Boot 'N Fold
How to create a Self-Contained, Self-Running, Remotely Monitored Folding@Home Linux Boot USB
- Auto runs FAH on startup, no user interaction required!
- Remote view progress, uptime, status
- Doesn't make any modifications to the computer's hard drive
Requirements (Click to show)
-Format the USB disk to be FAT32
-Open UNetbootin and select the "Disk image" radio button
-In the text field for "space used to preserve files across reboots", set that to 200MB(or more)
-Press the button with ellipses and select the ubuntu10.10-desktop-amd64.iso file
Afterwards, it should look something like this:
-Click OK to begin the flashing of the USB drive (it should appear to hang on squashfs due to its 656MB size, but this is normal)
-When complete, reboot off the USB drive by selecting it in your BIOS to boot from first.
Step 2: F@H Installation and Configuration (Click to show)
The following must be completed within the Linux environment itself running from the flash drive.
**NOTE** If you are prompted to upgrade your Ubuntu version DO NOT DO IT. Compatability with the v7 client is only verified to fully work with the 10.10 version at this time.
-In Ubunutu, open up Firefox and download this link from the Folding@home Client v7 Beta page.:
https://fah-web.stanford.edu/file-releases/beta/release/fahclient/debian-testing-64bit/v7.2/fahclient_7.2.9_amd64.deb
I also made a shortened link for those of you just typing it in: http://tinyurl.com/kubedfah729
-When prompted, open with "Ubuntu Software Center (default)"
-The Ubuntu Software Center should open.
-Click the Install button in this window.
-Shortly after, the "Configuring fahclient" window should appear.
-Make sure to set the client to use SMP only.
-Enter your username and/or team information at this time.
-Once done, it should look like this:
-Click "Forward".
You have now installed Folding@home on Linux. At this point, it is currently running in the background utilizing all cores of the current computer, and will automatically begin as a service upon startup when booted from the USB drive. Just boot and you're folding! Because this is a full fledged Linux distribution, most all hardware (network cards & processors) should be supported and this should run on the largest variety of hardware without having to load specific drivers, etc. To check to see if the client is utilizing all cores or not, simply go to Stystem>Administration>System Monitor to see your network, memory, and processor utilization:
Step 3: Configure Remote Monitoring (Click to show)
Now, to enable remote monitoring so this machine can be run completely lights out, follow the instructions below:
UPDATE: Now, FAHControl is no longer included with the client, so you can download and install FAHControl using this link: https://fah-web.stanford.edu/file-releases/beta/release/fahcontrol/debian-testing-64bit/v7.2/fahcontrol_7.2.9-1_all.deb
-Click on the "Applications" menu in the upper left of the screen.
-Select the "Science" submenu, and select "FAHControl"
-Change mode from "Novice" to "Expert" in the upper right corner of the FAHControl window.
-In the left "Clients" pane, double-click on the local user entry.
-In the Configure window that appears, select the "Remote Access" tab.
-Scroll down and replace 127.0.0.1 with 0.0.0.0/0 in both instances.
-Save your changes, close out of FAHControl, and reboot the machine to apply the changes.
-To view the Linux machine's IP address, select the Applications menu, select Accessories, and run the Terminal. At the command prompt, type ifconfig
-Your IP address will be listed after inet addr: in the eth0 or wlan0 area.
-You will now be able to add the IP address of this machine to your regular computer's FAHControl for remote status, availability, and progess monitoring.
Closing Thoughts (Click to show)
Edited by kubed_zero - 12/30/12 at 12:15pm
How to create a Self-Contained, Self-Running, Remotely Monitored Folding@Home Linux Boot USB
- Auto runs FAH on startup, no user interaction required!
