Help restarting prime95 version 25.6 build 6

stars10250 · 2008-08-24, 00:32

I just restarted my computer and it is not picking up where it left off. I have been running a LL test for 2 weeks, and when it restarted it selected a new number to test. Primenet now shows 2 entries for my username. How do I get it to resume the number it had been working on?

stars10250 · 2008-08-24, 01:31

I guess now that my system is starting from zero, I should ask a few more questions before I mess this up again.

1. When I run v25.6 on xp-pro, it appears to load itself into memory as a process and not an application. Why does it do this? The folder that I put the software into contains a single file. Does it ever write any data to my computer, such as a restart file (which I could sure use right about now), and if so, where?

2. How do I safely restart my computer using v25.6 without losing my data again?

3. I've read that v25.6 is experimental, and we should stick with v2414, but this seems out of date. Dual and quad core processors aren't all that new anymore and making all the folders and running multiple instances seems kind of antiquated. v25.6 gives me everything in one nice place and doesn't do that annoying 1 hour pre-test. Is v2414 really the only thing we should be using?

4. What's with primenet being so out of date? The "new" software version listed is v22.12 from November 2002? Doesn't this strike anyone as a bit old?

Apologies if I seem perturbed, losing 2 weeks of crunching is getting to me!

S485122 · 2008-08-24, 07:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by stars10250

The folder that I put the software into contains a single file. Does it ever write any data to my computer, such as a restart file (which I could sure use right about now), and if so, where?

This seems to point to insuficient rights (no write access) on the folder. You should have at least the following files : local.txt and prime.txt ; then, once work is in progress, the following files should be present as well : prime.log, worktodo.txt, results.txt and some save files depending on the type of work you do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stars10250

I've read that v25.6 is experimental, and we should stick with v2414, but this seems out of date. Dual and quad core processors aren't all that new anymore and making all the folders and running multiple instances seems kind of antiquated. v25.6 gives me everything in one nice place and doesn't do that annoying 1 hour pre-test. Is v2414 really the only thing we should be using?

Yes, expecially if you are new to GIMPS. After all the leader of the project and developper of the software says so... As for the "annoying 1 hour pre-test" it is is executed only once for each FFT size and is there to check the reliability ot the computer before starting a month long computation.

Anyway since you seem to have lost 2 weeks of work after a restart, loosing one hour but getting a result seems fair, no ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by stars10250

What's with primenet being so out of date? The "new" software version listed is v22.12 from November 2002? Doesn't this strike anyone as a bit old?

Some of the old PrimeNet pages do indeed need some rewriting. But do not forget this whole project is based on voluntary work, nobody gets paid for all the work they do. For the moment the focus of maintenance work has been on the new server.

Jacob

ATH · 2008-08-24, 11:31

In Prime95 in Option - Preferences set "Minutes between writing save files" to 30 or 60 or what you want, and check the one called "Create Two Backup Files".

stars10250 · 2008-08-24, 11:50

Thanks, I think I understand it now. When I downloaded the original zip file, I clicked on the prime95 app (silly me). This essentially launched the application from a zipped folder, which it could not write to. Dragging it to a new folder and restarting has created the files you mentioned. I've always known about those files, but figured they had to be hiding somewhere so I didn't bother stopping it.

Perhaps my prior experience with prime95 on ubuntu got me in the mode of not expecting much in the way of output. There I had all those files but the feedback on my progress was almost nonexistant. Short of knowing prime95 was running and that the restart file was being continually updated, I had no idea where it was in the calculation.

Now for the fun part. Is there a way to fix this on my other xp-pro boxes that are currently running prime95 apparently without write access to the folder they were run from? Short of a power failure or a windows update (yes I've disabled that), I can fix this problem when they all complete their current LL tests. But is there a way I can fix it now, in case my utility company or Xp decides to do a reboot?

One last question (for now), is there a way I can clean up my status on primenet? With all these learning experiments, I have a number of dead jobs listed in my results page. I believe they will eventually expire, but I'd like to free up my numbers for others that might be able to use them right away.

retina · 2008-08-24, 19:47

I wonder if it is really a problem with an un-writeable folder. In my Windows machine, when I double click to directly run an app from a zip file, the zip program will extract the exe file to my user temp folder (which is writeable). I would expect that the save files are in your temp folder with prime95.exe. Try doing a disk search for the name of the prime95.exe file (it should be in your user temp folder) and then examine the folder for the other backup files. If the files are there, then just stop p95, copy everything to the "proper" runtime folder, and restart from the new folder.

stars10250 · 2008-08-24, 22:52

Thanks much! I found the files in a temporary windows folder (hidden folder no less). I had to edit my worktodo file, as it got overwritten when I fired up mprime a second time and it downloaded new work. Everything seems to be working now. The job restarted with my old number...the one I was 2 weeks into. This also gives me relief, as I have several other machines working from temporary folders.

stars10250 · 2008-08-25, 12:00

I have a new glitch. It doesn't appear that primenet is updating my new results. When I found my files in the temporary folder, I moved them to a new folder on my desktop. I then launched prime95, and it asked me if I wanted to join GIMPS or perform stress testing. I said I wanted to join, as it was the better of the two options, and then it assigned me a new number and overwrote my worktodo file. I immediately stopped it, and edited the worktodo file. Since I didn't know my old assignment number, I left it blank. I basically entered TEST=exponent,68,1. After prime95 started, it added a new assignment number to the worktodo file, and preserved my exponent. Now when I look at primenet it doesn't appear that the statistics for my exponent are updating, even though the calculation is proceeding nicely. Will this be rectified when the calculation finishes, or have I confused primenet? Is there a way to get my old assignment number from primenet?

ATH · 2008-08-25, 13:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by stars10250

When I found my files in the temporary folder, I moved them to a new folder on my desktop.

