World Community Grid - View Thread - Vista: How to get the BOINC Client Running

With a fair bit of collective posting in different threads of the WCG fora, here a summary of solutions that have been found in trial and error by the various members and updated thru Nov 21, 2008:

(Re)Install either agent to a location outside of the default C:\Program Files\ directory structure. Best place would be a different partition like for instance D:, thus installing to D:\World Community Grid\ or D:\BOINC\ . For cleanliness in case of a reinstall, it's best to uninstall the agent first thru the Application/Software Add/Remove Control Panel.

For BOINC, if concerned over adding another device registration at WCG, copy the account_www.worldcommunitygrid.org.xml file from the old install location to the new, PRIOR to attaching WCG to the agent or (re)installing using the distributed package from the WCG download page.

Any remnants in the C:\Program Files\Agent directories (BOINC / World Community Grid) can be deleted using Explorer.
Alternate placement is the Vista default data directory C:\ProgramData\BOINC location. This is a protected user data zone automatically selected when running the Recommended 6.2.28 BOINC release, but can be selected manually when installing version 5.10.45. It helps to provide better defense against any bad behaving BOINC science app, should the user ever attach to such a project outside WCG (project attaching can be disabled also!)

As off this update, all WCG graphics are converted for the BOINC 6 API.
Compatibility mode activation. Vista is by default to sense what legacy operating system a piece of installed software was made for, but is not getting it right for the agents. Thus try this function, which has instructions here: Using Windows Vista Compatibility Mode :: the How-To Geek
Elevating the authority of installation and or operation. Here an extract of several posts explaining this:
I use BOINC on Windows Vista with no problems. I created a user for boinc purposes and installed BOINC as a service using that account. The account is granted 'Log on as a Service' rights through the install. I then went into the Program Files directory and assigned the BOINC user account full rights to that directory and all sub directories and files. It runs all the time and I've not no issues with running other applications, including CPU intensive applications.
Message 10529 - Posted 28 May 2007 21:49:04 UTC

If you're on Vista and do the single user install from a non-administrator account, it will ask for the admin password and apparently install BOINC as the administrator. BOINC will start at the end of the install but if you logout/reboot and then try to restart BOINC, you won't be able to start it because the administrator owns it. You'll have to switch to the administrator account and give the non-administrator user permission for the files in the BOINC directories.

The maker of the OS has a Technet article on Scripting Elevation using some new PowerToys for Vista: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/UtilitySpotlight/ . From the article:
Elevating Other Files Types:

The runas command technique can be applied to just about any file type. For example, the Windows Installer in Windows Vista was designed to "do the right thing" when elevation was required for installing a package. However, some poorly authored packages (where, for example, custom actions are not marked appropriately) will not install correctly with UAC turned on unless they are installed using msiexec.exe from an elevated command prompt.

To allow this to be done directly from Explorer, I created ElevateMSI.inf. This tool clones the default actions for Windows Installer packages (.msi) and patches (.msp) to add an Install as Administrator context menu option for packages and Apply Patch as Administrator for patches.
The WCG(UD) agent is cycling through a job every other second. Paragraph is redundant due discontinuation of the UD Agent service.

This can still happen with BOINC. To set an exception follow these steps:
- Open Windows Defender by clicking Start, clicking Programs, and then clicking Windows Defender.
- Click Tools, and then click Allowed items.
- If you want to monitor the item again, select it and then click Remove From List.
After shutting down Vista and restart, the work unit(s) in progress show as errored out. There are 2 possible reasons
- that the Operating System (OS) is not allowing enough time for the BOINC client to close the program properly and store the progress files on disk. A solution is found in the BOINC FAQ: exit code -1073741510 (0xc000013a) partly transcribed below **. Creating or increasing a shutdown delay value in the System Registry of up to 60 seconds will resolve the problem. Though exiting the client followed by the shutting down of the OS is an alternate way, it is important to leave enough time before proceeding to close/restart Vista.
  ** Copy / Paste the following bold-italic text into Notepad or other flat ASCII text editor and save with the *exact* name "WaitToKill.reg" to your desktop. Make sure the file extension is ".reg" (rename if need be).
```
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="60000"
```
  To add this fix to the System Registry, double-click the file you saved to the desktop. Respond to all UAC and subsequent messages *Yes* and *OK*. Exit BOINC if not done already, allow a little time and restart Vista thru the proper Start menu option for the change to take effect.
  The problem has firmly been resolved with the WCG/BOINC update 5.10.45. This version incorporates checking of extra Vista condition codes. Both in Single User and Service Install, Vista permits proper closure and resuming of work that was in progress before system restart or boot.
- The Software Firewall may have interfered during the shutdown procedure blocking the Core client (BOINC.exe) to communicate via the localhost/loopback IP / port with the science application, or the science application itself is being blocked from communicating back. See point 8. below for discussion.
Other spurious errors or process failure. Depending on whether DEP (Data Execution Prevention) is in default ON or just off, and the method of start-up, regular or service, make sure to add BOINC.exe + BOINCmgr.exe or UD.exe to the DEP exception list. 3 Articles describe this function build into Vista (also exists in Windows XP / Server 2003):
Also see post point 't' below.
Security Certificate is missing or 'Outdated' causing connection failure with servers. It's rare but has been reported by a member. The solution is found in FAQ: BOINC error: "Scheduler request failed: ...th? access rights?)"

