For BOINC workunits, I'm having the opposite problem - some will run under
Windows 7 but not under Windows Vista. Looks likely to be due to the
differences in the amount of RAM installed at least as much as which Windows
version is installed, though. Both computers have as much RAM as the
motherboard will allow.
Microsoft made it difficult to run Windows Mail and related programs under
Windows 7. So far, I haven't found any other way to read multi-part
yEnc-encoded
messages that I saved years ago and are no longer available on the
newsgroups
server.
I'm monitoring memory use with Windows Task Manager. It does not
distinguish
between task-specific memory and shared memory, but appears to show only
one copy of any shared memory. The problems tend to start when the amount
of free memory shown by Windows Task Manager drops near zero, if the
program will even start when free memory is that low.
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:38:55 +0000
From: "McLeod, John" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [boinc_dev] A problem with memory used calculations, at,
least for 64-bit Windows Vista
A hint:
If it will run on Vista, it will almost certainly run on 7. The API did not
change between.
-----Original Message-----
From: boinc_dev [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Robert
Miles
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2013 1:28 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [boinc_dev] A problem with memory used calculations, at, least for
64-bit Windows Vista
I currently have three of the The Lattice Project 3.11 GB workunits
running on my Windows 7 desktop with 16 GB RAM and BOINC allowed to use
80% of it.
On the other hand, my Windows Vista desktop with 8 GB RAM and BOINC
allowed to use 40% of it has not been able to
complete such a The Lattice Project workunit successfully for months.
Allowing BOINC to use a larger fraction of the memory almost stops the
execution of any programs that use the keyboard. The 3.11 GB workunits
just cannot get enough
memory to run properly while a few 32-bit workunits are running, often
one from Rosetta@Home that uses around 500 MB, not counting any SYSWOW64
modules.
A few other differences noticed: The SYSWOW64 modules for Windows 7
(shown as svchost.exe in the Windows Task Manager if Show processes for
all users is enabled) are only a fraction of the size of those for
Windows Vista, which suggests that Windows 7 has them broken into
smaller pieces so that it does not need to load as much into memory when
only a fraction of each Windows Vista SYSWOW64 modules are used.
In other words, there is less need for separate limits for 32-bit memory
space and 64-bit memory space under Windows 7 than under Windows Vista,
because Windows 7 is more memory-efficient at running 32-bit programs.
Looks like a good reason to install Windows 7 on the 8 GB desktop AFTER
I'm no longer running any programs that aren't Windows 7 compatible.
Perhaps a way to tell the BOINC client to request ONLY 64-bit workunits,
or ONLY 32-bit workunits, would be a good temporary workaround for this
problem?
Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2013 20:17:03 -0500
From: Robert Miles <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [boinc_dev] A problem with memory used calculations, at
least for 64-bit Windows Vista
Not the main point I was discussing. I was writing mostly about HOW MUCH
is loaded into memory, not where it is loaded. 32-bit workunits under
64-bit
Windows just won't run without any SYSWOW64 modules in memory, and
usually need about as much memory for the SYSWOW64 modules they use as
for the 32-bit application program.
-----Reply To -----
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:37:48 +0000
From: "McLeod, John" <[email protected]>
To: Robert Miles <[email protected]>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [boinc_dev] A problem with memory used calculations, at
least for 64-bit Windows Vista
Where things are loaded in memory should have no effect on reloading after a
checkpoint. No application should ever store a memory pointer into a file. If
they do, then there is a problem with the checkpointing of that application.
-----Original Message-----
From: boinc_dev [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Robert
Miles
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2013 11:56 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [boinc_dev] A problem with memory used calculations, at least for
64-bit Windows Vista
I've noticed the BOINC has a problem with memory used calculations under
64-bit Windows, when running a mix of 32-bit workunits and 64-bit
workunits. It does not include the SYSWOW64 modules in use by the
32-bit workunits (possibly because they are listed as being run by
System and are not in the 32-bit memory space).
These SYSWOW64 modules roughly double the amount of 64-bit memory space
needed to run these 32-bit workunits.
As a result, a 64-bit workunit can check the memory available, decide
that it's enough, and start running. However, if the total RAM is 8 GB
or less, the doubling of space occupied by 32-bit workunits can exhaust
the free memory available in 64-bit memory space before the 64-bit
workunit reaches its first checkpoint, which puts the 64-bit workunit
into Waiting to run state and can also push it into virtual memory. If
Windows does not restore it to the same addresses in 64-bit memory when
restoring it from virtual memory (I believe I've read that it does not)
and the application is not sufficiently location-independent, BOINC will
restart this workunit from the beginning, and probably encounter the
same problem again, over and over.
Seen with:
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 (some of the programs I run aren't
compatible with later Windows versions)
8 GB RAM, but BOINC limited to using 40% of it to avoid drastic
slowdowns of non-BOINC 32-bit programs, including one of the programs in
the path for accepting keyboard input; motherboard will not hold any
more RAM
BOINC 7.0.28, but also seen with some earlier 7.0.* versions; haven't
tried any versions after 7.0.28
A The Lattice Project workunit trying to use about 3.1 GB of 64-bit
memory, but also 32-bit workunits from other projects trying to use
about 300 MB of 32-bit memory (not counting the SYSWOW64 modules)
A possible fix I've thought of: Modify BOINC to use separate memory
limits for 64-bit memory space and for 32-bit memory space. Count the
32-bit workunits, but not the SYSWOW64 modules they use, against the
limit on 32-bit memory space. Count the 64-bit workunits, the 32-bit
workunits, and the SYSWOW64 modules used by the 32-bit workunits,
against the limit on 64-bit memory space.
I've seen nothing indicating whether 64-bit versions of Windows other
than Vista also need this fix, and nothing indicating whether 64-bit
operating systems other than Windows need it.
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