D2OL as a service...

[Jeff]

This is just a test! Only do this procedure to help test if it works. I have installed it this way on one rig to test it out but it has NOT crunched for 6hrs yet to cycle through it's full running procedure. Worst case scenerio you will waste time crunching and not get credit. Best case scenerio you can verify this works and help the team out. ;)

The biggest thing that needs verifying is that the client will upload it's processed work, download new work, and then resume crunching all as this service. From what I've read on other forums this is the sticking point for just using FireDaemon. :shrug: This may or may not work. :)

http://www.adventurevision.com/D2OL-service.html

[PS2pcGAMER]

I'll try it out this weekend.

I was just about to try and figure out how to run D2OL as a service, so thanks for saving me some time. :toast:

[Jeff]

Just verified that going from Gridwin.exe to Dockwin.exe works. I think I'll just leave it overnight and then check to make sure it's running in the morning and that I've received credit overnight. :shrug:

[Assasin-uk]

Great Work Jeff...

This is just what i have been looking for to use here at work.. ;)


We didnt just want you on the team for your good looks.. :D

[Jeff]

Welp... seems like it made it through the night and uploaded, downloaded, then resumed crunching. :)

[edit]Below was originally posted but no longer needs to be done!

The only oddball thing with the installation is having to shuffle the contents of the original D2OL directory(which is c:\SegentD2OL\ by default). For some reason I just could not get instsrv.exe to work when the working directory was 2 levels in, which by default is c:\SegentD2OL\D2OL\. :shrug: Maybe someone who is more familiar with this command's syntax can help?

[Jupiler]

Jeff,

Did you make sure that the service was stopped before typing the instsrv command?
I had the same problem (syntax error, or something like that).
I completely uninstalled D2OL and reinstalled it again.

Followed the instructions again, copied "instsrv" and "srvany" to my C:\D2OL\D2OL\ directory and typed the given command "instsrv D2OL c:\D2OL\D2OL\srvany.exe" and pressed ENTER.

Open the registry, checked the String Value named "Image Path" under My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlS et\Services\D2OL.

srvany.exe was located under c:\d2ol\d2ol\, just like it supposed to be.
Added the necessary parameters (AppDirectory and Application) and exit the registry.

Went back to command prompt and typed "net start d2ol". Service was up and running. CPU load went to 100%, so it seemed OK.

Rebooted and D2OL started running directly. So I assume it's working. :)

I hope this is what you meant.

[saaya]

let me know once you have figured it out and it runs without any problems, so i can add it to the tweaking guide :)

or does it already work?

[Jeff]

Jeff,

Did you make sure that the service was stopped before typing the instsrv command?
I had the same problem (syntax error, or something like that).
I completely uninstalled D2OL and reinstalled it again.

Don't think so but I was rushing so it's possible. ;) If you have it working, then I probably did do something silly like that. :lol:

I'll try again when I get home but I'm sure you're probably right. :shrug:

Good work. Nothing like "team work". :toast:

[Rodzilla]

I would suggest putting the "Srvany.exe" and "Instsrv.exe" in the Windows directory.

To install your service you would type "instsrv d2ol c:\windows\srvany.exe" This should let you get your service to run even though it is more than 2 levels down in a directory.

You should also start the services from the Services control panel (type services.msc in the run box) You can also get there by right clicking on the "My Computer" icon on the desktop and selecting "Manage". At the bottom you will see services.

When you get to the control panel find your service and right click and select "Properties" Go to the "logon" tab and select "This account:" and enter an account with administrative privileges. (This is so the Service can run at a login screen without any trouble) Try and start the service in the services control panel. Take note of any errors... There should be none!

If there are errors you can usually get more details on them by going to the error log. Right click on the "My computer" icon and select manage. You should see "Event Viewer" see if there is more info in here.

