I just purchased a new computer, and want to run boinc on it as a screensaver. I'm running Vista Home Premium on an IBM Thinkpad R61i. The core activates, I can see my cpu meter max out when the boinc is running while the computer is idle. However, the screensaver doesn't kick in, there is no graphic component to it. I'd like the screensaver to run as well, and it is selected to run. Just nothing comes on the screen. To the best of my knowledge, everything is up-to-date, the computer is only 10 days old. Any suggestions or help? Thanks!

Which project/s are you running? Some projects have a screensaver, some haven't.

The screen saver under Vista are hit or miss at best. Some people have no issues, others have odd issues and some can't get it to work at all. I'm in that last group. I can't get it to work at all (although I haven't tried updating my drivers -- but then again, I don't use the screen saver anyway).

Full Vista support will arrive with version 6.x.y.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. If you want to see the graphics (and the project supports them), you can always use the show graphics button in the manager. That does work (for me and I haven't seen reports otherwise).

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Kathryn :o)

I am running the projects "Seti" and "World Community Grid."

Both of them have a screensaver component, as I recall. Guess I'll have to wait for 6.x.y?

Vista also tries to block boinc from loading at startup. I have to allow it manually each time I fire up the laptop. I hope that issue is addressed in 6.x.y as well.

I am running the projects "Seti" and "World Community Grid."

Both of them have a screensaver component, as I recall. Guess I'll have to wait for 6.x.y?

Vista also tries to block boinc from loading at startup. I have to allow it manually each time I fire up the laptop. I hope that issue is addressed in 6.x.y as well.

Apart from updating DirectX and drivers, yup, the only thing to do is wait.


My solution to the start up problem is to start it manually, but I still have to tell UAC that it's ok. I wish there was a way to tell UAC that "yes, this program *really is* ok". But ya know, that would have been logical...

~Kathryn (who likes Linux better every day)

I have the same issues described - screensaver not displaying graphics and the program being blocked at startup. I, too am on a brand new machine with Vista Home Premium. My solution for the startup issue was to create a task:

1. Launch the Task Scheduler
Example: Start Menu → All Programs → Accessories → System Tools

2. From the Actions panel on the right, select Create Task...
a. Give BOINC a name of your choice in the "Name Section"

3. Go to the Security Options on the General tab
a. Select a user account with administrative privileges
b. Select the radio button Run only when user is logged on
c. Check the box Run with highest privileges

4.Go to the Triggers tab and click New...
a. In Begin the task, select At log on
b. In the Settings options, select All users
c. In the Advanced Settings options, check the box Enabled
d. Click OK to close the dialog

5. Go to the Actions tab and click New...
a. For Action, select Start a program
b. In the Settings options, browse for boincmgr.exe in your Program Files and append with: /s (that's a space then /s)
c. Click OK to close the dialog

6. Go to the Settings tab
a. Check the box Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed
b. Uncheck the box Stop the task if it runs longer than

7. Make any other desired settings

8. Click OK to save and close the task properties

9. Go to your Start Up folder and remove the shortcut to boincmgr.exe

That should do it...

Vista also tries to block boinc from loading at startup. I have to allow it manually each time I fire up the laptop.

That is because Microsoft would need to mark BOINC as "safe to load on startup; not some trojan". BOINC devs don't know how to "apply" for such "certification" yet (but I think they haven't searched much either; developing 6.0 graphics is a higher priority right now).

Just been reading about this.... unless aiming for WHQL it's a self-certification process. It's in over-simplified terms: This certificate was issued by Berkeley. Do you trust it Yes / No.

Self-signing is enough to make it work?

I wonder what the hell the devs are waiting for, then.

The screen saver under Vista are hit or miss at best. Some people have no issues, others have odd issues and some can't get it to work at all. I'm in that last group. I can't get it to work at all (although I haven't tried updating my drivers -- but then again, I don't use the screen saver anyway).

Full Vista support will arrive with version 6.x.y.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. If you want to see the graphics (and the project supports them), you can always use the show graphics button in the manager. That does work (for me and I haven't seen reports otherwise).

Kathryn, just curious if you added BOINC.scr to the DEP exceptions (if that is on) with port 31416?

1. I don't know what DEP exceptions are.
2. I don't use the screen saver so I'm not all that motivated to try to find out.

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Kathryn :o)

DEP is something like Data Execution Prevention aka the windows in-build firewall, the source of many an unidentified communication failure.
http://www.realtime-vista.com/administration/2007/04/disabling_data_execution_preve.htm

:-/

Blech...



That looks like more trouble than it's worth given I don't use the screen saver and I'm starting to spend more time in Fedora than in Vista.

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Kathryn :o)

My 'thought' being, a few came to WCG forum to shoot off the ScreenSaver some wanted, to run as next to impossible to get working. Not having Vista, 'thought' at BOINC dev forum someone may have been willing to explore and make a few happy.... 6.0 like 5.10 path is a long long way I think before that will get around to the set/forget 'want my screensaver' user.

Blech.... ? Is that an American equivalent to yuk? We dont have that rich a language.... the extended vocabulary is here with hands, hard to translate to paper ;D

Yeah. Basically YUCK!

I'm just not comfortable enough screwing around on the Windows command line. To be honest, I'm afraid of screwing things up even more. Reinstalling Windows is not high on my list of fun things to do and I honestly don't have the time for it either. And given there's no guarantee it'll work and a huge risk of breaking other things... Sorry. Not for me.

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Kathryn :o)

1. I don't know what DEP exceptions are.
2. I don't use the screen saver so I'm not all that motivated to try to find out.

DEP is something like Data Execution Prevention aka the windows in-build firewall, the source of many an unidentified communication failure.
http://www.realtime-vista.com/administration/2007/04/disabling_data_execution_preve.htm

Doesn't really have much to do with a firewall. Wikipedia says:
Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is a feature included in modern Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems that is intended to prevent an application or service from executing code from a non-executable memory region. This helps prevent certain exploits that store code via a buffer overflow, for example.