantages and disadvantages.

Another point is to install Nvidia driver but the latest versions of Ubuntu should be no problem, installed directly from "Software Update + Additional Drivers"

Anyway, if you have not served to clarify something, but I repeat is available (at least on my part) a tutorial to install Boinc on Linux and not die trying. Greetings.

I would love to run Linux on my crunching boxes again. Most of them were Linux back in the "CPU project only" days but now all my crunching machines have 1 NVidia and 1 AMD GPU installed. I have had no luck getting both to run BOINC simultaneously in any version of Linux that I've tried (I'm certainly NOT an advanced Linux user though). Windows 7-64 runs both seamlessly. If there was a way to move my machines to Linux I'd do it without another thought. If you can come up with a solution I'd be indebted to you.

Regards/Beyond

Beyond,

I had forgotten that was an issue on Linux so thanks for the reminder. I'll look into it and if it's just a matter of it being a tricky setup procedure I might be able to make that easier with a script or something. If it's a low-level driver conflict with Xorg then it might need mods to Xorg or the kernel which is of course way beyond my ability. I'm thinking maybe Xorg can deal with only 1 driver at a time or something like that. I'll see what info I can dig up. Do you have any info on why the problem exists?

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BOINC <<--- credit whores, pedants, alien hunters

ATI is a pain on Linux. Mind you, lots of people struggle with ATI on Windows too. Getting MW WU's to run is a challenge nowdays.
Even on Windows, NVidia drivers want NVidia cards only, otherwise some portion of the drivers doesn't work (PhysX, I think).

The problem I have with Linux is that the commands and the interface change far too much. Every time I install a new version it's like starting from scratch. Then there is that new 'recovery' screen. Tried to installed Ubuntu on an oldish laptop - after an hour or two I was presented with some gibber and a command line. Found a help menu which consisted entirely of non-helpful, alien commands, basically more gibber. 13.x works fine on new desktops but not old laptops.

That said, if it's a choice of Metro or Linux, there is only one winner and it's not Metro. I have a small laptop with W8 on it and it's the most unintuitive OS I've ever encountered. Seriously, it's just broken. Even when browsing the web it manages to screw up the page. Using it is like working in slow motion. It takes unproductive to a whole new level of useless.

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I resent your insinuation that I am civilized and I suspect Jim1348 does too.

I didn't quite realize that I was throwing a match onto gasoline, but should have. I love Linux, but will just let someone else run it for me.

I resent your insinuation that I am civilized and I suspect Jim1348 does too.

I didn't quite realize that I was throwing a match onto gasoline, but should have. I love Linux, but will just let someone else run it for me.

Jim, It might have been a bit dry but it wasn't an insult, it was witty and vanity free and the target of the joke wasn't just you. Awaken your sense of humour and lose that paranoia - better to be mad than paranoid!

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FAQ's

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ATI is a pain on Linux. Mind you, lots of people struggle with ATI on Windows too. Getting MW WU's to run is a challenge nowdays.
Even on Windows, NVidia drivers want NVidia cards only, otherwise some portion of the drivers doesn't work (PhysX, I think).

Everything about GPU, from drivers to hardware to apps, has been evolving rapidly. I'm surprised there aren't more incompatabilities. The easiest way to get around it might be to run one brand on the real machine and the other brand in a VM.

The problem I have with Linux is that the commands and the interface change far too much. Every time I install a new version it's like starting from scratch.

That's a fairly common complaint and it's a valid one depending on the distro you install and the desktop you elect to install. I am fairly sure you can still use the old gnome desktop on just about any distro, I don't think you have to go with the latest desktop, the point being you can (I think) usually upgrade a distro but stick with an older desktop you've become familiar with.

Then there is that new 'recovery' screen. Tried to installed Ubuntu on an oldish laptop - after an hour or two I was presented with some gibber and a command line. Found a help menu which consisted entirely of non-helpful, alien commands, basically more gibber. 13.x works fine on new desktops but not old laptops.

Sometimes I think that 'recovery screen' should be called the 'final death blow ' screen. I have it figured out, finally, but I had to RTFM to do it. That's not intuitive but then I don't think anybody can learn any OS simply on intuition. Somewhere along the line you have to RTFM or get advice from someone who has. Regarding Ubuntu 13.x... that's an odd numbered version therefore it's a development version and will always be unstable and glitchy. Even numbered versions are the stable versions except while they're still in beta phase. Only even numbered versions become LTS (longterm support) versions.

That said, if it's a choice of Metro or Linux, there is only one winner and it's not Metro. I have a small laptop with W8 on it and it's the most unintuitive OS I've ever encountered. Seriously, it's just broken. Even when browsing the web it manages to screw up the page. Using it is like working in slow motion. It takes unproductive to a whole new level of useless.

I bought a laptop with Win 8.0 installed and gave it an honest 3 month trial. In the end I concluded it might be better if you have a touchscreen but with a mouse/touchpad it was exactly as you say... unproductive to a whole new level of uselessness.