This should work just fine. I've been using it for a couple of days now with no troubles. Just waiting for time to post it! :up: Thanks for saving me loads of time Jeff!!!!!!! :toast:

The only down side to running this as a service is that you can't access the GUI if you want to... It's also not possible to see if there are any errors or if a client stops running. You also can't see the "Status Menu"

To change options in this mode you will have to learn to edit the *.prp files in the "...\D2OL\res" folder. (Be careful when pocking around in here :stick: )

You can also Use DSpy to Monitor your clients... but you can't change any options. (Once you get the client setup you really don't need to... I haven't touched it ever since...)
http://homepages.opencominc.com/smichael/DSpy.exe

[saaya]

i suggest you make a backup of all files before you start to play with them :D

[Rodzilla]

i suggest you make a backup of all files before you start to play with them :D

Oh yea... that's a good idea too! :lol: Backups are for sissies!!!! :lol:

.:EDIT:. Just curious saaya... what did you edit in my post above you last one???^^^^^

[Jeff]

Updated the service page with a bit of new/different information. (thanks Jupiler) I'll add Rodzilla's information tonight after work(or maybe Saturday AM).
Thanks for the finer details guys! :toast:

[Rodzilla]

Looks like you changed it to the default install directory :up: Looks good!

[Jeff]

Yeah... I think DockWin.exe was still running the first couple times I tried to install it as a service. :rolleyes: :am: :lol: I re-tried it last night with a fresh install and it worked fine. ;)

[Karnivore]

I just used Fire-Daemon Lite, and set it to run as a service with that, the program is free, small, and takes maybe 20 seconds to add and remove services.

[Rodzilla]

I just used Fire-Daemon Lite, and set it to run as a service with that, the program is free, small, and takes maybe 20 seconds to add and remove services.

Let it run for 6hrs so it can do a handshake with the server. That's when it will crash if it's not going to work.

[Karnivore]

Let it run for 6hrs so it can do a handshake with the server. That's when it will crash if it's not going to work.

Its been a couple days on one machine, and almost 24 hours on another, both used Fire-Daemon Lite to install as services, seems it works just fine for me.. Been using this same program to install F@H, DF, and now D2OL, with no problems at all...

[Rodzilla]

Its been a couple days on one machine, and almost 24 hours on another, both used Fire-Daemon Lite to install as services, seems it works just fine for me.. Been using this same program to install F@H, DF, and now D2OL, with no problems at all...

Make 100% sure you are getting credit for the points. You can check your nodes here http://app.d2ol.com/memberServices/myHomepage.jsp

Then post a guide on how ya did it! :D

[Karnivore]

Just double checked the 2 nodes installed as a Fire-Daemon service, they both seem to be running fine...

Really simple to use I'll try to explain in next post..

[Karnivore]

Ok, I just went to the Fire-Daemon home page, seems they no longer offer the FREE, Lite version, but some Googling led me HERE (http://www.snapfiles.com/download/dlfiredaemon.html) where the lite version is still available.. 1.5 mb download....

Download, and install..

Run firedaemon..

GUI Opens, go to Service, then New.

Short name = D2OL
Display name will fill automatically when clicked, use the default (D2OL)
Check console App...
Choose working directory= "your D2OL install Directory"
executable= D2OL.exe

Click install.. DONE...

Should look like the attached screenie if installed as default...

EDIT:Noticed some are having problems with fire-Daemon???? The lite version I linked to is different than what is currently available @ firedaemon.com...

[Rodzilla]

Wow... that's a little easier than the way Jeff and I did it! :up: good show! I'll have to give it a go!

BTW... there is no need to hide your node ID in your screenies. Infact... you should share them. No one can do anything with them.

Here is alist of every single node I have (Minus one that hasn't posted results yet) http://tn-d2ol-stats.homeip.net/selectednodes?nodes=112173+112078+112077+111921+11 1919+111840+111838+111755+111754+111753+111748+111 744

There is a bug in the stats that won't let this page display english... colums are as follows: (Ny=New)

Idx
Id
Position
Changes today
Changes last week
Changes last month
Candidates
Daily avg. today
Daily avg. last week
Daily avg. last month

[Karnivore]

Wow... that's a little easier than the way Jeff and I did it! :up: good show! I'll have to give it a go!

BTW... there is no need to hide your node ID in your screenies. Infact... you should share them. No one can do anything with them.


