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TomHMeredith · Apr 16, 2002, 01:26 PM

I've just started SETI running on my computer again (Pismo) and will be doing so on my new iMac when I get it on thursday.

Just one quick question, does anybody know if I can set the SETI screensaver to ask for a password? If I can set this up, I should be able to have SETI running 247!

Also, is there anyway to stop SETI constantly accessing the hard disk, as my computers are in my bedroom, and I'd rather not have the noise going all night!

Any help much appreciated!

Shaktai · Apr 16, 2002, 01:42 PM

Originally posted by TomHMeredith:
I've just started SETI running on my computer again (Pismo) and will be doing so on my new iMac when I get it on thursday.

Just one quick question, does anybody know if I can set the SETI screensaver to ask for a password? If I can set this up, I should be able to have SETI running 247!

Also, is there anyway to stop SETI constantly accessing the hard disk, as my computers are in my bedroom, and I'd rather not have the noise going all night!

Any help much appreciated!

I haven't ran the screensaver version in quite some time, so don't know if there is a way to get it to ask for a password. However to reduce drive noise and wear and tear, you can run it on a RAM Disk. I think there is some guidelines under SETI optimazations to do this.

Maybe someone else has some more info.

Tigerabbit · Apr 16, 2002, 07:09 PM

Assuming you mean for SETI to ask for a password to interrupt the screensaver, go to the SETI app, Settings menu, Preferences item. This should bring up a window titled (oddly enough) 'SETI@Home Preferences'. In the lower right corner of this window, there should be a check-box labelled 'Require Password'. Check it, and hit the 'Change Password' button below it. If no password has been set, enter one and hit 'Set'.

If you mean the password needed for changing team and such, go here and they'll email it to the address of record.

Hope this helps

TomHMeredith · Apr 17, 2002, 12:58 AM

Sorry, probably should have mentioned that I am running it on OS X, and the option in the preferences panel does not exist!

Shaktai · Apr 17, 2002, 01:16 AM

Aahh! I just found this. The important part is bolded.

Q: Why isn't the SETI@home screensaver a module which can be used with OS X's built-in screensaver engine?

A: OS X's built-in screensaver engine does not operate when no user is logged in. But the computer is especially idle in this situation. SETI@home uses its own screensaver engine so it can make use of this valuable CPU time.

Q: How can I take advantage of the password protection in OS X's built-in screensaver while using the SETI@home screensaver?

A: You can enable both screensavers at the same time. Then the SETI@home screensaver will process work units while the built-in screensaver provides password protection. But keep these points in mind:

- The built-in screensaver will consume some of the CPU time which might otherwise be available to SETI@home. To minimize this, use a simpler built-in module such as "Basic".

- The built-in screensaver will hide SETI@home's graphics. Since SETI@home runs much faster when graphics are turned off, set SETI@home's screensaver preferences to blank the screen after a short time.

Somewhere I saw an article about creating an ultra basic screensaver, essentially just a "black" screen to use with SETI. If I recall correctly, it involves just creating an all "black picture" putting it in its own folder and then using the slide show screensaver option. That way you can use the password option with the standard screensaver. SETI will run also when you "log-out" which a standard screensaver won't, then you have your log-in screen for password protection.

I might try that out and see how it works and let you know the results.

EDIT: I am testing that now. I set SETI to come on after 10 minutes and go to blank screen (for greatest speed) after 1 minute. I then set the standard screensaver (a solid Black jpeg) as the slide show screensaver to activate about a minute after that with password protection. Typically my iBook would do a work unit in 14-15 hours with the CLI client. I will see how this impacts performance in a few hours and let you know.

[ 04-17-2002: Message edited by: Shaktai ]

Shaktai · Apr 17, 2002, 01:27 PM

Tom,

I tried out that Screensaver option. What I did was create a 640x480 all black graphic and saved it as a .jpeg. (very small in size) I then placed it in its own folder, chose the standard screensaver with the slide show and password options. I set the time for the SETI Screensaver activation to 10 minutes with it blanking after 1 minute. I then set the OS-X screensaver to activate after about 11-12 minutes. It then required the passcode after activation. you could set any times though. I set corner activation on both the same.

Performance was okay. 1 unit in about 15.5 hours on my iBook 600. Also remember that if you log out, but don't shut down, the SETI screensaver will also activate, and run while logged out.

I hope this helps.

Shaktai · Apr 18, 2002, 02:15 AM

Tom,

Running the dual screensaver method I mentioned above worked well, with very little performance hit.

Again, Install SETI screensaver normally. Then create an all "black" gif or jpeg and save it to its own folder. 640x480 pixels is plenty big, and will still fall into the minimum file size for most hard drives. Select the slide show screensaver, and then select the folder with the black picture. Basically it will just keep showing the black picture over and over and over again, and will use very few resources. Set the time for the system screen saver to approx match the time for SETI screensaver. Also set the same manual activation corner for each, and then turn on password for the system screensaver. It works well without difficulty. The 15.5 hours I got per work unit, is about what I would have expected from the screensaver app anyway. Also keep in mind that if not working log out, and only the SETI screensaver will run.

I am still looking for a Mac OS-X Ram disk solution so the hard drive doesn't run all the time. Anyone have any ideas? The new iMac is supposed to be super quiet for both the fan and drive, but the power book I know isn't .

I hope this has helped.

reader50 · Apr 18, 2002, 03:00 AM

The RAM disk option seems to be a non-issue under X. OS X automatically caches to free RAM, and flushes only when the RAM is needed, or the next time something needs to access the HD.

I set my HD to sleep in 15 minutes, and let the projects run overnight. SETI, RC5, Folding, dFold. Whichever client is running, the result is the same. In the morning, when I do something to the computer, the HD spins up. It was spun down all night.

Incidentally, I've had a couple of OS X lockups that required a reset. If it happens after a file editing session, the files will have "reverted" to previous states the next time I boot up. The automatic RAM cache had not managed to flush before the system lockup.

Grozni Majmun · Apr 18, 2002, 12:06 PM

Originally posted by reader50:

I set my HD to sleep in 15 minutes, and let the projects run overnight. SETI, RC5, Folding, dFold. Whichever client is running, the result is the same. In the morning, when I do something to the computer, the HD spins up. It was spun down all night.

Reader, how do you run dfold? When I leave it running, the HD doesn't spin down. Do you use -qt or what?

reader50 · Apr 18, 2002, 12:58 PM

I just leave it running in a Terminal window, usually minimized to the Dock.

To be fair, I just remembered that I have two HD's in my G4. I should disconnect the other HD, and see if both are spinning down overnight, or only one.

Grozni Majmun · Apr 18, 2002, 01:24 PM

Originally posted by reader50:
I just leave it running in a Terminal window, usually minimized to the Dock.

To be fair, I just remembered that I have two HD's in my G4. I should disconnect the other HD, and see if both are spinning down overnight, or only one.

I don't think minimizing it to the dock is a good idea. Check top. My dock eats up 30-50% of the cpu when I have the dfold terminal window drawing ascii art in the dock. I'll try and see about running it the normal way (not as I do now with the -qt switch), perhaps it doesn't access the disk that way. I'd just be more inclined to leave it running overnight if the hard disk would spin down.