Hello,

for some weeks I run Milkyway@Home in my Boinc Client 7.16.11 (x64) under Windows 10. Some tasks of the Milkyway@Home Project stuck in a loop, meaning CPU is working on them, and the column for "remaning time" is constantly raising... it never gets finished. So if you don`t look every day, the computing time is thrown out.
I had it 2 times now, my workaround was to stop and cancel this task, then I get new ones. Last example was from N-Body Simulation 1.82 (mtl) Name: de_nobody_02_272023_v182_pal5__data__1_1674667492_1074157_0

Do you have a solution? Otherwise I need to stop this project and work for other ones like Rosetta or WCG, because I will not check every day...

2nd question: Where can I see if my GPU is used? (Besides its load via some GPU monitoring tools like GPU-Z etc.)

Thanks, Sebastian

The N-body tasks prefer to utilize all your cpu at all times. So if you are trying to run other cpu tasks or using your computer for other things at the same time, the tasks can stall out as you've noticed.

To see whether your gpu is being used simply look in the Boinc Manager for any running gpu tasks.

The Windows Task Manager can also show the gpu usage if you toggle its pages to show gpu utilization.

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"The N-body tasks prefer to utilize all your cpu at all times. So if you are trying to run other cpu tasks or using your computer for other things at the same time, the tasks can stall out as you've noticed."

This is not a clear answer to me. Of course I use the computer sometimes for other things like browsing, gaming and Office products etc. but that should only slow down / prolong the boinc tasks, and not bring them into a loop?!?! Because as I said, its not the case that its only slowed down, so that it f.e. takes 20 hours instead of 10 - NO it runs simply infinite... even when you stop all your activities, you simply watch on boinc... the remaining time is rising 1-2 seconds per second.

I had this again now... so if nobody has a solution I will stop milkyway@home project.

This (really no) problem has been discussed in several other threads.
Try "News" --> "New N-Body Runs" ...

Keep your queue small - then you won't get timeouts.

Be patient - all crunching is important and worth it.

cheers
S-F-V

"The N-body tasks prefer to utilize all your cpu at all times. So if you are trying to run other cpu tasks or using your computer for other things at the same time, the tasks can stall out as you've noticed."

This is not a clear answer to me. Of course I use the computer sometimes for other things like browsing, gaming and Office products etc. but that should only slow down / prolong the boinc tasks, and not bring them into a loop?!?! Because as I said, its not the case that its only slowed down, so that it f.e. takes 20 hours instead of 10 - NO it runs simply infinite... even when you stop all your activities, you simply watch on boinc... the remaining time is rising 1-2 seconds per second.

I had this again now... so if nobody has a solution I will stop milkyway@home project.

As you game, browse the internet use Office products etc everything takes time away from crunching, ie gaming takes not only gpu time but also cpu time as well. One thing that might help is limiting your N-Body tasks to about 75% of the total number of cpu cores you have, that way your net browsing, Office stuff and light gaming won't affect the crunching as much. You can for example run 3 N-Body tasks at the same time using 2 cpu cores each on a pc with 8 cpu cores. Running a gpu task, Separation only here at MilkyWay, takes a percentage of a cpu core as well, limiting your cpu crunching by one cpu core per gpu task you run at one time will make it run quicker as well. You do NOT need to limit your N-Body crunching below the 6 cores in my previous example to run gpu tasks at the same time as you already have 2 cpu cores free. Boinc is setup up by default to throttle back as other things are being done on your pc, leaving cpu cores free for you using the pc means Boinc can run more freely and quicker. NO running 3 tasks using 2 cpu cores for each task is NOT faster than running 1 task at a time using 6 cpu cores, but you need to figure out what works for you and the way you use your pc.

I know this was posted in March but Milkyway tasks take the longest out of anything i've done. The best you can do is set CPU to 30% - 35% to use 2 Cores, and then 100% CPU Time while you use the computer, but you can't play a game while doing any tasks you'll have to suspend them while you play because the tasks take a lot of CPU.

