Can I Turn My Computer Off and Keep my Calculated Data?

[Jack_41EL]

I am running a laptop, and I want to turn it off, but I am worried that I a might lose my calculated folding data. Can someone please tell me whether this will happen or not if I shut down my PC.

[Jesse_V]

Hey Jack, welcome to the forum. There are many people who can help answer your questions. I'll give it a shot.

You are free to pause or stop the folding process at any time. The software was designed with this in mind. Periodically, the calculations are saved as a checkpoint, the purpose of which is so that the calculations can be resumed from that point. When you start the Folding@home software again the calculations will resume from the last checkpoint. You may have lost a few minutes of work since some time may have elapsed since the last checkpoint was written, but it's not much and it's certainly better than starting over from the beginning. You can think of this like the autosaves on Microsoft Word: if your computer suddenly shuts off, you have lost a little bit of recent work, but not the whole thing. Folding@home is much the same way, so I wouldn't worry about it. Of course, the most contributions are made when it is running frequently, but it's not a problem if you need to restart or turn it off momentarily.

Thanks for contributing!

[sashawe]

Hi, I was wondering the same thing, and found this thread. I've tried turning off the computer, and every time the calculations seem to start at 0 % at a new project after reboot. Is this normal?

I know it's supposed to save a checkpoint every X minutes and start from there. I tried waiting until the log said a new checkpoint had been saved, and then turning off but it still didn't restart at the checkpoint. Is there something wrong with my installation?

[JimboPalmer]

It does sound as if where you are saving your checkpoints is not where F@H is looking for them.

Did you use the express install? I recommend it.
This link should help you post logs so folks here can see what you computer is, and what it is doing. The configuration portion of the log will be very helpful.
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=26036

When you start you own thread, I would include the log in the first post. Folks are going to ignore a 5 year old thread.

[sashawe]

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply JimboPalmer! I will look into it and start a new thread.
I don't know what express install is. I used the one that works for ubuntu.

[bruce]

Discussion continues here: Subject: Saved checkpoints not found
Current topic locked.