Depending on whether the project data was split off manually into a separate data directory e.g. C:\ProgramData\BOINC the ca-bundle.crt file needs to be copied there (only for release 5.10.xx). Recommended version 6.2.28 automatically places it in the correct location.

It is good to verify that the system date & time is current as this may cause the certificate to be considered as expired!
Firewall related issues. Signs that something is amiss are the unresponsiveness of the BOINC manager GUI or the science hanging reported in forms of error messages like "No heartbeat from core client for 31 sec - exiting" or "exited with zero status but no 'finished' file, If this happens repeatedly you may need to reset the project.

For the BOINC agent make sure to allow localhost traffic (IP 127.0.0.1) over port 31416 for the 4 possible components:
- BOINC.exe (The Core Client aka Daemon) I,
- BOINCmgr.exe (The GUI Interface) II,
- boincscr.exe (The Screensaver engine, if the BOINC version is used)
- BOINC.scr (The Screensaver, if the BOINC version is used) and
- BoincCmd.exe (for the few that use command line instructions)
Port 80 and 443 need to be open for outward traffic to WCG for IP 198.20.8.241 and 198.20.8.246

Finally ports in the range 1038-5000 needs to be open on IP 127.0.0.1 for I / II above to be able to use a random port for internal communication thru the operating system. The function is explained in the localhost Wikipedia page. You can check what ports BOINC presently is using by opening a command window and running the 'netstat -a' instruction. That will produce a list like below. Look for any line noting port 31416. The sample shows a connection also to a second computer (in the LAN, where the BOINC manager thru the advanced menu 'Select Computer' option is looking at another client.

Third party utilities like BOINCview also make use of same ports to be able to manage remote BOINC clients. Ensure to permit these access to the same IP's and ports.

It is also possible that during Vista close-down the software firewall gets overzealous. Look thru the alert logs for blocking activity on any of the science applications, explorer.exe in relation to the localhost/loopback IP. The communication of the sciences and core client need to remain unimpeded. Some firewalls during shut-down will stop all communications. Add the blocked programs manually to the exception list or 'allow' them as trusted if automatically added to the program list.
Windows Vista Security Alerts, There is the option to choose between having Security Center alert you when there’s a problem, not alert you (but display the red shield icon), or not alert you and not show the shield icon in the system tray. In addition, it is now possible to right-click the shield icon when it’s displayed in the system tray and dismiss it. Don't switch it off as it will be hard to diagnose what is causing any agents problems.
Source MSDN Windows Vista Security Blog
FireFox is my default browser, but BOINC links open in IE: The workaround is to explicitly set Firefox as your preferred browser.
- Start -> Default Programs (under control panel)
- Then select "Set program access and set defaults for this computer"
- Choose custom, and expand it. The default selection is "Use my current web browser" (which may already be FireFox). Change it specifically to "Mozilla Firefox" and click OK.
Note: This is not the same as setting your default browser.
The BOINC Screen-saver does not launch or behaves erratic: This is a known problem in Vista through BOINC versions 5.10.xx . This is resolved in version 6.

