Hi,

Suggest you configure the BOINC Screensaver to go blank after X minutes (Go to Desktop Applet > Screensaver and Options). This way the graphical part gets unloaded when you're not there anyway, allows for the energy saving features of the display to kick in and allocates extra cycles for computing.

As for power switch not working: Mine is configured so i have to hold 4 seconds before power-off is effected. Just hitting it breifly puts it into sleep mode (in normal conditions).

Yes, BOINC will mostly disengage from the GUI part and just continue on. Do check all your display-drivers and GPU BIOS if up to date. These screensaver hang reports show once in a while and seem to happen at other projects too. Too many different display cards around to give a clear diagnosis why that happens (Video RAM shortage maybe)

Oh, and please make sure that in timing terms, idle computing (if not always) starts before the screensaver launching time and the energy saving is timed to start after the screensaver. The order is important.

ttyl

PS: It's all expected to be better once BOINC 6 is ready for general production.

[X] Done.

When I hold the power button down my computer switches off immediately instead of shutting down the OS (and therefore the apps), which may cause data loss due to corrupt file system or application's database (the reset button has a similar effect). Though this may be unlikely, I try to avoid that step.

OK, if the problem occurs again, I will switch to another screen saver.

Translation of the bottom part:

q.e.d.

You're right, there is a BIOS option I forgot about. I don't know whether Windows may override this, but it works correctly on my computer here, so I don't have to check it.

I was mentioning this point just because Sekerob said he can push the button for 4 secs to switch off, and I think that this may cause data loss because the software won't be able to reach a defined check point when accessing a file system or any other database.

If I/Anyone pushes the power button for 4 seconds it's a conscious decision to do so and force a hard shut down. A short operation puts my box into standby and a 1 second operation puts it in hibernation, but the BIOS settings/Hardware needs to collaborate with the OS too. ACPI or whatever it's called has been problematic for quite a few.

The above is for the desktops. For the laptops i've set the lid closing to invoke hibernation, which as with the desktop allows lossless resume, not even a return to the last checkpoint save. (See Start Here Forum FAQ for elaborations).