Hope the Firedaemon lite works for you... Running great here.. As for node ID's, privacy habits, and Internet are almost automatic for me, lol... Way to many years on the net :rolleyes:

[Rodzilla]

Wow... that's a little easier than the way Jeff and I did it! :up: good show! I'll have to give it a go!

BTW... there is no need to hide your node ID in your screenies. Infact... you should share them. No one can do anything with them.

Here is alist of every single node I have (Minus one that hasn't posted results yet) http://tn-d2ol-stats.homeip.net/selectednodes?nodes=112173+112078+112077+111921+11 1919+111840+111838+111755+111754+111753+111748+111 744

There is a bug in the stats that won't let this page display english... colums are as follows: (Ny=New)

Idx
Id
Position
Changes today
Changes last week
Changes last month
Candidates
Daily avg. today
Daily avg. last week
Daily avg. last month

Or even better yet http://12.3.177.174:6969/d2ol/individual_nodes.php?UserId=Rodzilla&showdesc=Y

As you can see from that page... I have a very dead rig... :(

[Jeff]

Is it dead because of installing the service via FireDaemon Lite? Or is there some other trouble?

If FD Lite works... that's GREAT!!! :up: I'm just curious why so many other people have seemed to try and fail. :shrug: Maybe they just aren't Xtreme. :lol: ;)

[Rodzilla]

Is it dead because of installing the service via FireDaemon Lite? Or is there some other trouble?

If FD Lite works... that's GREAT!!! :up: I'm just curious why so many other people have seemed to try and fail. :shrug: Maybe they just aren't Xtreme. :lol: ;)

Windows crashed to the Xtreme... Services are A. O. K. :up:

[Jeff]

Great news then. FireDaemon Lite it is!!! :toast:

[Jupiler]

Guys,
Got a small problem here.

I installed D2OL on my son's rig (A7N8X-E Deluxe, XP-M 2500+ @ 2500Mhz, 1 gig Corsair, blabla)
Installation went ok, no probs.
Then I installed Firedeamon and D2OL Daddy.
After configuration, I rebooted and D2OL started as a service. D2OL daddy was running too.

Now the problem is that the system is acting terribly slow, browsing takes ages, so do opening/closing windows within explorer, can't play any games while D2OL is running and other stuff. Feels like running a DX2/66 mhz with 4mb ram. :(

On my 2 other rigs, it runs smoothly, no problems at all.
I already uninstalled it and reinstalled, but didn't help.

Anyone that might help me out?

[Rodzilla]

Guys,
Got a small problem here.

I installed D2OL on my son's rig (A7N8X-E Deluxe, XP-M 2500+ @ 2500Mhz, 1 gig Corsair, blabla)
Installation went ok, no probs.
Then I installed Firedeamon and D2OL Daddy.
After configuration, I rebooted and D2OL started as a service. D2OL daddy was running too.

Now the problem is that the system is acting terribly slow, browsing takes ages, so do opening/closing windows within explorer, can't play any games while D2OL is running and other stuff. Feels like running a DX2/66 mhz with 4mb ram. :(

On my 2 other rigs, it runs smoothly, no problems at all.
I already uninstalled it and reinstalled, but didn't help.

Anyone that might help me out?

Does it do it when you do NOT have it as a service?

[Jupiler]

Does it do it when you do NOT have it as a service?

Haven't tried that yet. At least, I don't think so.
Will give it a shot tomorrow morning.

[Rodzilla]

Just install new copies in another directory... that way you don't mess up your services... if they work...

[Rinsewand]

just out of curiosity - it is set to low priority in task manager? i cant think why it wouldnt be, but just incase?

[Jupiler]

I'm checking my rig now. In task manager, it's set at Normal.
Can't check it on my son's rig now, it's 2:30 AM and I don't wanna wake him.
Will check and try it tomorrow morning.
Thanks for the help guys.

[Rinsewand]

try setting it to a lower priority on his rig.

[Jupiler]

OK,
I uninstalled FireDeamon and setup the service manually.
Rebooted the system, D2OL started, manually started D2OL Daddy and it seems ok now. Explorer opens quick now is system is more responsive as before. Games start up too, just take some more time to load, which seem normal.