On a multi-core computer with separate video card aka Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), the BOINC screensaver will work from version 5.10.28. If running BOINC only in idle time, make sure for the time to resume is set shorter than the time for the Screen-saver to start!
- With Password Resume protection, it will show the BOINC Logo and Name of Project, Work Unit name and percent progress. This Alternates for each job running concurrently.
- Without Password protection, the first job that the Screen-saver process can connect to will show with slight delay. The 3D Graphics frame will hop around the screen as with previous windows versions.
RUNNING WITHOUT SCREEN-SAVER PASSWORD PROTECTION ON AN UNATTENTED COMPUTER IS ABSOLUTELY NOT RECOMMENDED.
Dynamic Graphic Screen-savers on GPU's consume considerable extra energy. Help to be Greener by using a screen-blanking version
64 bit BOINC will not properly Install or Function. A number of times it was reported that vendors have sold computers with a 64 bit processor, but having pre-installed 32 bit Vista operating system. Messages would show like "This installation package is not supported by this processor type. Contact your product vendor." Check if you have the real article and install the 32 bit client if not. Noted is that all WCG sciences to date (like most other Distributed Computing Projects) are written and compiled for 32 bit processors. As a result, there is little or no advantage at this stage to run the 64 BOINC release.
An "Exit code -1073741502 (0xC0000142)" is seen on all types of tasks This means that a DLL failed to load correctly. The error looks like it's happening more frequently on Windows Vista, but is seen on machines running Windows XP as well. We would greatly appreciate any pointer which DLL this might be as it effects other Distributed Computing projects outside WCG as well. A BOINC FAQ is in place that can be monitored if a solution becomes available.
BOINC manager (BOINCmgr.exe) is blocked from starting after booting. This is actually Windows Defender preventing this. The solution until client version 6 comes out is to re-install BOINC as a Service ++ in a location described in point 1, above. This is an option offered during the installation process. The BOINCmgr (BM) will still be blocked during autostart, but the core client will already be running. The BM can still be started/exited manually without interrupting the service and fully functional though with version 5.10 and before the "Show Graphics" button is grayed out / unavailable.

++ The Service option under 5.10.xx is under 6.x rechristened to Protected Application Execution (See point 1, top of this FAQ for a sample of the install options under version 6).
Can't seem to find How To change the Device (Host) Name of client and on WCG website? The BOINC client and the WCG website use the name given in the operating system. A fully illustrated article from the How-To Geek article steps through "Change Your Computer Name in Windows Vista". The Device Manager and the Result Status page will immediately show the new name as soon as the client has communicated with the project servers, after computer boot!
Not all processor cores are being used by BOINC. The Default configuration is set to use up to 16 cores (simultaneous jobs) or the indicated percent of cores [version 6] which can be changed in either the Device Profile on the website taking the Custom Profile option or in the Advanced Preferences of the client, versions 5.10 and up. It is also possible that the operating system was not properly installed to recognize all cores. Check in the TaskManager (Ctrl-Shift-Esc keys combined, Performance Tab) to verify how many are configured for Vista. It could be the BIOS needing change or at worst a reinstall of the operating system to get the full resource available for BOINC.

Caveat: BOINC will only run as many jobs simultaneous on a multiprocessor computer as will fit into the allocated memory which is Standard set at 50% when in PC is in use and 75% when no user input is detected! See the BOINC: Website Device Profile & Local Preferences Information FAQ to see the permission for the different WCG preset profiles. Vista 32bit can only use up to 3.1-3.2gb RAM. Vista 64bit can use as much as physically available. Both are virtually expanded with the Swap File.
BOINC seems to cause a slowed bootup of the system. In Single User install and BOINC in the Startup folder to autoload will not work with BOINC 5.10 and lower (See point 14 above). Opposed if the client is installed as Service aka Protected / Unprivileged Use, it will load and run as soon as the operating system is ready booting up. With larger jobs loading & resuming from their last checkpoints, particularly on multi-processor systems, this can take time and cause the User Sign in experience to be substantially delayed. This can be remedied by visiting the services.msc control applet. Type this into the start menu search box and right click it when found to execute as administrator. When launched, confirm execution and find the BOINC entry. Right click this and select the properties line. Middle of the window is a drop down box which should say "automatic". Select the drop down box and change the selection to "automatic (start with delay)". Enter, Save and exit the services.msc. Next time the BOINC client service will start some time after you signed in giving change to first load your favorite user application.

Caveat: With BOINC 6 and autostarting the BOINCmgr, which is not blocked by Windows Defender, it can happen that the system tray icon shows a red dot. This means that the core client service had not started before. Simply open up BOINCmgr, go to the Advanced menu, take the Select Computer, leave the fields blank and hit OK. The connection should be made immediately and filling up the different BOINCmgr screens.

BOINC version after 6.2.28 has an option to select a time factor for delayed start of the client service. The WCG package is set by default to an initial 2 minute computation suspend. This can be changed by modifying the cc_config.xml. See FAQ for the How To