Did you move all files including prime.txt, local.txt, worktodo.txt and the pWxxxxxx and qWxxxxxx files?

You can download this 9Mb txt file and search for your account name to find all exponents assigned to you:
http://www.mersenne.org/primenet/status.txt

But if you don't have the qWxxxxxx and pWxxxxxx files, where xxxxxx is the last 6 digits of the exponent, then you lost that work.

stars10250 · 2008-08-25, 20:26

Primenet is now showing my statistics properly. I think it just took longer than normal to update for some reason. I think everything is fine now :) Thanks for all your advice.

2008-08-24, 00:32	#1
stars10250 Jul 2008 San Francisco, CA 201₁₀ Posts	Help restarting prime95 version 25.6 build 6 I just restarted my computer and it is not picking up where it left off. I have been running a LL test for 2 weeks, and when it restarted it selected a new number to test. Primenet now shows 2 entries for my username. How do I get it to resume the number it had been working on?

2008-08-24, 11:31	#4
ATH Einyen Dec 2003 Denmark 2²×863 Posts	In Prime95 in Option - Preferences set "Minutes between writing save files" to 30 or 60 or what you want, and check the one called "Create Two Backup Files". Last fiddled with by ATH on 2008-08-24 at 11:31

2008-08-24, 19:47	#6
retina Undefined "The unspeakable one" Jun 2006 My evil lair 1101010001001₂ Posts	I wonder if it is really a problem with an un-writeable folder. In my Windows machine, when I double click to directly run an app from a zip file, the zip program will extract the exe file to my user temp folder (which is writeable). I would expect that the save files are in your temp folder with prime95.exe. Try doing a disk search for the name of the prime95.exe file (it should be in your user temp folder) and then examine the folder for the other backup files. If the files are there, then just stop p95, copy everything to the "proper" runtime folder, and restart from the new folder. Last fiddled with by retina on 2008-08-24 at 19:52 Reason: becorz ov a mis-steak

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2008-08-24, 01:31	#2
stars10250 Jul 2008 San Francisco, CA 3·67 Posts	I guess now that my system is starting from zero, I should ask a few more questions before I mess this up again. 1. When I run v25.6 on xp-pro, it appears to load itself into memory as a process and not an application. Why does it do this? The folder that I put the software into contains a single file. Does it ever write any data to my computer, such as a restart file (which I could sure use right about now), and if so, where? 2. How do I safely restart my computer using v25.6 without losing my data again? 3. I've read that v25.6 is experimental, and we should stick with v2414, but this seems out of date. Dual and quad core processors aren't all that new anymore and making all the folders and running multiple instances seems kind of antiquated. v25.6 gives me everything in one nice place and doesn't do that annoying 1 hour pre-test. Is v2414 really the only thing we should be using? 4. What's with primenet being so out of date? The "new" software version listed is v22.12 from November 2002? Doesn't this strike anyone as a bit old? Apologies if I seem perturbed, losing 2 weeks of crunching is getting to me!

2008-08-24, 11:50	#5
stars10250 Jul 2008 San Francisco, CA 3×67 Posts	Thanks, I think I understand it now. When I downloaded the original zip file, I clicked on the prime95 app (silly me). This essentially launched the application from a zipped folder, which it could not write to. Dragging it to a new folder and restarting has created the files you mentioned. I've always known about those files, but figured they had to be hiding somewhere so I didn't bother stopping it. Perhaps my prior experience with prime95 on ubuntu got me in the mode of not expecting much in the way of output. There I had all those files but the feedback on my progress was almost nonexistant. Short of knowing prime95 was running and that the restart file was being continually updated, I had no idea where it was in the calculation. Now for the fun part. Is there a way to fix this on my other xp-pro boxes that are currently running prime95 apparently without write access to the folder they were run from? Short of a power failure or a windows update (yes I've disabled that), I can fix this problem when they all complete their current LL tests. But is there a way I can fix it now, in case my utility company or Xp decides to do a reboot? One last question (for now), is there a way I can clean up my status on primenet? With all these learning experiments, I have a number of dead jobs listed in my results page. I believe they will eventually expire, but I'd like to free up my numbers for others that might be able to use them right away.

2008-08-24, 22:52	#7
stars10250 Jul 2008 San Francisco, CA 3×67 Posts	Thanks much! I found the files in a temporary windows folder (hidden folder no less). I had to edit my worktodo file, as it got overwritten when I fired up mprime a second time and it downloaded new work. Everything seems to be working now. The job restarted with my old number...the one I was 2 weeks into. This also gives me relief, as I have several other machines working from temporary folders.

2008-08-25, 12:00	#8
stars10250 Jul 2008 San Francisco, CA C9₁₆ Posts	I have a new glitch. It doesn't appear that primenet is updating my new results. When I found my files in the temporary folder, I moved them to a new folder on my desktop. I then launched prime95, and it asked me if I wanted to join GIMPS or perform stress testing. I said I wanted to join, as it was the better of the two options, and then it assigned me a new number and overwrote my worktodo file. I immediately stopped it, and edited the worktodo file. Since I didn't know my old assignment number, I left it blank. I basically entered TEST=exponent,68,1. After prime95 started, it added a new assignment number to the worktodo file, and preserved my exponent. Now when I look at primenet it doesn't appear that the statistics for my exponent are updating, even though the calculation is proceeding nicely. Will this be rectified when the calculation finishes, or have I confused primenet? Is there a way to get my old assignment number from primenet?

2008-08-25, 20:26	#10
stars10250 Jul 2008 San Francisco, CA 3×67 Posts	Primenet is now showing my statistics properly. I think it just took longer than normal to update for some reason. I think everything is fine now :) Thanks for all your advice.