Don't know where the problem was. Maybe FireDeamon was the cause of this (just a guess).

Thx again for the help guys. :toast:
Keep folding.

[Rodzilla]

Hmmmmm... That's what D²OL Daddy does... It's resets the priority of the processes needed to run the client every 10 seconds. :confused:

I don't see why it would do this just because it's installed as a service.

More testing may be required.

[Jupiler]

OK,
I'll remove the service manually tomorrow, and install FireDaemon again.
We'll see what happens.

[Rodzilla]

OK,
I'll remove the service manually tomorrow, and install FireDaemon again.
We'll see what happens.

Be sure to use the D²OL Daddy too.

BTW... your sig needs updating... saaya has been a busy bee!!!! 11,739 Post! :up:

[PS2pcGAMER]

First I tried Jeff's method and I got an Error 3, can't find directory or something. I tried it again to make sure I didn't screw something up, same deal. So I did what Rodzilla said and that seemed to work fine.

Thanks both of you for figuring this out.

If I have time, I'll put together a batch file that installs the service automatically.

[Rodzilla]

The thing with the batch file is that some people have there clients installed in different areas... I already have a *.reg file that I use to install them. Easy to edit in notepad to customize it for diff PCs.

[PS2pcGAMER]

Well I doubt the average person changes the directories. Besides, most of the batch file would be based off of relative directories and not hard coded ones. It wouldn't be hard to do it all, so it isn't really a big deal.

[Rodzilla]

Well I doubt the average person changes the directories. Besides, most of the batch file would be based off of relative directories and not hard coded ones. It wouldn't be hard to do it all, so it isn't really a big deal.

Do it to it! :up:

"Well I doubt the average person changes the directories." :lol: This is Xtreme man! There are no average ppl here! :toast:

[Jupiler]

Well,
I tried it again but the problem remains the same. Sluggish performance, games run crappy etc.... when the services are started with Firedaemon.
Uninstalled Firedaemon and manually made the changes to start as a service.
Rebooted, D2OL and D2OLDaddy started at bootup.
Started some games at the same time (C&C generals, then AOM, then Star Wars Battlefront), no probs at all. Games run fluid.

Don't know what's causing this problems, must be something with Firedaemon.
I'm gonna leave it as it is right now, no more changes.

[Rodzilla]

Well,
I tried it again but the problem remains the same. Sluggish performance, games run crappy etc.... when the services are started with Firedaemon.
Uninstalled Firedaemon and manually made the changes to start as a service.
Rebooted, D2OL and D2OLDaddy started at bootup.
Started some games at the same time (C&C generals, then AOM, then Star Wars Battlefront), no probs at all. Games run fluid.

Don't know what's causing this problems, must be something with Firedaemon.
I'm gonna leave it as it is right now, no more changes.

Hmmmm... Do us a favor? Try it with Jeffs guide. Let us know if you have the same troubles or not. Is there a process that Firedaemon is using that eats up a lot of processes??

[Jupiler]

That's what I did.
Followed Jeff's guide, and it works fine, no problems at all.
It only gives me problems, once I install Firedaemon and have it run D2OL as a service.

Nope, D2OL is the only process that Firedaemon's using.
Actually, I even couldn't add another process with Firedaemon. :shrug:

[Rodzilla]

That's what I did.
Followed Jeff's guide, and it works fine, no problems at all.
It only gives me problems, once I install Firedaemon and have it run D2OL as a service.

Nope, D2OL is the only process that Firedaemon's using.
Actually, I even couldn't add another process with Firedaemon. :shrug:

Okie... so it's safe to say that firedaemon isn't the way to go? if so I'll edit the post that way no one uses it :D

[Rodzilla]

Did you use firedaemon Lite??????

[Rodzilla]

I PMed Karnivore for help with the program...

[Jupiler]

Yep, the Lite version. Followed Karnivore's link and his small installation guide.

