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TerraForums has a Folding@Home team, come help us fight diseases!

  • Thread starter adnedarn
  • Start date

adnedarn

I'm growing CPs in the Desert of Tucson, Az
Admin
Hello everyone!
I'm not going to try and explain in depth what folding@home is, but basically it uses your computer's processing power in combination with others around the world to use combined computing to run protein fold simulations which helps find cures/treatments for diseases like Alzheimer's, cancer, Huntington's, Parkinson's and yes ever Covid-19.
The program is installed and quietly works in the background. You can have it run always and manually pause it when you need the extra power for yourself (like playing Warframe) but remember to unpause it, or tell it to only fold when your computer is idle and it will only do work when you're not actively using the computer.
Basically a job is sent to your computer, and your computer does the calculations. When done, that info is sent back in for them to work with and you're given your next job. Each job is called a work unit.

More info (their website): https://foldingathome.org/
To create a passkey safeguarding your username: https://apps.foldingathome.org/getpasskey (or you can run with your email without a passkey)
Make sure to join the TerraForums team by putting 137547 as your team number
If you already run as Team 0 Default (No team specified) add our team into your identity under configure in your advanced control. (The team stuff is all for fun, really... It's about the work we're doing but I think we all find it more fun to be a part of a team. So come join me! I'm lonely :sorrow: ;) )
I hope to see you there!
Andrew


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I'm on team TF now too!
 
Yay, very cool! Were you already folding or did you join today?
I started a long time ago on my Playstation... Since the remote was blue tooth anytime we bumped it, the thing would turn on. So, I turned on folding because I could set it to do one work unit and shut down. I think at the same time I loaded it onto a computer, and created the group. PS got an update and no longer allowed the service, I don't remember why I stopped on my computer. Probably had to reload windows or built a new rig and just spaced it.
 
Yay, very cool! Were you already folding or did you join today?
I started a long time ago on my Playstation... Since the remote was blue tooth anytime we bumped it, the thing would turn on. So, I turned on folding because I could set it to do one work unit and shut down. I think at the same time I loaded it onto a computer, and created the group. PS got an update and no longer allowed the service, I don't remember why I stopped on my computer. Probably had to reload windows or built a new rig and just spaced it.

A long time ago in a galaxy far away when I was doing astro research I joined the hivemind of SETI, and hadn't reloaded my machine with this folding yet but had planned on it in the past week. Your post helped me remember to do it so I'm grinding away now :D
 
Too funny, I did seti as well! With them shutting the project down, and Covid-19 there has been a huge influx of folders lately.

users_totals_3_29_20.png
 
Too funny, I did seti as well! With them shutting the project down, and Covid-19 there has been a huge influx of folders lately.

users_totals_3_29_20.png

Just sitting at home is helping by not increasing the 'disease-able surface area' so to speak, but it still doesn't give me the warm fuzzies that I'm doing anything. Seeing the numbers go up is a quantifiable action that makes me feel like I'm not just 'not doing harm' but also positively impacting something. I guess I could be making some masks but going outside to mail them seems counterproductive to the STAY AT HOME movement.
 
You can create a usps account, print labels from home and leave it in the mailbox for pickup! I'm still shipping orders and thats how I get it done (same as before this new situation).
 
You can create a usps account, print labels from home and leave it in the mailbox for pickup! I'm still shipping orders and thats how I get it done (same as before this new situation).

Oh, I guess I did get myself a kitchen scale so I can actually do it now... but just protein folding simulations for now.
 
It's never too late to join us, the TerraForums team has now done over 200 workunits! Why let your computer sit there all sad with nothing to do when you're gone, when it can help research diseases to find possible treatments or cures!?

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  • #10
It's never too late to join us, the TerraForums team has now done over 200 workunits! Why let your computer sit there all sad with nothing to do when you're gone, when it can help research diseases to find possible treatments or cures!?

You know, they haven't fed me any new jobs in the past couple days. Maybe they're busy analyzing results right now.
 
  • #11
That's odd! I'm running 2 processors, my main cpu and my video card and I always have a job on at least one of them. Right now both are running. Are you sure you didn't accidentally select "on idle" or "pause" it? Left click the icon in your task bar and make sure only "full" "medium" or "light" is selected. If you want it to only run when your system is idle, make sure you have nothing else going on that make consider your computer in use. I don't know what those things may be though, I don't know if it goes by when the screen saver is active or if it actually watches for CPU usage where strange apps could be "busy" somehow triggering it to not take a job.
 
  • #12
That's odd! I'm running 2 processors, my main cpu and my video card and I always have a job on at least one of them. Right now both are running. Are you sure you didn't accidentally select "on idle" or "pause" it? Left click the icon in your task bar and make sure only "full" "medium" or "light" is selected. If you want it to only run when your system is idle, make sure you have nothing else going on that make consider your computer in use. I don't know what those things may be though, I don't know if it goes by when the screen saver is active or if it actually watches for CPU usage where strange apps could be "busy" somehow triggering it to not take a job.

Yeah I'm set up ok... my computer might not have enough juice to crunch what they want though. I'll keep myself open for more jobs should they send more my way :)
 
  • #13
YAY! [MENTION=5343]Not a Number[/MENTION] joined us!
Between he, [MENTION=12314]CoolCapensis[/MENTION], [MENTION=7563]thez_yo[/MENTION] and I we have now completed 400 work units!

The TerraForums team is ranked 7429 of 252726! (not that it really means anything :p )

Anyone else want to put their idle computer to work for good?


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  • #14
"You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em "

Come on folks, you can't be using your gaming rigs 24/7 - donate some processing even if it is only a few hours a day. Just download the client and install. Set up a user name and use Terraforum's team # 137547. You can pause or stop the folding any time you need the full resources of your system. :D

Some of the folding@home servers seem to be having delays or problems receiving work units. Sometimes I have to wait awhile for suitable GPU work units. Uploads are queued locally on your system so if the problem on the receiving end is cleared up before the WUs expire you should get credit for the Us.
 
  • #16
The best option for those that want to help, but don't want to have to deal with settings... is "on idle". When you're not using your computer it will do folding work. As soon as you start using your computer it pauses the work and gives you full resources. =)
 
  • #17
w00t! Five hundred work units and over 11 million points!
 

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  • #18
Nice! I just blew my computer out to make sure it's running safely at peek performance :D
 
  • #19
I'm considering enabling the IGP (integrated graphics processor) to add another GPU. I'll have to see how hot things get. System is only air-cooled as I'm not overclocking.

Addendum:

No luck getting the client to recognize the IGP. It might if I make the IGP the primary. The client wouldn't add my AMD GPU until I shut down and rebooted my system but that doesn't help for the IGP. Probably not supported.
 
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  • #20
Back to folding for TF! I tried setting the power slider to Full to see what would happen. Temperatures didn't seem to go up much but instead of processing more CPU WU per day I was getting WU that take longer to process - granted more points. I didn't check to see if the estimated points per day increased.

BTW: Use caution when changing the power slider. From what I can make out from the logs work in progress might get dumped if it requires more cores than the setting allocates. Finish any work and pause before changing the power slider.

Looks TF will crack 600 total WUs today!

Link to TF team stats:
https://stats.foldingathome.org/team/137547
 
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