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$template->description = 'motherboards.org Folding @ Home FAQ';
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Motherboards.org Folding @ Home Team :: FAQ
General
Folding At Home Client
Settings
Work Units
Flags
General
- What is Folding At Home?
- Folding At Home is a distributed computing project that simulates the folding of proteins to better understand how they fold and why they sometimes fold incorrectly. Incorrect folding of protein causes diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Mad Cow.
- What is the motherboards.org team number?
- The motherboards.org team number is 33258
Folding At Home Client
- Where can I download the Folding At Home client?
- The F@H client can be downloaded here. It is available for Linux, Mac OS X/PPC and Windows 98 and above.
- Will the Folding At Home Client slow down my computer?
- The F@H client uses only spare cycles so it has no effect on your computer's performance.
- Can I run the Folding At Home client on multiple computers using the same user id?
- Yes, all of the WU's completed under that user id will be combined in your user profile.
- How can I hide the console version of Folding At Home?
- To hide the console version you must use a program like HideIt.
- Do I need to be online the whole time that F@H is running?
- No, you only need to be connected to download the work units and to send the results back to Stanford University.
- Are there any spyware or trojans built into the program?
- No, the program is free of trojan horses and spyware.
- Can I install the program on my computers at work?
- Unless you have permission, no you cannot.
- What are md5sums?
- Md5summer is used in windows to generate the mathematical signature of files. The md5sum generated must be an exact match to that of the original file. Verify md5sums first, before installation of program/ application files. This helps to ensure that things work correctly. Reference the md5sums listed at the download page for the specific file downloaded. In linux: Open terminal, type in 'md5sum exact-id_of.file' you might have to log in as root to make this work correctly. Verify an exact match of md5sums prior to usage.
Settings
- In the console version, how do I change my settings after I have set them the first time?
- To change the setting first make a shortcut to the main icon for the console version. Right click on it and select properties. After the second quotation mark in the target field type a space and put the flag "-config". Click OK then double click on the shortcut.
Work Units
- How many points are awarded for each WU?
- The amount of points awarded for each WU is pre determined and can be found here.
- How much time does it take to complete a Work Unit?
- The time it takes to complete a WU depends on the speed of your computer, it can take as little as a few hours or as much as a few days.
- Some of my Work Units go fast and some are much slower, what is the cause of this?
- Some of the WU's are classified as Tinker and others as Gromac, the gromacs will work faster because they are highly optimized while the Tinkers are not so they will go slower.
- On average, how large are the work units?
- The work units are usually anywhere between 100 and 400 frames in size.
- I just received a WU that has 2,500 frames (or other large number), is this WU faulty and should I get another one?
- This is actually quite common and no you should not get a new WU. If you pay close attention you will notice that your frame's finished will jump in increments of 25 (with a WU of 2,500 frames), 2,500 divided by 25 is 100, making your WU a 100 framer.
Flags
- What are flags?
- Flags are special arguments that you give to the program as it starts up. They instruct it to perform specialized actions. These are a few examples of flags:
- -config :
- This flag allows you to configure the command line based version of folding at home
- -verbosity x (1-9):
- this option is good for troubleshooting problems with the command line model, and at the highest level will give you consistent information.
- -forceasm :
- This flag tells the program to take advantage of your CPUs special instruction sets, but should not be activated on CPUs older than Pentium 3s or Original Athlons.
- -advmethods :
- This flag will instruct the program to order newer, usually high value work units from the server.
- How do I use flags?
- The first thing you must do is create a short cut of the F@H icon. Then right click the shortcut, select properties, and under target, enter the arguments separated by single spaces after the second quotation mark.
- Is it possible to speed up the F@H client using flags?
- Some work units benefit from the use of flags listed above, which tell the client to take advantage of special instruction sets in certain processors.
For more information please visit the Stanford University FAQ Site
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