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Message 22051 - Posted: 15 Apr 2006, 10:10:53 UTC

Hi,

I am well into two BOINC Projects, namely CP and SETI, but I want to upgrade my computer. My plan is to purchase a new motherboard/RAM/CPU/graphics-card combination, and to leave my existing hard-drives intact, so I don\'t need to re-install XP and all my software. I know that I\'ll have to re-authorise XP as the PC has changed, but I was just wondering if there are any issues with BOINC. Will it \"see\" the new computer and simply run the projects at a higher speed (upgrading from old P4 2.8GHz to an AMD dual-core 4400+ with 2Gb RAM).

Regards,

Neil.
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Message 22054 - Posted: 15 Apr 2006, 10:47:00 UTC

Should be OK, but you\'re likely to see the old stats against the machine? Not sure if this will fix itself or not.
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Les Bayliss
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Message 22057 - Posted: 15 Apr 2006, 10:55:13 UTC

Hmmmm. Might be some hassles going from Intel to AMD.
BOINC looks at things like that, and this info gets stored on the servers, as well as in some of the files on your PC. client_state.xml at least.

It would be best if you made a backup of the entire BOINC folder, even if somewhere on the same hard disk.
BOINC may decide to allocate a new computer ID, as the original one is associated with the Intel processor.
But you\'ll have a backup if it ends up in a mess, and you can yell for help.

I think that I\'d use both \"Suspend\", and \"Network activity suspended\", (both in the menu), before making the change over. Then select \"Run always\", with the network still off, and see what messages I got, with special attention to the computer ID, and anything else near the start.


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Message 22066 - Posted: 15 Apr 2006, 17:56:35 UTC
Last modified: 15 Apr 2006, 23:10:04 UTC

Neil, Might consider a new Power Supply, too, depending on what\'s with the P4. Good choice of CPU!

Edit: By the way, one of my boxes has a P4 2.8 HT CPU. It ran a Spinup Model (HT off, because of time constraints to finish the Runs [required for cpdn.bbc project]) and now runs a Seasonal Model (still with HT off because the box has only one Gig of RAM and each Seasonal Model wants that much) at 20% OC.

That 20% was with a machine not opened since it was built (shop seal). Finally opened it a couple weeks ago and interrupted a dust-bunny olympics. (Blew clouds from the CPU heat sink.) Still, the CPU never complained by cutting its speed in all that time.

I rate the 2.8 above the three 3.0s I had. (Only two of them could sustain a 5% OC!) All on ASUS P4P800 MoBo, with off-the-shelf memory.
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Message 22115 - Posted: 17 Apr 2006, 7:28:57 UTC - in response to Message 22066.  

Hi,
I have already upgraded the PSU - good tip though. My PC came with a weedy, cheap looking 300W thing. I now have a nice silent Akasa 480W ATX2 model.

The CPU is a good one definitely; I would love to have an FX-60 or FX-62 when it comes out, but failing that, I may start on the upgrade path as follows. I\'ll buy the Asus A8N mobo/4400+/2Gb RAM now. In a years time, the FX-60 cpu should be cheap as chips, so could stick one in the same slot!

It is clocked higher, and has 2 x 2Mb L2 cache. Should be good. Is 2Gb RAM fine with a dual-core, or should I get more?

Neil.




Neil, Might consider a new Power Supply, too, depending on what\'s with the P4. Good choice of CPU!

Edit: By the way, one of my boxes has a P4 2.8 HT CPU. It ran a Spinup Model (HT off, because of time constraints to finish the Runs [required for cpdn.bbc project]) and now runs a Seasonal Model (still with HT off because the box has only one Gig of RAM and each Seasonal Model wants that much) at 20% OC.

That 20% was with a machine not opened since it was built (shop seal). Finally opened it a couple weeks ago and interrupted a dust-bunny olympics. (Blew clouds from the CPU heat sink.) Still, the CPU never complained by cutting its speed in all that time.

I rate the 2.8 above the three 3.0s I had. (Only two of them could sustain a 5% OC!) All on ASUS P4P800 MoBo, with off-the-shelf memory.


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Message 22130 - Posted: 17 Apr 2006, 11:16:20 UTC
Last modified: 17 Apr 2006, 11:17:13 UTC

Thanks to the great wisdom of microsoft, you\'ll run into difficulties with anything more than 2GB (4GB not recognised by default by WinXP SP2. 3GB would mean unmatched sticks). Also, having 4 sticks of ram rather than 2 can slow down the memory access speed (harder for the chipset to handle).
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Message 22147 - Posted: 17 Apr 2006, 15:00:15 UTC - in response to Message 22057.  


Les,

Sounds a little \"scary\"!!!
I\'ll follow your advice about suspending the projects. Luckily, I only run CPDN & SETI.
I guess the worst that can happen, is that I end up with a new Computer ID and my stats go a bit screwy? Surely, it is the same as someone adding a new PC to their BOINC network. My user name will be the same, and my account-key will remain.
Surely, the projects will still run, once I have selected \"Run always\" as you suggested?

Is there anyone else out there who has upgradedmobo/CPU/RAM whilst running BOINC Projects?

If I went for an Intel dual-core system, would that be OK for BOINC or will it see the change as the same as going to an AMD CPU?