Make sure in the Preferences you haven't entered 0.1 in how much work you want it to store, because 0.1 actually means 0.10 days of work lol, so you should enter 0.01 for Milkyway. I just figured this out lol that's certainly very mathematical skipping the zero at the end for 10 but yikes! maybe i've been doing 10 days of work at once.

Then enter 0 in additional tasks because commercial computers will only be able to handle 1 task at a time for Milkyway and you don't want any extra tasks hanging around in the buffer.

Universe and NFS are smaller so you'll be able to do two of those at once using 2 cores, NFS i got set to 70% CPU Time and Universe 65% CPU time. But despite advice saying to do different tasks together i'm finding this just doesn't work and makes the tasks go slower because you have to have slightly different Preferences for different projects, some need more CPU Time some need less.

NFS i can get 18 done in one day max using 2 Cores and 70% CPU Time, Universe are bigger than NFS ones so i can get about 4 or 5 done in a day using 65% CPU Time.

It'll instead go with the Preferences of another Project you're doing at the same time if you do different ones together because it can only use the settings of one project at a time. Just keep rotating the projects. Do a couple for Milkyway, then some for Universe, then a bunch for NFS, and a few for Rosetta so it's only running at the custom preferences each project needs so they'll keep getting done faster.

I noticed at 70% progress it gets a hefty speed boost too so it doesn't take as long to do as the estimate says, no idea why that happens but hey... it makes it get done faster lol.

Make sure you've given it enough Disk Space too give it at least 5GB because they only take up Megabytes of space but it's good to leave a little room. I had this issue at the very start of when i first started using BOINC a good while ago now, where it kept looping and that's mainly because i didn't give it enough Disk Space, but setting it to give too much work for what your computer can handle or not enough juice for what each project needs can also make it do this.

I know this was posted in March but Milkyway tasks take the longest out of anything i've done. The best you can do is set CPU to 30% - 35% to use 2 Cores, and then 100% CPU Time while you use the computer, but you can't play a game while doing any tasks you'll have to suspend them while you play because the tasks take a lot of CPU.

Make sure in the Preferences you haven't entered 0.1 in how much work you want it to store, because 0.1 actually means 0.10 days of work lol, so you should enter 0.01 for Milkyway. I just figured this out lol that's certainly very mathematical skipping the zero at the end for 10 but yikes! maybe i've been doing 10 days of work at once.

Then enter 0 in additional tasks because commercial computers will only be able to handle 1 task at a time for Milkyway and you don't want any extra tasks hanging around in the buffer.

Universe and NFS are smaller so you'll be able to do two of those at once using 2 cores, NFS i got set to 70% CPU Time and Universe 65% CPU time. But despite advice saying to do different tasks together i'm finding this just doesn't work and makes the tasks go slower because you have to have slightly different Preferences for different projects, some need more CPU Time some need less.

NFS i can get 18 done in one day max using 2 Cores and 70% CPU Time, Universe are bigger than NFS ones so i can get about 4 or 5 done in a day using 65% CPU Time.

It'll instead go with the Preferences of another Project you're doing at the same time if you do different ones together because it can only use the settings of one project at a time. Just keep rotating the projects. Do a couple for Milkyway, then some for Universe, then a bunch for NFS, and a few for Rosetta so it's only running at the custom preferences each project needs so they'll keep getting done faster.

I noticed at 70% progress it gets a hefty speed boost too so it doesn't take as long to do as the estimate says, no idea why that happens but hey... it makes it get done faster lol.

Make sure you've given it enough Disk Space too give it at least 5GB because they only take up Megabytes of space but it's good to leave a little room. I had this issue at the very start of when i first started using BOINC a good while ago now, where it kept looping and that's mainly because i didn't give it enough Disk Space, but setting it to give too much work for what your computer can handle or not enough juice for what each project needs can also make it do this.

