Xsos Usb V0.7

[nn_step]

Well today we have a brand new version of XSOS, this edition should support different media types, so we NEED it to be tested on Hard drives, Compact flash, USB thumb drives, or any other storage device you feel like playing around with. Also we have added a remote control application, which if you run a WCG Farm you might like. You can download V0.7 here http://nnstep.com/boinic/garbage/XSOS_USB.v0.7/
Please please please please please read the manual included in the rar.
Installation just like all previous editions.

[xVeinx]

I'm having trouble with the file. When I try to unpack it, it gives an error.

Crc failed in OS\OS.r00 : file is broken

[nn_step]

I'm having trouble with the file. When I try to unpack it, it gives an error.

Crc failed in OS\OS.r00 : file is broken

did you download all of the files and check to make sure that the MD5 matched?

[xVeinx]

I re-downloaded the files and checked the MD5, and everything is fine now.

[alpha0ne]

D/loading now and will report back tonight

[nn_step]

NOTE Please use windows XP drivers

[fallwind]

I've been lurking for a while now and thought I'd join XS to post my results with XSOS. I tried it on my primary rig (QX6700, P5B Deluxe) but couldn't get the network working. Setup.exe from the LAN driver wouldn't run and using the device manager to update the driver wouldn't work either, said it couldn't find the drivers no matter where I pointed it to look.

So I tried it on one of my farm animals (Q6600, DS3). Same results with the device manager but low and behold setup.exe for the LAN drivers worked! It's been up and crunching for about 6 hours now....sweet! OS is installed on a 1GB OCZ Rally, boot-up is slow but not too bad. About 3 minutes from hitting the power button to the reaching the desktop. BOINC benchmarks are identical to before with a stripped down XP installed on an old IDE 40GB drive.

The only issue I have now is that I'm unable to change the computer name. I can make the change in the network manager and it sticks, but the change does not show up on the WCG site or in BOINCview. Rebooting reverts the computer name to minint and restarting the network manager has no effect. Any tips here? It's not an issue for the time being since I only have this installed on 1 rig but I plan on installing it on 3 more so it could get confusing.

Keep up the great work guys! You're very close to having a perfect crunching OS!

[fallwind]

I'm more interested in getting rid of 4 ancient, noisy, hot, power sucking HD's than benchmarks. I'm using BOINC version 5.10.7 which seems to have a more reliable and stable benchmark routine than the 5.8.x versions so maybe that explains my observations. Also, OCZ Rally dual-channel drives are very fast compared to many on the market.

[Pyr0]

working perfectly from a usb stick (4gb corsair voyager gt) using the BadAxe sys in sig.
installed network drivers, started the network app, loaded boinc and after filling in my details, was off crunching

i'll have to see if i can get hold of an old hard drive to test

[RSmura]

ok, what is XSOS?

[SiGfever]

I have it working using the Win2003 driver. The color is rough though.

Kingston DataTraveler 512mb

[Okda]

nn-step said to use XP drivers

[RSmura]

what am I? Chopped liver?

[[XC] serlv]

what am I? Chopped liver?

A very lean OS made by nn_step. The idea is to use it as a crunching and benching OS that is light on resources and size.

[Okda]

this version is not for benching

it is only for crunching so u won't need to use a hard drive in the crunchers

[fallwind]

If I have some time tonight I'll dig the HD out of my crunching box, format it, drop XSOS on it and do some BOINC benchmarks. I can't imagine there will be much of a difference because the BOINC benchmark only measures CPU performance as far as I know. Plus the HD I'll be using is old and slow. But I'll let the numbers speak for themselves once I have them.

Does the "Computer Name" function work for anyone? I just can't seem to get it to work. I even went into the registry and changed every reference I could find like "Computer Name" and "Host Name" with no joy. Where exactly is XSOS pulling the name "minint" from?

[nn_step]

Alright people, understand that you are to report everything. It is my job to decide how important the feedback is. If something is beyond understanding, tell/ask me. If you don't like something or for some strange reason when you do a few things, stuff starts to crash, tell ME. If the difference in points between a hard drive and the Flash drive, tell me. I don't have time to chase down every last single minor detail, thus I NEED HELP and all you need to do is tell me: Thoughts, concerns, problems, ideas, and suggestions. The More you put into it, the better it will become

[fallwind]

Some BOINC benchmarks:

Test configuration

Q6600 356x9 3.2GHz
Gigabyte DS3 Rev 3.3
2x1GB Crucial Rendition dual channel 5-5-5-15 1:1 712MHz
BOINC version 5.10.7

XSOS USB v0.7 installed on a 1GB OCZ Rally dual channel flash drive:

Boot time, power on to desktop: 3 minutes.

BOINC Benchmarks
Whetstone, Dhrystone
3148, 6887
3161, 7000
3141, 6998
average: 3150, 6962

XSOS USB v0.7 installed on a 15GB IDE Maxtor HD 5400RPM.

Boot time, power on to desktop: 3 minutes.

BOINC Benchmarks
Whetstone, Dhrystone
3150, 7237
3151, 7203
3151, 7180
average: 3151, 7207

So there's about a 3.5% gain in Dhrystone when using a HD. Maybe the difference is greater with a a newer, faster drive. But IIRC, BOINC mainly uses Whetstone when calculating the amount of points per hour a machine should claim. Somebody correct me on this if I'm wrong.

[alpha0ne]

Been very crook last few days so testing has been on hold
I hope to try out in the next day or so

[123bob]

Does the "Computer Name" function work for anyone? I just can't seem to get it to work. I even went into the registry and changed every reference I could find like "Computer Name" and "Host Name" with no joy. Where exactly is XSOS pulling the name "minint" from?

Open the network parameters by double clicking the network Icon you should see in your system tray. In there, you'll see some icons down the left side of the window. Click on the one called "computer". You will see the name "minint" and can change away......

My test results.

Farm 02 Q6600 ASUS P5B Deluxe. Everything came up fine, used the "wiki" from the 0.60 thread and it came up without problems. The network comes up by itself on reboot and everything appears to be good.

Farm 03 Q6600 EVGA 680i . Not so good on this machine. It gives the following blue screen on boot. "A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.....blah, blah, blah..."
STOP 0x0000007B (0xF78AE524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

I tried two different sticks on this, no luck. It will not boot.

EDIT: I also tried unplugging the HD in that machine, no luck.

Regards,
Bob

[Aerou]

nice, I am glad that I can boot from both sticks and memory cards,
but best option is a fast USB stick - Buffalo Firestix is my choice,

is it possible to add a 1680x1050 resolution? or any graphics driver?

[nn_step]

nice, I am glad that I can boot from both sticks and memory cards,
but best option is a fast USB stick - Buffalo Firestix is my choice,

is it possible to add a 1680x1050 resolution? or any graphics driver?

in theory but the real question is why do you need better graphics for a cruncher?
(we are going to include GPU folding later on, so we do understand that possible aspect)

[Aerou]

in theory but the real question is why do you need better graphics for a cruncher?
(we are going to include GPU folding later on, so we do understand that possible aspect)

so should I understand that this version is meant for crunchin purposes?

only thing I wanted was support for a native resolution of my screens - 1680x1050 and 1280x800

[nn_step]

so should I understand that this version is meant for crunchin purposes?

only thing I wanted was support for a native resolution of my screens - 1680x1050 and 1280x800

Ah, I see. I'll look into it

[elec999]

I keep on getting bluescreen after reboot, that says to run chkdsk.
Thanks