Hello group - checking back in. So I was able to get that repository added, and using the terminal the usual commands installed the right version of the client and manager.

Now there are new problems though. The client doesn't start automatically as it should. I've been starting it manually using a terminal. That's probably an easy fix, but the manager is completely hung up. I keep getting the good old "Invalid client RPC password. Try reinstalling BOINC" error.

I've gone through the usual directories and updated permissions of all files and links to allow all=read, write, execute.
/etc/boinc-client/gui_rpc_auth.cfg
/var/lib/boinc/gui_rpc_auth.cfg

For some reason my Home directory is also cluttered up with a shitshow of BOINC files, including another copy of gui_rpc_auth.cfg. Not sure what that clutter bomb is about, but I updated permissions on the gui_rpc_auth.cfg file in the home directory as well, just in case.

After a few more hours of wasted time and about 20 restarts (at least) the manager is still hung up. I'm going to just not run boinc on this system, which is unfortunate. Even when this box was running windoze the pair of AMD RX 570's was a screamer of a system.

Feeling the need to vent . . . has anyone else noticed that BOINC seems to be getting buggier and less stable over the years? I've been running it for about ten or eleven years now on a mix of linux and windoze systems, and each year I find that getting a new system up and running (or refreshing an existing one) becomes more difficult.

I've had problems with utilizing multiple GPU's, issues with permissions, packages, harmonizing settings across systems, directory structures, accessing systems remotely, files disappearing . . . . I've honestly reached the point where I'm asking myself why I am devoting so much time to something so buggy and frustrating.

One last thing to try before you give up on the Manager.

The client should have picked up the gui_rpc_auth password, and will be listening for it.

But the manager doesn't detect the password automatically: you need to help it out. Right-click on the Manager icon on your desktop, and choose Properties. Then,


Use your own gui_rpc_auth, obviously.

I have one system where the Boinc Manager gives that error.

Being too lazy to fix it, on the rare occasions when I have to restart the manager I accept the error then File>Select Computer and enter the host name and password manually.

Hello group. After scouring the drive I found three copies of the gui_rpc file, and one link to the file. One of them held a password, so on a guess I copied the password into the other versions of the file. After that the manager could connect to the client.

It's a moot point though. Kubuntu doesn't detect that I have video cards installed, it won't locate the drivers, and the manual install driver packages from AMD (wait for it!) . . . fail to install.

I've been running BOINC and various versions of linux for about ten years, but I honestly feel like I'm done with both. I love the idea of open source, and I love the idea of volunteering computing time, but things have to actually work.

With the current state of things it's like volunteering to help build a house, only to find that the screwdrivers are bent, the lumber is rotten, and the building plans are for an entirely different floor plan. As much as I dislike the privacy and bloat issues in Windoze, at least the OS works.

Thanks to the group for trying.

Do you know how to check for application dependencies? Navigate to the location of the BOINC executables. I assume /usr/bin and open a terminal there as root.
Then input ldd ./boinc on the command line and look for any "not found" library dependencies for the application.
Do the same thing for the ./boincmgr.
The "illegal instructions" could be because the required libraries were not installed when the BOINC package was installed.
It is up to the distro package maintainers to compile the applications correctly with the required dependencies satisfied for an application to work.

---

My condolences for being an AMD gpu user. I know your experience is a common one for Linux users.
I don't ever have issues with the proprietary Nvidia drivers. They just work.

---