• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Step-by-step instruction on how to install SMP Folding into Windows Vista

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

TommyHolly

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Location
Chicago
Horrible ugly lime green mod edit:
WinSMP on XP and Vista (older thread, use Tommy's one for Vista and this link for XP?)
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=505126
-- David 16MAY08



READ THIS FIRST! This may seem like a very long and difficult installation. Please don't be fooled because it's actualy very easy. :)

I spelled out everything in detail, step-by-step so that even a 4th grader could follow the directions and find or create any file needed. This way you need very little knowledge of how to install it. I just had my 91 year old Grandfather install the SMP client a few hours ago after reading this... Keep in mind he grew up when horses delivered ice cubes and milk to his shack that had no electricty. If he can do it, so can you.
My Grandfather --> :cool:

I'm finally finished! Woot! :bday: I've combined leelegend, Landshark, Adak, and a bunch of other people's information along with mine into one thread and will be editing this if we identify new problems or fixes. Please PM me or respond to this if you figure out something that can help. As you see I've made this as simple as possible so that any level PC user, novice to expert to OCforum member, should be able to install SMP for TEAM 32 within about 10-20 minutes.

I personally tested this guide out on 3 different computers instaling it at the same time using the same operating systems. I used SMP version 5.91 (Newest version as of 8May2008) My 3 new computers are a Dell Inspiron 530 with a Quad-core 2.4GHz, a Dell Inspiron 530 with a Dual-core 2.33Ghz, and a Dell XPS1330 laptop with a Dual-core 2.4Ghz, all 3 using Windows Vista Premium with 3-4GB of memory. This guide will help me (and you hopefully) install the SMP program as simple as putting together furniture from Ikea.






Instructions for Windows Vista for use with Dual or Quad core PCs:

Pre-Install:
All steps should be done in the administrator account of the person that will log in all the time. This way you can see any errors that might pop up if you are not the one that uses the PC all the time. Also, I like to make sure every available Windows Vista/Hardware/Software update is already installed so there is less chance of something new to interfere with the FAH SMP. So go and update your PC before doing this.

1. First turn off the User Account Controls (UAC) by going to Start>>>Control Panel>>>User Accounts and unchecking the box. You will probably have to restart the PC after doing so.

2. Turning off UAC will unfortunately make that red shield pop up on your taskbar warning you frequently that your UAC is turned off. The only way I know how to make that dissappear permanently is to shut the notifications off by going to: Start>>>Control Panel>>>Security Center>>>"Change the way security center alerts me">>>and then choosing "Don't notify me and don't display the icon." WARNING: This will shut off that shield that used to turn red and notify you if you have real problems. Yeah I know that really suucks... :bang head Once I find a way to disable UAC and permanently remove that warning for ONLY the UAC then I'll edit this.

2.a I reccommend you completely uninstall your anti-virus program during installation! It is confirmed programs like Norton Anti-Virus (any version), Nod32, and AVG 8.0 and newer stop the normal Folding@Home client and block files critical to running the SMP client!! I reccomend a free anti-virus program called Avast! Here is the link: http://www.download.com/Avast-Home-Edition/3000-2239_4-10019223.html?cdlPid=10825540 I downloaded and installed the free Home edition of Avast Antivirus for 7 of my PCs running F@H and SMP and it works great. But there's a catch: Avast Home Edition works for only 60 days after initial installation. In order to keep using the free edition, you will need to register for a free license key by e-mail. This license key is valid for one year. After that time, you will need to reregister to continue using the free edition.
Again, Norton Antivirus, AVG version 8.0 or newer, and Nod32 will stop you from folding!!

3. Make a file in your C drive called FAH (All your Folding info is easy to find later on by doing this but it's not necessary.)

4. Download the SMP installation program and save it into your new C:\FAH folder. Here is the link: http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/download.html Just search for the latest version on the Stanford webpage, (as of 8May2008 it's version 5.91). You are looking for "Windows 2000/XP/Vista SMP Client version"

4.a Note: You want the latest version because as soon as the new one comes out, Stanford says the old version will stop working like a Union guy on strike. As I write this the most currrent version is SMP 5.91 but I have seen people that are already using 5.92!! (I can't find the link for the new version?)