[Karnivore]

Really have no idea what the problem is, After 3 installs here without a problem, ranging from an old Socket A Tbird, A P4C, and an A64, Without problems, I'll have to say that something else is causing issues... I doubt its FireDaemon, all my installs are on XP, minimum of 384 ram. I'm betting its something else related to the specific install that causes the problems. I guess the best thing I can offer is, try the simplest solution first... The 3 nodes I have up are all running perfectly, no issues at all...

[Rodzilla]

Jupiler... Can we trouble you to look into this? We can't publish and official How-to with Firedaemon if it not 100%. And it's sooooo much easier than the manual guide. You are the only one having troubles so we need to figure out what's going on so we can implement this. Do you have another rig to try this on to see if the problem is replicated? If so we have a problem... If not we need to turn back to the rig that was giving you troubles and get that worked out. This way we can push the easy solution! :D

Karnivore... are you running your services on any rigs that you are actively using on a day to day basis?

[Karnivore]

Karnivore... are you running your services on any rigs that you are actively using on a day to day basis?


yes, the dinosaur Tbird is used every day, just surfing, and a bit of chatting, but daily..

The P4C is secondary rig at my desktop, surfing, light gaming, and extensive multimedia work..

The A64 rig is my main, and used extensively every day, medium gaming, surfing, light multimedia/graphic design. I've not had any noticeable degradation in system performance.

I would notice any problems with the P4 rig immediately, and the old Tbird would also be obvious if D2OL were hogging resources, as that machine has little to spair..

[Rodzilla]

yes, the dinosaur Tbird is used every day, just surfing, and a bit of chatting, but daily..

The P4C is secondary rig at my desktop, surfing, light gaming, and extensive multimedia work..

The A64 rig is my main, and used extensively every day, medium gaming, surfing, light multimedia/graphic design. I've not had any noticeable degradation in system performance.

I would notice any problems with the P4 rig immediately, and the old Tbird would also be obvious if D2OL were hogging resources, as that machine has little to spair..

Well... That means we have to fix this... Damn! :lol:

:( I hope this works out for Firedaemon. It's by far the easier of the 2 solutions. Help us Jupiler!!!!

[Jupiler]

I will, no doubt about that.
I'm gonna give version 1.7 a try on that rig.
Just installed it on my primary rig and it looks ok. Gonna do the same on my son's rig later today.
Will report back.

[Rodzilla]

1.7 of firedaemon?

[Jupiler]

1.7 of firedaemon?

Yep,
Firedaemon version 1.7.

[Jupiler]

Looks like the problem went away.
Installed Firedaemon 1.7, D2OL as a service and rebooted.
D2OL and D2OLDaddy started up nicely.
Let it run for a couple of minutes and tried some games.
No problems detected, games played nice and fluid.
Let the system run for a couple of hours and tried again. No problems after several hours either.
So it looks to me that something within Firedaemon Lite 1.6 caused the problems.
But it strange to see that I'm the only one who had these problems.

Question BTW :
Is it normal, that with the Lite version, you can only install 1 service?
Because after I installed Firedaemon Lite, and tried to install D2OL Daddy as a service too, the program said that the maximum number of installed services was reached.
Maybe the Lite version only does this and has less options than the full / PRO version.

[Rodzilla]

I can't find any info on Firedaemon Lite...

[Jeff]

Yeah, last time I tried FD Lite it was that way. Which stinks if you are a P4 HT or multiple CPU person. You should leave both service methods listed because of this. Just stress that the FD Lite way is WAY easier and should be used if you are only installing D2OL once.

[Rodzilla]

Yeah, last time I tried FD Lite it was that way. Which stinks if you are a P4 HT or multiple CPU person. You should leave both service methods listed because of this. Just stress that the FD Lite way is WAY easier and should be used if you are only installing D2OL once.


Sounds like that's the way will have to go. Are there other apps that can be used to install programs as services?

[PS2pcGAMER]

I created a package that will install D2OL almost automatically as a service. If possible, I'd like someone else to test it before I release it publically. PM me for the URL.

[Jupiler]

PM sent.

[Rodzilla]

The install went just fine!!! I was thinking about doing something like this but I couldn't think how. I love how you di this with the batch files! :up:

None of mine are in the default directories but it was still an easy setup! :up: