DogForum.org [email protected] FAQ / Tech support thread

[Taeric]

What, how, and why?

• What is folding? Folding is a worldwide distributed computing effort conducted by Stanford University to understand how proteins assemble themselves. The real world applications of this research includes potential cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer, and Parkinson's. Nearly everyone's life has been touched by someone who has had one of these diseases or one of the many other diseases this research is aiming to cure. For more information, please see Stanford's [email protected] website.
• How does it work? The computer power needed to conduct this research is immense, so work is divided up across hundreds of thousands of computers that volunteers, like you, donate to the cause. A small software program downloads work from Stanford's server, crunches the numbers, and uploads the results. Each piece of work, called a work unit or WU, typically takes between a day and a week to complete, depending on the exact WU and the speed of the computer being used.
• How can I join DogForum.org's team? Simply go here, download the program, and enter team number 52013 to start folding for our team. Use your DogForum.org name as the folding name. It's that simple!
• What does it cost? The software is free, and there are no fees of any kind for participating in folding. If you fold 24/7 and/or have several computers folding, you will likely notice a small increase in your electric bill. I personally run 6 computers 24/7, and it costs me about $10 a month in electricity. This will vary based on your utility rates.
• Is it safe? Yes, the program is absolutely safe to run. It will not increase the danger of hackers, viruses, spyware, or any other harmful security risks.

[email protected] software

• Which version of the program should I download? There are two common versions of the software. One is a non-nonsense console. It is simply a text window that follows the progress of the work. The other is a graphical client that shows a nifty visual representation of the calculations being conducted. Both versions function in exactly the same way and work at the same rate of speed, so the choice is entirely up to you. There are also advanced versions that utilize multiple core CPUs, video cards, and even Playstation 3s. If you have any of those versions, please PM me for more information as to how to get the most out of your system.
• Which operating systems can I use to fold? Windows (98SE through Vista), Linux, Mac OS X, PS3
• Will folding slow my computer down? The folding application only uses idle clock cycles, meaning that if another application has need of the CPU, the folding application will decrease its usage until the other application's needs have been satisfied. The only drain on system resources is the RAM that's utilized, which remains utilized even when other applications are using the CPU.
• Will folding slow down my Internet connection? The program only connects to the Internet when it needs to download work or upload results, which typically occurs between once a day and once a week. The rest of the time, it does not communicate with the outside world. Broadband users will not likely notice any slow downs at all. Dial up users will experience slow downs, but only for the length of time it takes to download work and upload results. These transfers are limited to a maximum of 5 MB by default, so the disruption will be minimal.
• Why do I keep getting the same WU? Is it normal to get the same WU as someone else? Is project is comprised of thousands of WUs, so it is absolutely normal to get the same WU repeatedly on one or more computers. Each WU is a small piece of a much larger puzzle.

Ways to improve folding speed and your folding experience (for the tech geeks among us)

• How do I increase the efficiency of my folding? Check out this FAQ by Stainless. In particular, the -forceasm and -advmethods flags are very beneficial on many comptuers.
• Are there any tools to help me manage my folding farm? Check here for many third party tools, including ones that help to monitor folding progress on groups of computers (many work great on single computers as well). My personal favorite is FahMon.

Help!

• How can I keep track of my folding progress? [email protected] statistics can be found on Stanford site's (updated hourly) and Kakaostats (updated every three hours).
• I'm having problems with folding. How can I get help? Post in this thread, PM me, or check out the [email protected] Forum to see if others have had similar problems.
• Please do not be afraid to ask questions! If you have a question, it's very likely that some of your fellow team members have the same question.

Huh?

• WU? What's a WU? WU is an abbreviation for Work Unit, the small pieces of the larger projects that our computers work on. Each computer works on one WU at a time.
• What is a "folding farm"? That is a commonly used term for the group of computers a single user devotes to the folding cause.

[brunosmom]

I downloaded the program and entered my screen name and put in the team number but i dont see anyone elses name am i the only one? Or did I do something wrong?

[Taeric]

Are you talking about in the program window itself? It will only show your progress. You can go here to see the statistics of your teammates. Since the team is brand new, no info shows there at this time. It will quickly start filling up, though, once more members join and start submitting work.

[brunosmom]

OK I guess I just didn't have it running long enough .......
and I have dial up too..... but I'll keep on folding if it's for a good cause!!

[Taeric]

Yeah, just leave it running in the background. It'll do it's thing without any interaction on your part. Did you go with the console or graphical version? Both versions give you an indication of the progress, though they do it in different ways.

It is definitely all for a good cause.

[Taeric]

Points have been scored for our team here. Who else is participating?

[brunosmom]

I am folding....don't know why my name isn't on the team? I have dial up and sometimes when I'm in a rush I will pause it....and forget to turn back on....because it seems it does slow somethings down (not all)...I'm working right now...I have 20/500 done...don't know what it means but I'm folding...lol

[Taeric]

It just doesn't show until you've turned something in, but as long as you're making progress, it's all good.

I still have hopes that we will slowly start to add more people to the team. Even the largest teams started with just a few people. I have no illusions that we're going to have a top team (at least until the site grows quite a bit more), but every little bit helps. I know the post above is long, but it's well worth the read and your time.

[brunosmom]

Way to go Taeric .........I'll catch up someday......
remember.... ...you have 7 computers and a fast connection......to my 1 and dial up....You must be the rabbit and I'm the hare.....LOL

[Taeric]

The points I've posted so far are just from one computer. Computer speed does make a huge difference, though. I've folded with computers as slow as a 466 MHz Celeron, though. I just recently invested in some new really high end gear that should be here early next week, so I should be able to contribute more soon.

This project, like a lot of things in life, just takes a bit of momentum to get going. The other team I'm folding on went from 10 to 120 folders in a year and from 120 to nearly 300 the following year. We have two folding here now; maybe we'll have 3 next month, 5 by the end of the year, and who knows there it may go from there.

As soon as I have time, I'm going to put together a very detailed installation FAQ for those who are interested. Hopefully that will help ease any concerns members might have about the difficulties of getting this going.