I have BOINC installed on my desktop computer with four projects. I had a very rough time getting it set up correctly but after getting some really good help it is running very well, doing a lot of work.

I would like to run more projects but I do not want to make any changes to my current installation because making changes is where I run into trouble.

So, can I do a second installation of several new to me projects, controlling them all via BOINC and not making any settings in the individual projects?

Thanks.

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Two ways that I know of. One is using a container to run a second instance of BOINC. I have never tried this but know of others who have. The way I do it has a bigger overhead in terms of disk space and RAM. That is to install BOINC in a guest OS. I have both a Windows10 and an Ubuntu Guest running using Virtual Box. The host machine is also Ubuntu. (This allows me to run 2 instances of the large memory tasks from CPDN which use 26GB or RAM each. The project limits these to one per machine.

Thanks.

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One project does not affect another. A PC can have ALL projects added.

You don't need to install BOINC a 2nd time. You can start up another client with another rpc port and data directory. I wrote a guide over at OCN years ago on it.

What is an "rpc port"?

Thanks.

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In reply to Richard Mitnick's message of 25 Oct 2025:

What is an "rpc port"?

Thanks.

Remote Procedure Call. It is how the operating system allows, for example, the client and manager to communicate with each other without interference from other communications. I am sure someone else could give a more detailed explanation.

Thanks, but I have no idea of what any of this means. I would really like to add more projects without messing up my current installation.
I would need complete instructions on how to do this.

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http://sciencesprings.wordpress.com
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Thanks, but I have no idea of what any of this means. I would really like to add more projects without messing up my current installation.
I would need complete instructions on how to do this.

Maybe read the OFFICIAL BOINC WIKI especially the parts about Running BOINC: basic - Choosing and joining projects. It's written by the same people who created and maintain the BOINC program.

Setting up a second instance of BOINC is effectively going to "mess up" your current installation anyway, as both instances will be fighting over the same computing resources, but neither one will be aware of the other- the end result being longer processing times & scheduling issues and missed deadlines until the longer processing times settle down & the BOINC managers get a handle on the new Runtimes.


The whole point of BOINC is that a single programme allows you to run multiple projects.

Add or remove projects as you see fit- set your Resource shares the way you want them (keeping in mind the numbers are ratios, not percentages (the current managers show the percentage value next to the Resource share value) and always remember that the Resource share is not about the amount of time or number of Tasks done for each project, but the amount of work being done).

Set whatever "Preferences for this Project" settings there are for each particular project you are attached to suit your hardware. The more cores/threads your system has, and the smaller your cache, the sooner your Resource share settings will be honoured.
It is that simple.


If you choose to improve the processing performance of a given project, then things can quickly become complicated- and how just complicated depends entirely on the project and the software they have developed to do the work.
With some, just selecting options in the "Preferences for this Project" section is all that is needed. In others, customised cc_config.xml files, app_info.xml files, and other specific configuration files are needed in order to get the most out of your hardware.

BOINC is simple and straight forward to setup and use- things only become difficult if you chose to make them so.

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Grant
Darwin NT.

BOINC is just the infrastructure (the "I" in BOINC to allow users to communicate with 1 or many projects. It eliminates just what you're trying to do, connect individually to each project.

Side note. Why is the BOINC acronym not anywhere on the front page

BOINC is simple and straight forward to setup and use- things only become difficult if you chose to make them so.

Agreed. The large memory tasks from CPDN have prompted me to make things difficult for myself. The project will only allow one task per machine. Running a second instance of BOINC is the only way to run two at a time. These tasks each use 4 cores, and I won't be running any other projects at the same time.

I am sure there will be other reasons to run more than one instance of BOINC at the same time, but for most, I agree it is an unnecessary complication.

Dr Who Fan, Grant (SSSF), and mmonnin,

Thank you all for your help.

I went to Simple view [which I happen to think is beautiful], explored it and found no button or link for adding projects.

Any more specific advice you can give to find "add project" in simple view?

Thanks.

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I doubt the interface has changed much between 7 and 8, but there's an Add project button right there. If there isn't, you probably add through an account manager and then you have to go to that account manager's page to add projects or change which project groups to run - the latter in the case of Science United.

I doubt the interface has changed much between 7 and 8, but there's an Add project button right there. If there isn't, you probably add through an account manager and then you have to go to that account manager's page to add projects or change which project groups to run - the latter in the case of Science United.

still there on 8.3.0