The latest Ubuntu desktop is kind of "metro-ish" and a lot of Linux users aren't having it. I happen to like it for some reason. Those who don't benefit from the fact that they can select from a number of other desktops and interfaces. There are alternatives that are as simple and traditional as Win XP and others that are quite radical.

Getting back to the point which is to make all that troublesome stuff easier, both of the paths I have proposed here could smooth out some of the issues you've mentioned by installing one desktop and staying with that desktop until it absolutely has to be abandoned, to provide uniformity and consistency over time. That doesn't mean locking users into a desktop, they would be able to opt out of the default desktop and try something else.

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BOINC <<--- credit whores, pedants, alien hunters

I resent your insinuation that I am civilized and I suspect Jim1348 does too.

I didn't quite realize that I was throwing a match onto gasoline, but should have. I love Linux, but will just let someone else run it for me.

Jim, It might have been a bit dry but it wasn't an insult, it was witty and vanity free and the target of the joke wasn't just you. Awaken your sense of humour and lose that paranoia - better to be mad than paranoid!

Jim, I don't know if you are familiar with Jonathan Winters, the comedian who never cracked a smile, but that's me and I apologise for that. I've never been one to add smileys. I don't know why and I know I have to do better. Yes, I was trying to say in a humorous way that I am a bit uncivilized and I know it and jab you too.

I didn't take your response as being paranoid, btw. I can be as volatile as gasoline, it's true, and all I can say in my defense is that I don't hold grudges. It's just words, not sticks and stones.

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BOINC <<--- credit whores, pedants, alien hunters

While the repo drivers tend to be the best, it's often the case that LTS editions don't bother updating NVidia drivers.
I have used old drivers with new cards on Linux, without issue, but I wouldn't like to rely on Maxwell working with an old distro and repo driver.
Then there is the repo Boinc versions - and yes, I'm lazy too!

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HOW TO:
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While the repo drivers tend to be the best, it's often the case that LTS editions don't bother updating NVidia drivers.

True but it's easy to script NVIDIA driver updates and reversions on certain distros. I'm having a hard time scripting it on Ubuntu with the Unity desktop but that's only because the Ubuntu devs have made it difficult to stop Xorg from the command line with Unity. I have a hunch it works with XFCE desktop or LUbuntu and even more certain it works with KDE and gnome on Debian distro. I'd like to stick with Ubuntu and Unity though.

Then there is the repo Boinc versions - and yes, I'm lazy too!

I propose forgetting about the repo BOINC versions. They install BOINC as a daemon on an unprivileged user account which is easy to work with if you know how Linux permissions and groups work but if you don't then you can't even install a cc_config.xml. Newbies find BOINC much easier to work with when it's installed on their own account and it's easy to script that and even provide a GUI interface that tells the user what the current recommended version is, what other versions are available and then allow the user to select whichever version he wants and install it. The script can also check if all the required shared libs are installed and install them if they are not.

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BOINC <<--- credit whores, pedants, alien hunters

I didn't take your response as being paranoid, btw. I can be as volatile as gasoline, it's true, and all I can say in my defense is that I don't hold grudges. It's just words, not sticks and stones.

No, it wasn't you I was referring to, but the whole situation. As Richard Haselgrove pointed out, it is hard to hold a civilized conversation on the subject. But if you can iron out some of the tough spots in using Linux, I am all for it.

Beyond,

I had forgotten that was an issue on Linux so thanks for the reminder. I'll look into it and if it's just a matter of it being a tricky setup procedure I might be able to make that easier with a script or something. If it's a low-level driver conflict with Xorg then it might need mods to Xorg or the kernel which is of course way beyond my ability. I'm thinking maybe Xorg can deal with only 1 driver at a time or something like that. I'll see what info I can dig up. Do you have any info on why the problem exists?

Hey Dagorath,

I don't envy the challenge you've taken on and sure do hope that you're successful. Sorry I can't help but know very little about Linux. Used it on a fairly elementary level before GPUs became the crunching engines of choice and would like to switch to Linux again if possible.

SK:

ATI is a pain on Linux. Mind you, lots of people struggle with ATI on Windows too. Getting MW WU's to run is a challenge nowdays.
Even on Windows, NVidia drivers want NVidia cards only, otherwise some portion of the drivers doesn't work (PhysX, I think).

Boy, my experience has been different. I've never had problems with ATI/AMD drivers in Windows even when used in conjunction with NVidia. One trick is that at least on some motherboards when using a mixed environment the AMD card works best when placed in the primary PCIe slot. It's been a long time since I've had a problem running AMD and NV together in Windows. Did half a billion MW credits without problems with machines that had both ATI and NV. The ATIs ran MW and the NVs worked on various other projects (including GPUGrid). Most of my AMDs are currently on Einstein.