BOINC 6.1.8 graphics bugs.

[Ageless]

I was just testing the new screen saver/graphics on Pirates, but found that I never even got them. So I continued testing all other applications I have that do show graphics, like Einstein 4.26 beta app with BOINC 6 compliant graphics, Seti@Home 5.27 (B5), CPDN Beta (B5).

I found that with Seti and CPDN, the Show graphics button stays grayed out. When I force run Einstein, it'll show the graphics without a problem.

So then I checked my setup, it is the service install after all.
Went to services.msc and made sure I had the local system account option checked, complete with interaction to the desktop. Set them again, stopped the BOINC service, applied, started the service, opened BM and still grayed out show graphics button on all tasks, but for on the Einstein task.

I then tested it with local system account off, set the service to run under my own name only. Same effect in BOINC manager.

6.1.7 worked fine on this, so something in between changed and broke the BOINC 5 compliant graphics for me.

Einstein's graphics can always be called upon, even when the task isn't running. The Show graphics button doesn't gray out when you select the task in the Tasks tab. It will disable itself after 5 seconds of running, though. Is that a check in the application to see if the computation thread is running?

[Ageless]

Changing to new Milestone.

[Ageless]

And adding new version.

[Ageless]

Have tested this up to 6.1.16 now, still no graphics button for BOINC 5 applications in advanced view, not even with the local system account/interaction (lsa/iwtd) with the desktop selected. But I have found that the graphics do work from from simple view.

Although the bug here is when you use the BOINC account (not lsa/iwtd) that in simple view BOINC 5 compatible applications show "graphics available", but clicking the link doesn't do a thing. No window that opens. Nothing.

[Pepo]

I've tested (windowed) graphics subsystem with 6.2.1 (protected service install, running as boinc_master, WinXP SP2) and tried to understand it in agreement with available docs (various emails, forum posts and especially GraphicsApi and ClientSetupLogicWinSix).

So far, Boinc alpha UpperCase 6.07 and Einstein 4.26 were able to display graphics window with moving contents, when invoked from Boinc Manager, launched as the Manager's child processes (belonging to domain user=myself, session 0, Note: Windows installer version 6 implementation document says that "Apps and graphics app run under [boinc_project] account" - not true in my case), apparently with a missing shared memory segment to the application - no exchange of user data to be displayed. Boinc Manager did not supply the Show graphics button for any other app amog tested ones - probably noone correctly suported v6 graphics, as expected.

After finishing UpperCase tasks, all (two, on 2 CPU machine) graphics windows remained running. Upon launching one new graphics window (many minutes later), one of these older windows got closed and a new one opened. As I do have two different Boinc alpha projects attached (boinc and isaac.ssl) and tried them both, after the tests I've finally ended up with 4 orphaned graphics winows running: 2+1 for UpperCase and 1 for Einstein (which replaced the fourth UpperCase's graphics window - actually, why 4 and not 5 windows? I'd understand up to nCPUs windows for any project URL.)

It is getting tough for v6-unaware 3rd-party managers. BoincView? was able to invoke the app graphics windows (any number of them concurently, 1 for each running or preempted graphically-aware app) until 5.10.45, either as apps' graphics thread or apps' graphics child process. Now it is still offering launching graphics from graphics-aware applications, but either nothing observable appears (graphics thread?), or the graphics process is launched as an science application's child - most of them terminated after 100-200 msec, just the Einstein's one survived and kept consuming the expected ~5% of CPU (belonged to local user=boinc_project, session 0), just without any visible window - apparently no permissions to interact with my desktop.

[Pepo]

Two more v6-graphics-aware applications:

• WCG's dddt 6.05 opens a comand line window and a correctly working graphics window, with interactive moving contents and displayed and updated user/WU/progress information.
• Rosetta's minirosetta 1.19 opens graphics window without an interactive protein displayed (well, it was there on previous minirosettas, until 5.10.45), but with updated user/WU/progress information.

[Pepo]

Replying to Pepo:

• WCG's dddt 6.05 opens a comand line window and a correctly working graphics window, with interactive moving contents and displayed and updated user/WU/progress information.

As an exception to all other graphics applications tested so far, dddt 6.05's graphics is closed whenever the main application is being suspended. I suppose the window will be closed upon finishing the computation too. (I still observe other apps for their behavior upon exit. Although it is possibly up to an application to let its graphics window be closed upon exit and it omits to do so, IMHO the Manager should notice it and close it instead. (Except that the graphics window was launched independently on the application - see #540 Add option to run BOINC screen saver only)).

One more v6-graphics-aware application:

• SETI Astropulse 4.30 opens a correctly working graphics window, with interactive moving contents and displayed and updated user/WU/progress information. (I've seen the progress value showing something like "-#*" for a brief fraction of second - any issue with protocol? Missing synchronization while accesing the shared memory data block?)

[Pepo]

Neither Boinc alpha uppercase 6.07's nor minirosetta 1.19's graphics windows are closed upon application exit.

[romw]

I believe these issues are resolved in current builds.