Backup BOINC

From Unofficial BOINC Wiki

This page is incomplete! I hope someone will extend this to show how to do it automatically and with OS other than Windows.

Contents 1 Why? 2 Issues arising 3 Windows 3.1 Restore procedure 3.1.1 No other projects 3.1.2 Other projects involved 3.1.3 Other projects involved and work done on a Climateprediction work unit before you notice the crash

[edit] Why?

Probably not worth it for most short Work Units. However Climateprediction.net has very long work units and it is annoying to lose one of them.

[edit] Issues arising

To make a backup it is necessary to exit the BOINC Client Software due to file locking issues.

[edit] Windows

For Windows users, you can create a batch file containing

XCOPY "c:\Program Files\BOINC\*.*" "c:\Backups\cBOINC" /C /M /E /Y

To create a batch file:

• Open notepad.
• Copy the command written above into notepad.
• Save the file with a .bat extension so something like BOINCBU.bat

You also need to create the c:\Backups\cBOINC directory or something similar and edit the command to suit.

To carry out the backup manually, exit the BOINC Client Software and run the batch file. You may want to save the batch file on your desktop to make access easier.

UK_Nick has some .vbs files for automating the process see this thread

[edit] Restore procedure

[edit] No other projects

If you have no other projects, you can simply exit BOINC and copy the backup copy to the normal BOINC install location.

If you have done several hours processing since the crash and you do not want to lose this work:

1. Exit BOINC and copy the boinc folder to a second backup location.
2. Copy the first backup from before the crash to the install location.
3. Restart BOINC and when the Work Unit has finished, exit BOINC and copy the backup from the second backup location to the install location.

[edit] Other projects involved

1. You want to run down any work for other projects. This can be done on 4.45 by clicking on the no new work button for each project. For 4.19, you can set the disk preferences so that there is no room for any new work.
2. You don't want to work on a Climateprediction.net Work Unit in this time so suspend work on Climateprediction.net project. (Project tab, select climateprediction.net, click suspend button.) For 4.19 you can set the resource share to be very low or detatch the project. If you detach the project ensure you save any work you want to keep as the detatch will delete everything.
3. When the queues are all drained, Exit BOINC and copy the backup to the BOINC install location.
4. We don't want BOINC to contact other projects with information about runs that were in progress at the time of the backup but have since been completed, so:
   1. Disconnect internet.
   2. Ensure you have your account keys so you can reattach to projects. Do this before detatching as that could make the information more difficult to recover.
   3. Start BOINC and detatch all projects except Climateprediction.net.
   4. Reconnect internet.
   5. Attach all your projects again.

[edit] Other projects involved and work done on a Climateprediction work unit before you notice the crash

1. You want to run down any work for other projects. This can be done on 4.45 by clicking on the no new work button for each project. For 4.19, you can set the disk preferences so that there is no room for any new work.
2. It isn't lost work to continue with Climateprediction.net Work Units in this time. However you may want to speed up the queue draining process. If you do, I suggest setting the Climateprediction.net resource share to be very low. This is better than suspending work on Climateprediction.net as if you do not notice when the queues are drained your computer could be left doing nothing.
3. When the queues are all drained, exit BOINC and copy the BOINC folder to a second backup location.
4. Copy the first backup from before the crash to the BOINC install location.
5. We don't want BOINC to contact other projects with information about runs that were in progress at the time of the backup but have since been completed, so:
   1. Disconnect internet
   2. Start BOINC and detatch all projects except Climateprediction.net.
   3. Reconnect internet
6. Finish the Climateprediction.net Work Unit
7. Ensure the Work Unit has done the final report and disappeared from the Work tab. (An update can help speed up this final report.)
8. Exit BOINC and copy the second backup to the BOINC install location.
9. Restart BOINC and allow new work again on all the projects (or for 4.19 reset the disk preferences to allow new work and, if necessary, reset the resource share).