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World Community Grid Forums
Category: Support
Forum: Website Support
Thread: Vista directory and folder virtualization |
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Thread Status: Active Total posts in this thread: 10
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Vester
Senior Cruncher USA Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Post Count: 325 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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Why install to C:\BOINC?
----------------------------------------I began running Windows Vista Beta 2 after Microsoft sent me the installation DVDs about a year ago. I have run WCG and Rosetta@home using BOINC as well as Folding@Home in both the GPU and CPU versions. In all cases, I installed to the directory C:\ Program Files \<project>. I am the only user and run as an adminsitrator. My current OS is Vista Ultimate (32 bit) RTM. I have not disabled User Account Control (UAC). To the best of my knowledge, I have had no issues related to the directory, but I've had some recent hardware problems resulting in errors. I reinstalled BOINC WCG to C:\BOINC after reading comments in the WCG forums last week. When I began looking for Windows Vista directory guidance, I found several discussions. This article at Information Week, How To Manage Windows Vista Application Compatibility , and Folder Virtualization in Windows Vista in Rick Strahl's Web Log (and the comments) were helpful to me. The following are related reading:
I have read several comments stating that Microsoft does not approve of writing directly to the root directory. I thought about posing my question in general terms at AumHa Forums, but decided to discuss the issue of installation directory here since this is the only place that I've seen instructions to install a program to C:\. With discussion here, I can be better prepared to discuss the issue elsewhere.  |
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Sekerob
Ace Cruncher Joined: Jul 24, 2005 Post Count: 20043 Status: Offline |
The C:\ must have come forth from a misinterpretation: Explicitly DO NOT ROOT INSTALL but C:\BOINC\ or C:\World Community Grid\. From long ago even remember some odd windows restriction for files in the root being limited to 128, but can't seem to have seen any update since.
----------------------------------------Thanks for adding you post. I'll reference it in the Start Here forum, Vista How to's post. cheers.
WCG
Please help to make the Forums an enjoyable experience for All! |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Hi Vester,
Installing to root at C:\ is VERY bad practice. Where did you see a comment on this Forum to do so? I must have missed it and I would like to post a correction in that thread.  Lawrence |
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Vester
Senior Cruncher USA Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Post Count: 325 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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Some references to install to C:\<project>
----------------------------------------In Vista problems it was stated yesterday: http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/6029/lhic8.png In Cursors get messed up on Vista Home Premium yesterday: http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7530/lh2yx2.png A reference to install to a different partition and to not install to the default C:\Program Files\ is in How to get WCG (UD) Agent & BOINC running: http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4377/howtofn9.png Reference stating that Vista does not write to program files which could be interpreted as "do not install to Program Files": http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4761/lh3nq9.png Enough? |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
C:\ -really, really bad
C:\BOINC\ -good C:\Program Files\ -has issues for some people. Data should be in C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\BOINC\ (and will be, in the next version). |
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Sekerob
Ace Cruncher Joined: Jul 24, 2005 Post Count: 20043 Status: Offline |
As said, there is misinterpretation. "C:\BOINC" as in a subdirectory called BOINC that is created in the root C:\. Thus, the executable would show in the file explorer as being in C:\BOINC\BOINC.exe
----------------------------------------Possibly you have the file explorer set to hiding known extensions in which case installing the BOINC.exe to the root would show as C:\BOINC As i noticed this confusion earlier and did not fuzz (I'm  now), started posting explicitly as C:\BOINC\ or C:\Program Files\BOINC\mea massima culpo (but only if i was the source :o) @Didactylos The sooner the better for the data to move to the user-dat directory structure, to counter e.g. Vista issues.
WCG
----------------------------------------Please help to make the Forums an enjoyable experience for All! [Edit 2 times, last edit by Sekerob at May 3, 2007 12:35:06 PM] |
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Vester
Senior Cruncher USA Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Post Count: 325 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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In my Vista directory, there is no C:\Documents and Settings\. It is C:\Users\Vester\AppData\<Local, LocalLow, or Roaming> as shown in this screen capture. C:\Documents and Settings does not exist in Vista.
----------------------------------------C:\Program Files\ -has issues for some people. Some people have trouble crossing the street. Has anyone determined the cause of the issue for some people? Is is Vista, the users, or a program compatibilty problem? Since I have not had a problem crunching with Vista Beta 2 or any of the subsequent builds, I don't believe any changes need to be made. I believe you will see lots fewer Vista issues once Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 expire at the end of this month. There were lots of torrents running for unofficial beta testers and no one knows what additions and modifications had been made to them. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Don't worry Vester, it's not a hard coded path. I just used that example since it is more clear to most forum readers. Actually, it will use SHGetKnownFolderPath, probably with CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA. There is still some debate about roaming.
I haven't replicated the exact problem, but the BOINC developers are aware of the issues surrounding the Program Files folder. |
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Sekerob
Ace Cruncher Joined: Jul 24, 2005 Post Count: 20043 Status: Offline |
.... And no, the official Vista aka "ME II" versions have problems. Visit the referenced post in Start Here for a list of threads with varying reports with different commercial versions. If it´s not befallen you, be happy and keep on crunching :D
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WCG
Please help to make the Forums an enjoyable experience for All! |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Hi Vester,
Rom Walton (a BOINC developer) mentions the Vista problem with C:\Program Files in his blog on 23 February 2007: http://www.romwnet.org/dasblogce/ How is boinc going to get around the problem on Windows VISTA where you are not suppose to (and often cannot) write to the 'program files' directory? We'll be breaking apart the data from the executables using the SHGetFolderPath API. Although we'll need to put a possible override registry value for those who want to store the data on a different drive. Right now I've been brainstorming on the various upgrade scenario's. ( XP to Vista and 32-bit to 64-bit ) It is a messy problem. Lawrence |
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