Neil.



Hmmmm. Might be some hassles going from Intel to AMD.
BOINC looks at things like that, and this info gets stored on the servers, as well as in some of the files on your PC. client_state.xml at least.

It would be best if you made a backup of the entire BOINC folder, even if somewhere on the same hard disk.
BOINC may decide to allocate a new computer ID, as the original one is associated with the Intel processor.
But you\'ll have a backup if it ends up in a mess, and you can yell for help.

I think that I\'d use both \"Suspend\", and \"Network activity suspended\", (both in the menu), before making the change over. Then select \"Run always\", with the network still off, and see what messages I got, with special attention to the computer ID, and anything else near the start.




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Message 22402 - Posted: 26 Apr 2006, 3:09:42 UTC

your not going to re-install XP after a motherboard change, you are mad......mad I tell you

I have done this when going from the DFI NF4 SLI-DR to teh eXpert but these are the SAME chipset and I still debated it

I would DEFINITELY re-install XP when performing a major motherboard change

the only conceivable way to avoid this would be to uninstall all your drivers, then use something like \"drive cleaner pro\" to rid yourself of the \"junk\" left behind and try it

I suspect you will have issues as the registry will be bloated full of crap

If you want 2Gb of ram go for 2X1Gb sticks

4X512Mb is hard to get running right on the AMD64 platform as Mike said


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Message 22498 - Posted: 30 Apr 2006, 10:27:21 UTC - in response to Message 22402.  


MAD???? Don\'t know about that - probably just mis-informed would be better. I have raised the topic on several Forums, and you are the first to tell me to re-install Windows. Why do I need to re-install it exactly? I have a good registry cleaner and it is fine at the moment.
If I just sick in a new mobo and re-authorise XP, surely that\'ll be fine? Why the re-installation of XP - please inform me.

Neil.


your not going to re-install XP after a motherboard change, you are mad......mad I tell you

I have done this when going from the DFI NF4 SLI-DR to teh eXpert but these are the SAME chipset and I still debated it

I would DEFINITELY re-install XP when performing a major motherboard change

the only conceivable way to avoid this would be to uninstall all your drivers, then use something like \"drive cleaner pro\" to rid yourself of the \"junk\" left behind and try it

I suspect you will have issues as the registry will be bloated full of crap

If you want 2Gb of ram go for 2X1Gb sticks

4X512Mb is hard to get running right on the AMD64 platform as Mike said



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Message 22504 - Posted: 30 Apr 2006, 15:01:26 UTC

I have successfully transferred XP to a new M/B (AMD Slot A 750 to Athlon64 3000) without having to reinstall it, but I did use the \'prepare\'* function beforehand.

From what I can gather it\'s a bit hit-and-miss whether it works cleanly or not (but \'prepare\' makes it a bit more likely to work). You may end up with a system that blue screens quite a bit.

But note that Racinjimy is far more sensible than I am :-) He\'s probably concerned that the existing HAL you have on your current machine will be the incorrect one. Note that the Microsoft knowledgebase will tell you the same, that you should reinstall if making a significant change to the chipset.

* I think it was \'prepare\' anyway. This command is used in corporate sites for preparing a windows image which can be installed in bulk onto new machines. It tells Windows that the underlying hardware is about to change, and not to make any assumptions about which HAL to use. Microsoft give you this command, but \'at your own risk\'.
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Message 23887 - Posted: 10 Aug 2006, 6:16:26 UTC - in response to Message 22057.  

Hi all,

Just to let you know that I have successfuly upgraded my PC to a new 950D dual-core for some more BOINC crunching power.
XP did need to be re-installed, but it all seems fine right now and I am happily BOINCing away!!

Thanks for all of your advice and help.

Regards,

Neil.
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Message 24450 - Posted: 29 Sep 2006, 3:16:56 UTC - in response to Message 23887.  

Hi all,

Just to let you know that I have successfuly upgraded my PC to a new 950D dual-core for some more BOINC crunching power.
XP did need to be re-installed, but it all seems fine right now and I am happily BOINCing away!!

Thanks for all of your advice and help.

Regards,

Neil.


I didn\'t read the entire thread, if it was covered, I apologize. You have the option of merging computers in your account info for any given client that you run. I\'ve merged Intel into AMD and vice versa previously and had no issues (though I still have an AMD 2500 floating around that won\'t merge for some reason). It seemed that needing the same computer name (ID) was necessary. Hope this helps you get your credit merged onto your existing rig.
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Message 30132 - Posted: 23 Aug 2007, 2:10:53 UTC - in response to Message 24450.  

Hi all, Just to let you know that I have successfuly upgraded my PC to a new 950D dual-core for some more BOINC crunching power. XP did need to be re-installed, but it all seems fine right now and I am happily BOINCing away!! Thanks for all of your advice and help. Regards, Neil.
... You have the option of merging computers in your account info for any given client that you run. I\'ve merged Intel into AMD and vice versa previously and had no issues (though I still have an AMD 2500 floating around that won\'t merge for some reason). It seemed that needing the same computer name (ID) was necessary. Hope this helps you get your credit merged onto your existing rig.
Hi, how did you do the merging? CPDN says, I have no hosts to merge, even if there are.

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