I've got a 16/32 core pc and it runs 15 MilkyWay tasks at a time using 2 cpu cores for each task, if I had the cache settings you suggest I wouldn't be able to keep any work in the cache because my down and uploads are very slow right now. Also if you run any PrimeGrid or some of the other Projects that cache size is too small to get some of their tasks because the tasks themselves can take more than 5 days on a cpu and with a .01 cache size they won't even download. I'm not trying to say anything you said isn't a good idea here at MilkyWay but if you run multiple Projects at a time like I do then they aren't going to give me the tasks I want to run. This has been a problem for Boinc crunchers ever since it started, the Boinc settings that work for PrimeGtrid aren't optimal here at MilkyWay.

BTW I think your post should be tagged and be at the top of the list so new people can always see it when they come here to crunch at MIlkyWay and come to the Forums for help.

I actually have 4 Cores/8 processors on my laptop i thought i had 8 Cores so those settings will work on a 4 Core. Then i guess for an 8 Core you could adjust it higher to using 3 Cores at 40% to 45%, or 4 Cores at 50% to 55% CPU.

Best you can use for a 4 Core is 2 of your Cores at 30% - 35% CPU if using your computer at the same time but only when not doing anything heavier, it's fine watching a tv show or movie or some youtube videos but anything past that it will keep making the tasks suspend. Or if you're willing to wait a bit longer for tasks to complete you could set it to 20% - 25% to use 1 Core if you need to do anything a bit heavier.

Then CPU Time it doesn't really get anything done fast enough below 60% for anything, Milkyway needs a bit more juice so 70% CPU Time the lowest you can go before it just starts to drag on. Rosetta the same settings too because the protein simulations are big. You could set it to 50% if again your willing to wait a bit longer, but Milkyway and Rosetta is going to take up to 14 hours of work vs the 9 hours at 70%. A couple hours less using 4 Cores of an 8 Core.

Yeh you would probs need to give more Disk Space for a computer with more Cores. It's easy to adjust once you get the hang of it, you can use most of your Cores just for a computer solely for BOINC, but ones for general use computers those settings and 5GB Disk will be enough.

I don't use Prime Grid i'm not patient enough to run that lol i'll go for the easiest ones :P but yeh just adjust the amount of work you let it give you if you have to, you just gotta tailor the preferences for each Project.

Same here my internet speed is kind of up and down right now had to reset the modem more times, it's because they're putting up these new full broadband metal poles so areas still with much slower internet can now get internet as fast as ours, so i guess every time they connect some up it needs to recalibrate.

Yes i was doing 10 days of work all at once with Milkyway LOL which takes about 9 to 14 hours depending on how much CPU Time you give it.

At the same Preferences using 2 Cores 1 day of work will take 2 hours doing 50% per hour, and then probs a bit slower using 1 Core, so i could still do this on 1 Core on a 4 Core which i think would be a bit better. An 8 Core would handle doing more using 3 or 4 Cores.

You could give it 1 or 2 Cores, set it to 2 days of work and tell it to store 2 additional days of work which you'll be able to get done before the deadline.

If you have your Pretences set too much for your system that can also cause looping or even stalling.

Best you can use for a 4 Core is 2 of your Cores at 30% - 35% CPU if using your computer at the same time but only when not doing anything heavier, it's fine watching a tv show or movie or some youtube videos but anything past that it will keep making the tasks suspend. Or if you're willing to wait a bit longer for tasks to complete you could set it to 20% - 25% to use 1 Core if you need to do anything a bit heavier.

I don't understand what's wrong with your computer. I have an ancient Core 2 Duo, let BOINC crunch CPU tasks on both cores + feed the GPU (I don't leave a core free for that, not necessary for Moo! CUDA core #10) and still I can do everything without any slowdown compared to an idle system. Same on my laptop (currently not in use), it will run into thermal throttling, but no other issues than that with letting it crunch on all 4 threads. BOINC CPU tasks run at the lowest possible priority and will be automatically slowed down by the OS if something else needs CPU time. N-Body isn't using 100% CPU time anyway and ist running way cooler than any other project I run. GPU tasks can be an issue (I can't run for example PrimeGrid PPS-sieve and use the computer at the same time regardless of CPU cores in use), but that's a different story.

