No CPU Usage

[beepos]

Hey guys,

My roommate installed the client for his Mac, and he followed the instructions, etc. But the under cpu usage, fah6 shows 0.0% usage...what should he do to get it to work?

Also, does the mac version have no GUI? My version has the display, but his doesnt seem to. Or is he doing something wrong?

Thanks

[bruce]

The V6 client for Mac has had some limitations and very little has been done about it. I'm not saying you can't get it to work, but personally, I wouldn't use it.

There's a V7 client that has been under development for quite some time. It doesn't yet appear on the download site because it's still being beta tested. It is very, very close to being ready to announce to the world -- and as far as I'm concerned, even though there are a few bugs left, it's significantly better than the V6 client for any 64-bit version of OS-X. More information can be found here.

The GUI is called FAHControl and after installation, it will be found in the Applications folder. The only bug that I can think of that you'd potentially run into is if the GUI is made too narrow. (Don't try to make the window too narrow, leaving insufficient space for all the information that appears in the header of the Log window.)

[Joe_H]

Which model Mac does your friend have? That may matter if going to the V7 beta. As for the V6 install, there is work, but a limited amount that can be done on Intel Mac's using V6. If you could post the beginning of the log file, some troubleshooting could be done based on the information in that.

P.S. The V7 beta can be installed without removing the V6 folding as they are installed in different locations. Just make sure V6 is stopped and any unit is completed first.

[rwh202]

fah6 having 0% CPU is OK - it's just the client managing the core

Not having FahCore_a3.exe at 100% (or 200% or whatever) is a problem.

Posting the log file will help, but I suspect you're just failing to get assigned work. The -advmethods flag seems to be necessary for the v6 client to find much work these days.

Also, may I respectfully refute the idea that v7 is anywhere near approaching a public release for OS X. Looking at bug 793, its looking like a complete rewrite for the FAHControl is in order. The Mac version is an abomination in its current form.
I've just had another go (I tried the first release that was optimistically called a beta), but you're still much better running the v6 console client to get any semblance of control over FaH.

[bruce]

If you choose to run V6 rather than the V7 beta version, that choice is always available to you. Your opinion is just as valid as mine. Running beta code is not for everybody.

In #793, Calxalot says "it's good enough for now." Personally, when I want to know what FAH is doing, I open FAHControl and look at it. If I'm doing something else, I close FAHControl. When I'm looking for bugs that need to be reported and fixed, I may do a lot of window resizing, but that's not my normal mode of operation. None of these bugs interfere with FAH folding for long periods with the GUI either open or closed.

[calxalot]

I was saying if upgrading to GTK 2.24.x fixes the resizing problems and crash, that that would be good enough for now.
The current FAHControl 7.1.38 is very unreliable on OSX 10.7, though I am successfully using it. When it crashes, I just restart it. I also use the green zoom button to maximize the window.

[Justin_C_Norman]

i just got a mac mini for a little project and figure i would run FAH on it while i wasn't using it... after installing and going to preferences to start it my machine also has no CPU usage. I finally figured out how to get to the directory and there is no log file either, just the fah6 app, mpiexec, and uninstall.sh ... i turned it off on the control panel, rebooted, then turned it on and rebooted and nothing. the process shows in the system activity monitor but at 0 usage. it sounds according to this thread i should drop it and wait for a stable v7? thanks. -jn

[Joe_H]

i just got a mac mini for a little project and figure i would run FAH on it while i wasn't using it... after installing and going to preferences to start it my machine also has no CPU usage. I finally figured out how to get to the directory and there is no log file either, just the fah6 app, mpiexec, and uninstall.sh ... i turned it off on the control panel, rebooted, then turned it on and rebooted and nothing. the process shows in the system activity monitor but at 0 usage. it sounds according to this thread i should drop it and wait for a stable v7? thanks. -jn

Have you set -smp and -advmethods in the "Extra parameters" line under Advanced settings of the Folding Control Panel? As for the logs and other settings files, they are not kept in the same directory as the executables fah6, mpiexec. Those are located in the Library folder of the account you are using to fold. The folder Folding@home contains them. If you are running 10.7 the accounts Library folder is hidden by default from what I understand, I am still on 10.6.8. What I have read is that you hold down the Option key while using the Finder's Go menu. That should show the Library folder as an option.

P.S. I am assuming you already entered your username, team and passkey in the Preferences of the Control Panel.

[Justin_C_Norman]

ah, well that helps a ton. so the log shows it is trying to retrieve work and there is none available. do i wait it out? do i need -smp and -advmethods on, i only ask because the setup instructions at folding.stanford.edu didn't mention it. if you think that will get it running i would be happy to do it. and yes, entered user/team. thanks for the insights.

[Joe_H]

Yes, you need the -smp parameter set, the only work available for OS X and the V6 client is SMP only. An earlier version of V6 for OS X was released with that set as a default, the 6.29 currently available may not have that set already. It has been a while since I did a bare install of V6, so my recent installs inherited an already configured setup for folding. I have not looked at the directions available from Stanford for V6 and OS X recently, but the last time I did they were a bit out of date.

As for the -advmethods parameter, I did come across a notice from one of the PG members that the OS X units still had that setting back in around October or November. That should improve your chances of getting work. The units for the projects available to OS X and V6 are fairly stable anyways, I think most are actually off advanced for Windows and Linux folders.

P.S. I went looking for that message, I think it was this one - viewtopic.php?f=18&t=20021&p=198976&hilit=+OS+X+advanced#p198976. It might have been changed since then, but I have not seen any posting.