5. Skip all of step 5 if this is a fresh, brand new PC... Note: If you have previsouly tried to install this before and failed or have some other Folding@Home client running you MUST shut down all stray cores by doing this: Start>>>Programs>>>Accessories>>>Command Prompt and typing:
smpd -remove (then enter)
mpiexec -remove (then enter)

5a. Check the task manager to make sure neither smpd or mpiexec or any stray cores are running (force them to quit in the Task Manager if they are)




Installing SMP:

1. Go to your new C:\FAH folder and double-click on the "Folding@Home SMP Client" intstaller.

2. Read over the first few lines about the mandatory programs needed... Microsoft.net and all that stuff are already installed if you are using Vista. (This is why I said earlier it's important to Windows-Update your PC first before installing SMP)

3. A window will pop-up asking if you should install for all users. Make sure you click on the top "Install for all users" otherwise if someone else shuts down the PC and logs on thier account, F@H SMP will not start back up!

4. Browse and install it into the C:\FAH folder (Again, you can choose the default but my preference is using my own C:\FAH folder.) This puts all the SMP folding files into whatever folder you choose.

5. Click on the install batch file. (It says "install" and has a little picture of gears on it)

6. As soon as you do this, Windows Firewall pops up. Click on "unblock" on both windows that pop up.

7. A command prompt window will open up saying:
MPICH2 Process manager, Argonne National Lab installed.
account <domain user> and it should have your PC's name and the account you are currently logged into.
(Someone tell me if it says "Argonne National Lab" for you guys too? I live 3 miles away from Argonne and I'm wondering if Argonne has anything to do with FAH?)

7a. First type in the name of the main user's log-in account EXACTLY the way it appears at the main log-in screen. This MUST be an administrator account. (Don't worry, this isn't for the points, this just tells your PC who is starting up SMP to give the SMP program access.)

7b. Next it will ask you for that person's password and then you have to confirm it. This encrypts that user's password into the registry. (I'd guess if you or that person ever changed your password to log into your PC, the SMP program would not be able to start up... To update a new password just click on the install batch file again.)

7.c If you installed this correctly and got the MPI working with your Log-in name and password you will see this:
If you see this twice, MPI is working
If you see this twice, MPI is working
Press any key to continue...

8. If the command prompt window closed by itself just reopen a new one... otherwise continue on and type, "fah -forceasm -verbosity 9" without quotes to actually start the SMP Folding@Home program. (By the way, I'm thinking that if you have yourself as a second administrator account on the PC, it might be better to use your own name and password. That way if your parents/friend/coworker decide to change thier password, SMP will still work for you as long as you still have an active adminisrator account set up.)

9. Finally! This is the part where you enter in your settings for the usual F@H and your actual Folding@Home name for points...

9a. Name: Just enter whatever name you use

9b. Team: You MUST USE team 32! Just type "32" without the quotes and hit enter. If you don't, Ninjas will come into your room tonight and stab you in the throat twisting the blade so you die painfully. =) :sn:

9c. Launch automatically at machine startup, installing this as a service? NO (Note: Some people here have been able to run this as a service without any problems... For now you will just have to use the cmdow.exe program I cover in the next section. If the service installation becomes easy and if someone makes a walk through for me to post here, just tell me and I'll edit this.)

9.c.i Earlier versions had an inverted sentance question about setting this up as a service...(Example: Is this guide not making sense? Click yes or no) Make sure you read what it says! Luckily the newest versions for the SMP installer say very clearly in English now and the correct answer should be NO.

9d. Ask before fetching work units? NO

9e. Use internet settings? NO (Note: Some people might have to if you have some sort of crazy set up... The average user should choose NO.)

9f. Use a proxy? NO

9g. Allow receipt of work units greater than 5MB in size? YES (Note: If you don't choose YES, then you will probably not get the program to work because everything in the SMP program is greater than 5MB.)

