Work units stall at 99.99% Windows Vista 7.6.13 cx_freeze

[danISfolding4COVID19]

I am running v7.6.13 on a Windows Vista box. The Advanced Control produces a 'cx_freeze error' on every launch attempt. The web control appears to be working (shows progress after I click the connect directly link) but it will frequently stop at 99.99%. Some completed work units are being delivered (so far 12), but often several attempts/restarts/shutdowns seem to be required. This has been the case for all of the versions of FAH I have thus far attempted to use (all were v7). I have not been successful in locating the log manually (recall that the advanced client does not launch due to the cx_Freeze error). I installed Python on the machine in question, but the error was not resolved.

This is the error that is displayed by Windows Vista:

cx_Freeze: Python error in main script

Traceback (most recent call last):
File
"C:\build\mingw32\lib\python2.7\site-packages/cx_Freeze\initscripts\Console.py", line 27, in <module>
File "FAHControl", line 25, in <module>
File "fah/_init_.py", line 25, in <module>
File "fah/util/_init_.py", line 26, in <module>
File
"C:\build\mingw32\lib\python2.7\site-packages\gtk-2.0/gtk/_init_.py", line 40, in <module>
File "ExtensionLoader_gtk_gtk.py", line 22, in <module>
File "ExtensionLoader_gtk_gtk.py", line 14, in_bootstrap_ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified procedure could not be found.

[bruce]

FAH does not freeze at 99.99%. It had already frozen before that. The completion estimation clock keeps running after actual progress is halted.

I don;t think the Python version used by FAH works in Vista. That OS is no longer supported.

[Joe_H]

MS stopped issuing updates for Vista a while ago, so you probably do not have a recent enough version of Python. Installers for Windows can be found on python.org, not sure what the latest version is that is supported on Vista or which version you need to run the Advanced Control. Probably a recent Python 2.7 release is what needs to be installed.

[PantherX]

Welcome to the F@H Forum danISfolding4COVID19,

As suggested by bruce and Joe_H, I would suggest that you consider changing OS from Windows Vista to Windows 10 or Linux. For F@H, it can use either OS without issues. If you're only folding on the CPU, Linux would be a better choice and there are plenty of resources on the Internet to help you out. Configuring a CPU client in Linux is easy and assistance can be provided here if needed.

[danISfolding4COVID19]

Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate that moving this box to Linux may be the best option. I have data on this PC that I would like to preserve if possible. My understanding is that I would need to wipe it completely before I could migrate to Linux. If this is not true, please let me know what options may be available. I was able to install Python 2.7 on the machine, it did not resolve the issue. Is a log generated if the Advanced Client cannot be run? If so, where is the log located.

[Neil-B]

Not meaning to alarm you (or possible teach you to suck eggs as you may know this already) but if you have data you would rather preserve on a Vista machine I would possibly suggest that archiving that data off the machine asap is actually a good idea anyway … With the lack of any updates of any sort (security or otherwise) for the OS and I guess minimal if any effective antivirus/firewall (unless someone is still actually supporting this for Vista) and with the machine connected to the internet that data is very much at risk if the only copy you have is on that machine.

[Crawdaddy79]

I upgraded my old Vista laptop to Ubuntu and it works great. I was impressed that even the function keys work (volume, brightness, etc.) right off the bat. Installing the folding client is a little tricky because you need to install both the client and the control module, but it works pretty well. My machine almost gets 600 points per day! It's usually turned off.

If you're worried about your files, follow everyone's advice and back everything up. External HDD. Thumb drive. Floppy disks. Whatever. Even if your Linux distro of choice says "We will preserve all of your Windows files!", I wouldn't trust it.

[PantherX]

When it comes to preserving data, it can get tricky. Are the files stored on a different Hard Disk Drive or on the same one. What applications use those files? How do you plan to access those files? Is your data backed up to a remote site?

It might be better to seek a dedicated tech Forum and providing all the details as they would be more likely to have members who may have had more experience guiding people on backups then this Forum which is specialized to support F@H. However, that doesn't mean there aren't members here who can help you out

[peterjammo]

I'd certainly be backing up everything remotely before proceeding, but I've installed Mint 18.3 as a dual boot Vista/Mint on a couple of laptops without any issues. Find yourself a decent stepby stepguide before trying it, but the std Mint installer worked easily for me.

Always worth checking whether your particular machine works well with it though, and defrag before you start. A good way of checking basic machine compatability is to run Linux off a Live CD or pen drive to see whether things work, before going ahead with an installation.

Plenty of info out there to look at first, and the Mint forum is a friendly place to ask questions.

[Neil-B]

A good way of checking basic machine compatability is to run Linux off a Live CD or pen drive to see whether things work, before going ahead with an installation.

Great Tip that

[danISfolding4COVID19]

Under the heading of wanting to do something with this old machine while working through a full migration to Linux, will running the FAH client from a linux USB boot disk technically work? I have no doubt that it would be very poor from a performance stand point, but would it work technically?

[Joe_H]

The boot up time might not be the greatest, but once running the client doesn't make heavy usage of disk access. Just make certain to have enough free space for the work and log files.

[NRT_AntiKytherA]

Also depends where you have the work folder. I wouldn't recommend using the USB stick for work units and logs as they have a finite number of writes available. If possible use internal storage under your /home directory. All will become clear about /home as and when you install linux. Linux distributions across the entire linux ecosystem uses far less internal storage than Windows does so you will have much more space for your own use anyway than you do now.

[danISfolding4COVID19]

Thank you once again for the many helpful suggestions. I assume that when working with a linux USB book disk that most of the current harddisk would be largely invisible or unavailable, so I would need the Linux OS a browser, internet connectivity drivers, the FAH client, and some space for the logs and work files on the USB drive. I am thinking that 16 GB may be a good number. I recognize that the USB has a finite number of read/write cycles, but I am trying to cover a window of weeks or months not much more. What kind of space requirement would be needed for the workfiles and logs? Or, can they actually be written to the harddisk (will linux see the harddisk if I am booting up from a USB stick)?

[Neil-B]

USB stick should easily last for the time period you are talking about … tbh I have colleagues who have various Live Linux USB sticks they have used regularly (if not in some cases daily for periods of time) that have lasted for years - and some that have failed within a week !! … for what you are wanting to do a USB failure wouldn't be a world ending event anyways and at least it will allow you to get a feel for how Linux might play with you hardware.