- Remote view progress, uptime, status
- Doesn't make any modifications to the computer's hard drive
Requirements (Click to show)
USB Boot Disk Creation PC: Windows, 2GB or larger USB thumb drive
Target PC: 64-bit Processor, USB Port, 2GB RAM, Network Port, and needs to be able to boot from a USB drive
UNetbootin (Download here)
Ubuntu 10.10 Live CD for x64 Hardware (Download here)
USB thumb drive (2GB Minimum Recommended)
Step 1: Prepare the USB disk (Click to show)Target PC: 64-bit Processor, USB Port, 2GB RAM, Network Port, and needs to be able to boot from a USB drive
UNetbootin (Download here)
Ubuntu 10.10 Live CD for x64 Hardware (Download here)
USB thumb drive (2GB Minimum Recommended)
-Format the USB disk to be FAT32
-Open UNetbootin and select the "Disk image" radio button
-In the text field for "space used to preserve files across reboots", set that to 200MB(or more)
-Press the button with ellipses and select the ubuntu10.10-desktop-amd64.iso file
Afterwards, it should look something like this:
-Click OK to begin the flashing of the USB drive (it should appear to hang on squashfs due to its 656MB size, but this is normal)
-When complete, reboot off the USB drive by selecting it in your BIOS to boot from first.
The following must be completed within the Linux environment itself running from the flash drive.
**NOTE** If you are prompted to upgrade your Ubuntu version DO NOT DO IT. Compatability with the v7 client is only verified to fully work with the 10.10 version at this time.
-In Ubunutu, open up Firefox and download this link from the Folding@home Client v7 Beta page.:
https://fah-web.stanford.edu/file-releases/beta/release/fahclient/debian-testing-64bit/v7.2/fahclient_7.2.9_amd64.deb
I also made a shortened link for those of you just typing it in: http://tinyurl.com/kubedfah729
-When prompted, open with "Ubuntu Software Center (default)"
-The Ubuntu Software Center should open.
-Click the Install button in this window.
-Shortly after, the "Configuring fahclient" window should appear.
-Make sure to set the client to use SMP only.
-Enter your username and/or team information at this time.
-Once done, it should look like this:
-Click "Forward".
You have now installed Folding@home on Linux. At this point, it is currently running in the background utilizing all cores of the current computer, and will automatically begin as a service upon startup when booted from the USB drive. Just boot and you're folding! Because this is a full fledged Linux distribution, most all hardware (network cards & processors) should be supported and this should run on the largest variety of hardware without having to load specific drivers, etc. To check to see if the client is utilizing all cores or not, simply go to Stystem>Administration>System Monitor to see your network, memory, and processor utilization:
Now, to enable remote monitoring so this machine can be run completely lights out, follow the instructions below:
UPDATE: Now, FAHControl is no longer included with the client, so you can download and install FAHControl using this link: https://fah-web.stanford.edu/file-releases/beta/release/fahcontrol/debian-testing-64bit/v7.2/fahcontrol_7.2.9-1_all.deb
-Click on the "Applications" menu in the upper left of the screen.
-Select the "Science" submenu, and select "FAHControl"
-Change mode from "Novice" to "Expert" in the upper right corner of the FAHControl window.
-In the left "Clients" pane, double-click on the local user entry.
-In the Configure window that appears, select the "Remote Access" tab.
-Scroll down and replace 127.0.0.1 with 0.0.0.0/0 in both instances.
-Save your changes, close out of FAHControl, and reboot the machine to apply the changes.
-To view the Linux machine's IP address, select the Applications menu, select Accessories, and run the Terminal. At the command prompt, type ifconfig
-Your IP address will be listed after inet addr: in the eth0 or wlan0 area.
-You will now be able to add the IP address of this machine to your regular computer's FAHControl for remote status, availability, and progess monitoring.
And that's about all there is to it! This should work on any computer within reason. I have tried it on a computer with a Core i5 2300, a Core 2 Quad Q8400, and a Core i7 2600k, and none of them had problems. If you have any comments, suggestions, or additions to the guide, just PM me. Hope you guys enjoy this 
Note: Regarding GPU folding using this guide, my GPU was successfully recognized; however, it was not able to retrieve any work units for it, so as far as I know, there are no GPU work units available for v7.
Note: Regarding GPU folding using this guide, my GPU was successfully recognized; however, it was not able to retrieve any work units for it, so as far as I know, there are no GPU work units available for v7.
Edited by kubed_zero - 12/30/12 at 12:15pm