9h. Change adavanced options? NO

10. You should see the SMP Folding@Home program start to download it's first work unit! :) Then go into the taskbar and look at the system performance and make sure its running at 100%. Finally click on the process tab and you should probably see (4) seperate FAHcore's running. If you add them all up, they should come close to 100% Congratulations! :bday: You are on your way to HUGE points using the F@H SMP program. (Note: Always check the processes because I have found things like HP printer drivers that steal 100% of the available power effectively stopping the F@H program from running! :mad:)

10a. Make sure you immediately look for a file called "Client.cfg" in your FAH folder... Open it using the notepad and make sure your name and team are correct. (I had some trouble with this defaulting to "Anonomous" and "Team 0" for some unknown reason. Here is an example:
Code:
[settings]
username=TommyHolly
team=32
asknet=no
bigpackets=yes
machineid=1

[http]
active=no
host=localhost
port=8080
usereg=no

10b. Don't stop there... Now you have a SMP program window thats out in the open and can be stopped by closing the window. I don't reccomend using one of those generic "hidewindow.exe" programs to hide it in the taskbar because then you can shut down F@H SMP on accident in the taskbar. There is a program called "cmdow.exe" that used to be difficult in getting it to work, however this guide will make things easy going step-by-step.




Installing cmdow.exe to hide the SMP program:
This will hide the window that runs SMP automatically upon startup. (Almost like a service but as soon as you log in, the window pops up really quick and then dissappears.) I HIGHLY RECCOMEND that you uninstall your anti-virus program while doing this next part. Yes, that is what I said, completely uninstall all traces of your anti-virus program. I've been having trouble for the last 15 hours making this guide mainly because most anti-virus programs view cmdow.exe as a hacking tool and block it. When you are ready to move on, there are two different paths:


Installing cmdow.exe using Landshark's pre-made batch files:
Landshark was nice enough to pre-make some batch files for us. However there is an error in one of them and I've identified it here so this would be the easier of the two ways to install cmdow.exe

1. First save the Landshark zipfile cmdow.exe to your C:\FAH folder. Here is the link: http://www.ocforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=63696&d=1206742876

1.b If that link/attachment does not work, here is the thread where I originally found it from Landshark: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=553793 Just go down to post #9 and look for Landshark's attachment.

1.c Go to your trusty C:\FAH folder and unzip the contents of the cmdow zip file right back into the C:\FAH folder. (I had trouble trying to run the files directly out of WinZip... It's better in this case just to dump them in your folder first, then try and use them.)

1.d Just so you know, when I try and download the cmdow zip file off this website, my AVG anti-virus displays a warning... However, I've used this on many different computers and it's completely harmless. AVG is being a real pain in the arse and I'm having trouble just trying to drag and drop that cmdow.exe program in the FAH folder...rrrrgh It just doesn't like it so I had to uninstall AVG while I set this up!! (AVG has had many problems lately...also almost all Anti-virus companies view cmdow.exe as a hacking/virus tool so I reccomend to completely uninstall the anti-virus program during installation of SMP.)

2. THIS IS IMPORTANT! In Landshark's zip file is something called "shortcut fah.bat" ERASE IT! The PC will get confused because he added the .bat part at the end causing your PC to not recognise it as a shortcut so we will have to make our own.

2.a To make your own shortcut, simply find the "fah" batch file and right click on it, then select create short cut.

2.b We will now need to open up your Startmenu folder. To find it simply right click on the Start menu>>>Explore all users>>>Programs>>>Startup... Take your newly created shortcut you made in your C:\FAH folder and drag it into the startup tab.

2.c You can also make another shortcut to your fah batch file and drag it to your desktop. That way for whatever reason it does not start up automatically, you can just click on your desktop link.

2.d Keep in mind that you've just made your very own process to startup automatically. (If you switch your start menu to classic view) You can see your new start-up process if you click on Start>>>Run>>>type MSCONFIG>>>hit enter>>>click on the Startup tab) Warning: If you click off the checkbox for this process, cmdow.exe will fail to bring up the F@H SMP upon starting up your PC.



Installing cmdow.exe and making your own batch files from scratch:
This is requires knowledge of how to make batch files and it takes a few more minutes... Landshark said, "a bonus of using cmdow is you can hide or unhide the cmd box at will with these two bat files!! I like it better than service as I could have the cmd box pop back up to check on the folding status/log, especially when it's still in beta stage. and I could also hide the cmd box back too when done!!"

1. Download the cmdow zip file from the original website: http://www.commandline.co.uk/cmdow/ Then save it in your C:\FAH folder.

2. Unzip the contents of the folder right back into the C:\FAH folder. Do not try and run things directly from a zipped file because it won't automatically the next time you start up. Always drag the contents out first.

3. You need to make three batch files using Notepad. To find Notepad just click on Start>>>Programs>>>Accessories>>>Notepad

3.a This is your fah batch file: In notepad copy and paste this line without the quotes, "start cmdow.exe /RUN /HID fah.exe -verbosity 9 -forceasm -advmethods" and save it in your C:\FAH folder as "fah.bat" without quotes.

3.b This is your fah unhide file: In notepad copy and paste this line:

cmdow.exe "C:\Program Files\Folding@Home Windows SMP Client V1.01\fah.exe" /VIS

NOTE: Keep in mind that you need to change the location from C:\Program Files\Folding@Home probably to C:\FAH or something like that. Because I have no idea how batch files work with SMP, (I read somewhere it had to do with voodoo and magic elves?), you will have to make your own and test it. I've been at this for about 20 hours now testing different ways of installing SMP so if you want to figure out the exact thing you should type doing it the custom way, tell me and I'll update it here programmer boy.

3.c This is your fah hide file: In Notepad copy and paste the following:

"cmdow.exe "C:\Program Files\Folding@Home Windows SMP Client V1.01\fah.exe" /HID

Note: Again, this is the custom way to do things so I can't support you making the batch files because I'm all out of magic elves. PM me if you are 100% sure of what to type in notepad if you labled your folder C:\FAH

4. Finally all we have left is to make your own shortcut in the starteup menu... Simply find the "fah" batch file you made and right click on it, then select create short cut.

4.a We will now need to open up your Startmenu folder. To find it simply right click on the Start menu>>>Explore all users>>>Programs>>>Startup... Take your newly created shortcut you made in your C:\FAH folder and drag it into the startup tab.

4.b You can also make another shortcut to your fah batch file and drag it to your desktop. That way for whatever reason it does not start up automatically, you can just click on your desktop link.

4.c Keep in mind that you've just made your very own process to startup automatically. (If you switch your start menu to classic view) You can see your new start-up process if you click on Start>>>Run>>>type MSCONFIG>>>hit enter>>>click on the Startup tab) Warning: If you click off the checkbox for this process, cmdow.exe will fail to bring up the F@H SMP upon starting up your PC.



Using SMP:

1. CONGRATULATIONS! All you have to do now is simply restart your PC to test if everything goes right.

2. What you should see after the PC restarts and you log in is a command prompt window that pops up momentarily and then dissappears in a second or two.

3. To check to see if it's running, open up the "Task Manager" by holding down the Control+Alt+Delete keys and choosing "Tank Manager. Go over to the performance tab which should read 100%. Then click on the "Processes" tab and verify you have (4) FahCore_a1 (soon to be a2!) running and thier totals should add up to around 100%

3.a Warning: I have seen some other programs steal away 100% of the processes effectively stopping F@H from running. You can read about it at this link: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=557658



Monitoring SMP:

1. I use a program called "FahSpy" and here is the link: http://www.fahspy.com/index.shtml

2. FahSpy is very easy to install and use. Download the version you want and extract the zip file contents into your C:\\FAH folder.

3. Simply start the program and it should look like this below: (If not, then direct it to the folder your "fah.log" file is in.)
FAHSPYpic.jpg



Tweaking SMP

1. There is a program out there called "Affinity Changer" that is able to speed up the SMP Folding program by about 10-20%!!! All the cool kids are using it, why don't you? It works very well and it's safe so you don't have to worry about it messing anything up.

1a. Here is the link: http://distributed.org.ua/forum/index.php?showtopic=1149

2. Just go to the link provided and you can download the latest version.

2a. It will only work with this setup!! READ THIS!! (Note: If anyone finds another setup, please tell me and I'll change this ASAP.)
- Core2 Duo running 1 instance of SMP
- Core2 Quad running 2 instances of SMP
(Note: Running this on a Quad running only 1 instance will give you no gain!)




Troubleshooting:
Because SMP is in Beta, you are bound to have trouble getting this to work first try. If it all goes well for you on your very first installation, then you should go out and buy a lottery ticket then go to the doctor to have him check you for a horseshoe up your bum.

SMP is still too unstable to run as a service I've been told, (as of 8May2008) so for now you will have to deal with the bugs and the crashes and check this guide or others for solutions. Here are some possible causes and fixes:

1. SMP won't start up! Solution: Did you enter the name and password of an administrator EXACTLY as it appears in the log-in screen?

2. SMP won't start up! Solution: Check to see if you made a shortcut of the actual fah batch file and not something else with the same name. Then make sure that shortcut is in the startup folder. If that doesn't work, you may need to make your very own fah batch file from scratch. (To make one from scratch, just go to Installing cmdow.exe from scratch section)

3. SMP won't start up! Solution: Did you remove the checkmark in the startup tab for "Shortcut to fah" while removing useless programs in the msconfig menu?

4. SMP won't start up! Solution: Did your anti-virus program block it? Again, make sure you do the entire installation process with your Anti-Virus program uninstalled. I've been using AVG and it's been having trouble with the cmdow.exe even after F@H SMP is already running... I have no idea how to add cmdow and all the special bacth files we made into the accepted files list for anti-virus programs but that would be one way to fix it.

5. SMP won't start up! Solution: Did you forget to unblock any of the Folding or SMP programs from the built in Windows Firewall? If you did, you may have to start the installation from scratch...

6. SMP won't start up! Solution: Did you forget to turn off that annoying User Account Control (UAC)?

7. SMP crashes immediately, I'm getting a ton of erros or SMP restarts after a few hours of being on! Solution: Are you really really overclocked? This is a Beta program and is very unstable. Check around our forum to see what is stable settings when running teh SMP client.

8. I'm not receiving points and its been a few days! Solution: Did you forget to input your actual folding name instead of re-entering the login ID for the PC you are using? (You do this immediately after clicking on the install.bat file)

9. I'm not receiving points and its been a few days! Solution: Are you using dial-up? These SMP files are HUGE and have a time limit of just 4 days. It takes a while to download the results back to stanford and dial-up will kick you off frequently. You can read about my adventures with this one here at this link: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=557917

10. SMP starts up the first time but after I restart my PC, it does not start up by itself anymore? Solution: Your anti-virus update might have found it and stopped it after some new update? Stupid frikkin anti-virus programs...

11. I can't get SMP to automatically start up even once? If you heeded my advice about uninstalling your anti-virus software before installing SMP... Then I had to click on the cmdow.exe program a few times in a row and then manually start up the SMP client by clicking on the fah.bat batch file we made. I don't know why this works but I'm sure it has something to do with voodoo and magic elves.

12. SMP will start up automatically upon logging in, but it won't automatically hide itself! Solution: This is one I had problems with a few times? ARRRGH!! :bang head For some reason it wouldn't hide when I installed SMP on my Mom's Dual-core last month and this past weekend on my laptop? I got it fixed, but I really don't know which step finally fixed it... I just kept uninstalling my Anti-virus program, deleting the shortcut out of the startup folder, erasing the shortcut by emptying the recycle bin, making a new fah.bat batch file from scratch, making a new shortcut, restarting, verifying that it works on startup and then hides, then re-installing my anti-virus. Out of everything, getting it to hide was by far the most time consuming and hardest. I'm gonna set some magic elf traps and stick em' in my PC so they can make sure no more problems like this arise.

13. What operating system is this guide for? Answer: Any version of Windows Vista... If you look on the web, there are extra things you can do about hiding that stupid UAC warning without shutting down your warning system in the Security Center in versions of Vista Business and Ultimate but I've had no luck with the things I've found for the normal versions of Vista. Also, you can probably use this SMP installation guide for XP but there are additional bugs you will encounter. (Mostly things to do with not updating your PC to the latest version of Windows) I hear SMP works way better on Linux but I don't even really know what Linux is besides one more confusing operating system to learn. Here is a link to the installation guide from Stanford: http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/FAQ-SMP.html

14. What types of PCs can run SMP? Answer: I know for sure this SMP installation process will work fine on Dual-Core and Quad-Core Intel based platforms. I've read that it will work fine with AMD but once you get into those Oct-Core (8-core or Dual-Quad server setups), then you know probably are inside the Matrix right now and go by the name of "The Architect" and know much more about computers then I do.

15. My SMP program worked fine for months and all of the sudden it no longer works! Solution: The SMP client is a beta client that stanford said they will stop using once a newer version comes out. If and when that happens a few months from now, the 5.91 client we just installed will no longer work...maybe? (Shakes magic 8-ball and it says "Maybe")

16. SMP is running but when I look at the processes on the Task Manager, FahCore_a1 is barely running or not running at all! Solution: Check to see what is stealing all the available cycles and see if you can shut it down and find the source of it so that it never shows up again. If you see something called svchost stealling 100%, it may be related to a known HP wireless printer/Microsoft bug... here is a link to fix the HP problem: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=557658

17. I am not seeing my points show up? I had some wierd problem where I had to manually change my "client.cfg" file using notepad to make sure it said my correct name and team. It kept defualting to "Anonomous" and "team 0" for some reason. It took me a few tries of restarting the program from scratch and changing the client.cfg file to get it to stick. I still don't know why this happened?

18. OK I'm pretty sure I set things up correctly, how do I test the Stanford websites that take in this Folding info to make sure THEY are up and running and its not on my end?
Tommy,
At least now we know it's not a username and team number problem. It may be a firewall issue, though it is strange that you can download WUs and not send them back.
Try running qfix in the FAH directory. The fact that you can't hit the work server, .64 or the collection server, .76 while everybody else can tells me the problem is on your end rather than Stanford's. Run the connectivity test and see what happens:

What happens when you click the following links?

http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/
http://assign.stanford.edu:8080/
http://assign2.stanford.edu/
http://171.65.103.98:8080/
http://171.65.103.100/
http://171.65.103.161/
http://171.64.65.64/
http://171.64.122.76 Note: A few of us have clicked on this link and NEVER gotten a "OK" but our SMP programs report just fine.

You should get the Pandegroup site on the first, and in IE a screen saying OK on the last seven. If you don't get the OK, something is blocking the connection.

The first tests basic internet connectivity
The second is the primary assignment server open on port 8080
The third is the secondary assignment server, open on port 80
The fourth is the GPU assignment server
The fifth is the collection server
The sixth is a work server open on port 8080 and 80
The seventh is a SMP work server
The eighth is the SMP collection server



Helpful links and references:

SMP client: http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandeg.../download.html

Stanford SMP FAQ: http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/FAQ-SMP.html

cmdow.exe: http://www.commandline.co.uk/cmdow/

Landshark's cmdow (with premade batch files), zipfile: (warning has shortcut error) http://www.ocforums.com/attachment.p...6&d=1206742876

OCForum Thread Landshark introduced the zip file: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=553793

leelegend's original thread about installing SMP (now a sticky): http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=505126

Avast! Free Anti-Virus program: http://www.download.com/Avast-Home-Edition/3000-2239_4-10019223.html?cdlPid=10825540

FahSpy Solding@Home monitoring program: http://www.fahspy.com/index.shtml

Affinity Changer: http://distributed.org.ua/forum/index.php?showtopic=1149

Don't forget if you find anything usefull on other forums not covered here...please post a link and give a description to help the rest of us. Google was a pretty good help finding other references to explain some things.
 
Last edited:
While I'm making this I have some questions that you guys could probably answer:

#1: Is the SMP client stable as a service yet so we don't have to mess with that cmdow.exe? Harlam347 answered this question below at post #7...


#2: Is there a way to hide that Security Center notice about turning off the UAC besides completely disabling the entire notification program? I saw on some other forums that you can edit your registry. I have tried 3 times now installing zip files editing my registry to do this without success. I know for sure you can do it if you have Windows Vista Business or Ultimate but not with the normal Home or Premium. :(

OK I'm still having trouble with the cmdow.exe Sometimes it starts up fine the first time...sometimes it works only the first time, sometimes it doesn't work at all....

Here is Landsharks original instructions but I'm having trouble because he made lots of typos, (Example: Same = Save)
- just download cmdow file, unzip it into the same directory as your F@H SMP folder.

- open notepad, copy and paste this, for example:
start cmdow.exe /RUN /HID fah.exe -verbosity 9 -forceasm -advmethods
on notepad, same it as fah.bat file and same it into the same F@H directory. repeat the same for HIDE.bat and UNHIDE.bat from the above code.

- put the fah.bat file into your startup folder. double click fah.bat will start and hide F@H SMP CLI box. double click unhide.bat will unhide it, run hide.bat will hide it again.
 
Last edited:
Great work, Tommy! We need our how-to instructions, to be specific to the person's OS.
 
OK I'm done... Who do I talk to about adding this to the rest of the guides? (or can one of you guys do it for me?) I can't brain anymore today... I have the dumb.

By the way, I still need an answer to the questions I asked back in thread response #2...

#1: Is the SMP client stable as a service yet so we don't have to mess with that cmdow.exe?

#2: Is there a way to hide that Security Center notice about turning off the UAC besides completely disabling the entire notification program?
 
That's a fantastic guide TommyHololy, thanks for taking the time to write it! I'm afraid I can't answer either of your two questions though... <---- folding/overclocking n00b! (oh, that's a pathetic insult compared to some I use)...
 
Wow Tommy!!! :eek: I must admit I didn't read the whole thing- but geeze, what a write up! Kudos to you my friend! :beer:

#1: Is the SMP client stable as a service yet so we don't have to mess with that cmdow.exe?

#2: Is there a way to hide that Security Center notice about turning off the UAC besides completely disabling the entire notification program?

#1: Yes and no. Will the SMP client run as a service? Yes. Are there no drawbacks for doing so? No. The largest being if a user shuts the machine down without first stopping the service, upon reboot and restart of the service, the client can start a WU over. With the short deadlines on SMP, that can be detrimental. I'm speaking of experience with the 5.91 client. I have yet to install 5.92 on any boxes.

To thwart this operation when it does happen to me (mostly when the power goes out), I run my services with a Manual Start mode- they do not fire off when the OS loads (personal preference anyway). Then I fire the client in standard Console mode that seems to allow the WU to continue from its last checkpoint. Once it's loaded and running I simply stop the Console, let it exit, and then start the service again (it then picks up where it left off). Strange, I know, why won't the service pick up again and the console will? I don't know... this is just my limited experience with it.

This seems like a tedious process, but it only happens to me once in a blue moon. Other advantages exist for me when running as a service and I do this on my personal boxen, so I don't have to worry about users unaware of the service and its pitfalls.

#2: idk... :shrug: (me == hate Vista), but if someone can post that up (as I found that "feature" annoying as well) I'd like to know too.
 
Last edited:
Hey thanks Harlam! OK so now I know why the service is a bad idea, I appreciate the explanation. I'm interested in the service mainly because that's the best idea for installing it on friend's PCs that want to run F@H but not have to actually do anything or understand the program. Because I'm not around to monitor thier PC, I was looking for the best way to make sure it starts up problem free every time.

I didn't know version 5.92 is out? Its not on Stanfords web-page? I'd be interested about hearing more about this new version and what is improved on it. I heard they were looking into changing the 'multi' aspects of the SMP program to include support for the new 8-Core and 16-core processors in the future. Also, the Core2 has hyperthreading apparently so a Quad-core could effectively already be a Oct-core but the SMP program can't recognize Hyperthreading as of yet.
 
Np TH! ;)

The 5.92 client uses a different MPI library... I do know that by using the new MPI lib the client is no longer required to have an active network connection... one major bug fixed. Other than that... to my knowledge it's not a leap ahead in Folding speed- on par with 5.91 from what I understand. If it was a lot better I'm sure someone would have said so by now. :)

Core 2 == HyperThreading? No sir... HyperThreading will make a return in Intel's new Nehalem architecture. Where they will have a native 8-core cpu with HyperThreading. They already demo'd it at their last IDF, early this spring I believe.

The SMP client does not yet scale further than 4 cores... but I imagine a mechanism to determine the number of processes the SMP client runs, based on core count, is in the works... right now it's just hard coded to four processes. I think some people think the SMP client is just multi-threaded... that is not the case, it's multi-process as well as multi-threaded. Otherwise, you would only see one FahCore process in task manager... but there are four, and if you turn on the thread count column in task manager you'll also see that every SMP Core process is running four threads. Each process is likely running one computation thread with the other three reserved for IPC to the remaining three processes. Recycle, Rinse, Reuse for each Core process. :)
 
Ahhhh 5.91 needs an active network connection?? That explains why the SMP stopped working when I gave my Mom her computer back...she was using dial-up. (and answers the questions I had in the other thread.) She is switching to fiber to the curb soon so I wonder if it will automatically go back on?
 
just a little tid-bit of info on anti-virus, Eset NOD32 and Eset Smart Security have no problems with cmdow.exe, run's fine with no warnings at all
 
Works great, thank you. Just added a Sony VAIO to team 32 under T32monkeys.

In NOD32 I think you have to turn off "real time file protection" to get this to work properly though. I had to do it under XP x64 or else I kept getting errors.

So now I have 2 PS3's, my sig computer, a New Sony VAIO and an old P4 3ghz folding.
 
I updated this with some more fixes, some more problems with answers, and even a picture of the FahSpy monitoring service. (15May2008)

As soon as the new version 5.92 becomes more widespread, I'll update it with the info for that too. :) I hear its alot more stable.

EDIT: (19 MAY 2008) Added more troubleshooting fixes. Added Chasr's links so you can test your connection to Stanford. Waiting on information about shutting off the UAC as well as some info on how to properly edit and create .bat files and this guide will have everything you will ever need for version 5.91

Thanks everyone!
 
Last edited:
Thank you TommyHolly. I tried installing SMP in Vista 64 with the old guide, but I could never get it to start with windows correctly, and I would always have to go in and double click the fah.exe and live with the console window being open. Couldn't even get cmdow to work before.

Now my E8400 is SMP Folding 24/7, and everything is working great!
 
Is there an easy way to start and stop folding completely and effectively in order to open up the CPU when playing games such as COD4. (Need all I can get when playing COD4, especially during match time :X).
 
Sure!

Do you have FAH SMP installed as a console application with it's own console window, or as a service application, which runs without a window?
 
Okay!

I followed the guide pretty much exactly using XP. Hiding it with cmdow.exe is what I'm doing. Not sure which category you posted that falls into.
 
Okay!

I followed the guide pretty much exactly using XP. Hiding it with cmdow.exe is what I'm doing. Not sure which category you posted that falls into.

If you're hiding an icon/task button, thingy, then it's a console application. Service applications have no window, and no icon, and so there's nothing to hide. :)

Can you bring the window back up? Console applications are closed using the application itself, inside their window . (In this case, by making it the active window (just click on it anywhere, once), and then pressing Ctrl+c keys, (hold down Ctrl, then press c).

There is another way to stop a console application, which is not entirely FAH safe. You might lose your work on the WU you're folding, so let's not go there.

Let me know if you can get the FAH smp window back, or not.
 
It's a console application and I'm able to bring up the console with the unhide.bat provided by LandShark. To stop the application should I just close the console?
 
Back