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Best you can use for a 4 Core is 2 of your Cores at 30% - 35% CPU if using your computer at the same time but only when not doing anything heavier, it's fine watching a tv show or movie or some youtube videos but anything past that it will keep making the tasks suspend. Or if you're willing to wait a bit longer for tasks to complete you could set it to 20% - 25% to use 1 Core if you need to do anything a bit heavier.

I don't understand what's wrong with your computer. I have an ancient Core 2 Duo, let BOINC crunch CPU tasks on both cores + feed the GPU (I don't leave a core free for that, not necessary for Moo! CUDA core #10) and still I can do everything without any slowdown compared to an idle system. Same on my laptop (currently not in use), it will run into thermal throttling, but no other issues than that with letting it crunch on all 4 threads. BOINC CPU tasks run at the lowest possible priority and will be automatically slowed down by the OS if something else needs CPU time. N-Body isn't using 100% CPU time anyway and ist running way cooler than any other project I run. GPU tasks can be an issue (I can't run for example PrimeGrid PPS-sieve and use the computer at the same time regardless of CPU cores in use), but that's a different story.

I think part of emma's 'problems' with her laptop is that she uses it all day long for other things and that means that Boinc is either getting suspended or she sets it to use fewer resources than most other people do and gets to do whatever she does on the laptop AND crunch at the same time without any hiccups or Boinc suspending. I have a Teammate who uses a very high resolution set of screen savers that are constantly rotating thru and is wondering why he has to drop the cpu time available to Boinc and still gets the occasional gpu crashes. He is also trying to run 3 gpu projects at the same time...no wonder it crashes.

Yes, GPU tasks are different thing and can indeed get in the way of other things done on the computer, but as far as we know Emma is only running CPU tasks. I even tried recently n-Body on my laptop while on a travel, it run 24/7 in the hotel room crunching nBody for couple of days without any limits on cores or CPU time and I used it in the evening and always got all the CPU cores and time I needed, Windows slowed the low priority Milkyway task as far as necessary. Actually I can't recall ever needing to suspend CPU tasks for anything, I did it in the past for games and other high loads just for to not completely mess up the DCF. I even didn't suspend SETI before it moved to BOINC on my Athlon and AthlonXP systems, it was running always since DCF didn't exist and it didn't matter for the performance and I was playing PC games at that time. I try to understand the issues, but I can't reproduce them even if I try and in general performance issues should be easy to reproduce on old systems with slow CPUs and little RAM. With two Einstein FGRP5 task I notice in some cases some additional paging to HDD (not SSD) on my C2D with 6GB RAM when starting other programs, but they use about 750MB each, n-Body uses <20MB, that's nothing. Oh well, I don't need to understand everything I guess. ;-)

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The original poster was wanting to use his computer at the same time too, and when you are it's gonna need at least half your cores to run stuff and play any HD quality videos, or even a bit more if running work software which can use up a bit more CPU than the average software. i'm still getting a few tasks done at a steady pace. If using your computer at the same time the limit is 2 Cores for a 4 Core, i tried the 1 Core and no tasks coming through :P 2 Cores at 25% - 30% with a 4 Core is still fine though but it'll just suspend a bit more as i close browser tabs pause and unpause videos.

For an 8 Core the limit will be using 3 or 4 Cores while using the computer for other things 3 Cores if you need to use a bit more and software for work that's a bit heavier.

That's best you can run it without burning up your computer and throttling it or causing it to constantly suspend, or even loop or stall. It'll still get tasks done it'll just take a few hours longer. For Milkyway you'll have to do one task at a time though if in some way you're using the computer for something else, i can't see high def screen savers being good for it though.