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Number crunching :
End of support for 32 bit Macs, Mac OS 10.6 or older, Windows XP-64, 2000, NT, ME, 98, and 95
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 Michael Goetz Volunteer moderator
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We are officially ending support for the following old versions of Windows:
Windows XP (64 bit ONLY)
Windows 2000
Windows NT
Windows ME
Windows 98
Windows 95
Windows for Workgroups
... and any version of Widows even older than those.
Updated: As of May 2019, we are also officially ending support for all 32 bit Macs and for 64 bit Mac OS 10.6 and older.
Why are we ending support?
It's becoming increasingly difficult to produce code that runs on very old versions of Windows and Mac OS. Common C/C++ compilers use libraries that no longer work with all versions of Windows. To ensure compatibility with Windows older than XP requires using older compilers, and those compilers aren't compatible with new technologies. Producing multiple versions of applications would incur a substantial cost in terms of manpower which could be better utilized elsewhere.
There are very few hosts running these old versions of Windows or Mac OS, and for the most part they're very old and very slow computers. Their combined contribution to PrimeGrid is very small, and we can't justify the expense to continue support.
Furthermore, it's exceptionally difficult for us to test our software on such old versions of Windows and Mac OS.
Why are we continuing to support 32 bit XP but not 64 bit XP?
64 bit XP is a special case. For a long time, there's been issues with certain compilers that produced programs that couldn't run on XP-64. There's very few 64 bit XP systems. Like the older versions of Windows, providing support for XP-64 requires a lot of effort with little return in terms of crunching ability.
What exactly does "end support" mean?
This does not mean we're going to throw a switch and stop sending work to older computers. What this means is that we're no longer going to take steps to insure that our software will run on old computers. We may need to build software that's incompatible with older computers. In the past, we've avoided doing this, but in the future we'll do what's necessary to support newer machines.
In the case of 32 bit Macs, however, we can no longer build or test software for that platform. In addition, it seems there are no more 32 bit Macs using PrimeGrid. The 32 bit Mac apps will likely be removed soon.
Is this "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" for people with older computers?
Yes and no. We have old computers too, and we're not insensitive to the needs and desires of people whose only computer might be affected by this change. We do, however, need to do what's best for the long term interests of PrimeGrid.
Even if we release new applications which are not compatible with your computer, in many cases you should be able to continue crunching by using app_info to run the old apps. (This is not guaranteed to always be true, however. Some updates could conceivably be mandatory and the old apps would stop working.)
Can't you just do [whatever] and produce code that will work on my WFWG computer?
We're always listening to what people have to say.
You didn't mention any server versions of Windows. Are they affected?
Maybe. More on that later.
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1 | |
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Michael GoetzVolunteer moderator
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Earlier today I released new Windows apps (both 32 bit and 64 bit) for all 10 LLR projects. The new app fixes (hopefully!!!) the 3-second problem.
However, I suspect that the new app will not run on versions of Windows prior to XP. If you have such a computer and the LLR projects no longer work, you will need to run the old app under app_info if you wish to continue participating in the LLR projects.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
____________
My lucky number is 75898524288+1 | |
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NortechVolunteer tester
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If anyone has already created an app_info file for an older machine running LLR CPU tasks, please could you post it for us "non-technical" types to use as a starting point?
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Michael GoetzVolunteer moderator
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Joined: 21 Jan 10
Posts: 13513
ID: 53948
Credit: 237,712,514
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If anyone has already created an app_info file for an older machine running LLR CPU tasks, please could you post it for us "non-technical" types to use as a starting point?
IMPORTANT: Turning app_info on or off WILL ABORT ANY PRIMEGRID TASKS ALREADY ON YOUR COMPUTER!!!.
First thing to do is to create an app_info.xml file that tells you computer how to run each PrimeGrid project.
It could look something like this:
<app_info>
<app>
<name>llrTPS</name>
<user_friendly_name>Sophie Germain (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llrWOO</name>
<user_friendly_name>Woodall (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llrCUL</name>
<user_friendly_name>Cullen (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llr321</name>
<user_friendly_name>321 (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llrPSP</name>
<user_friendly_name>Prime Sierpinski Problem (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llrPPS</name>
<user_friendly_name>PPS (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llrSOB</name>
<user_friendly_name>Seventeen or Bust (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llrTRP</name>
<user_friendly_name>The Riesel Problem (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llrPPSE</name>
<user_friendly_name>PPSE (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<app>
<name>llrSR5</name>
<user_friendly_name>Sierpinski/Riesel Base 5 Problem (LLR)</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<file_info>
<name>Wrapper.exe</name>
<executable/>
</file_info>
<file_info>
<name>cllr.exe</name>
<executable/>
</file_info>
<file_info>
<name>llr.ini</name>
</file_info>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrTPS</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrWOO</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrCUL</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llr321</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrPSP</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrPPS</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrSOB</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrTRP</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrPPSE</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrSR5</app_name>
<version_num>387</version_num>
<api_version>6.10.6</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>Wrapper.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>cllr.exe</file_name>
<open_name>primegrid_cllr.exe.orig</open_name>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>llr.ini.6.00</file_name>
<open_name>llr.ini.6.00</open_name>
</file_ref>
</app_version>
</app_info>
Put that into a file called app_info.xml in your ...BOINC\projects\www.primegrid.com\ directory.
Next, download http://www.primegrid.com/download/primegrid_cllr_3.8.9_windows_intelx86.exe to the same directory and rename it as cllr.exe.
Download http://www.primegrid.com/download/primegrid_llr_wrapper_6.15_windows_intelx86.exe to the same directory and rename it as Wrapper.exe.
Finally, download http://www.primegrid.com/download/llr.ini.6.00 to the same directory.
Lastly, restart BOINC. Not the BOINC manager, but the BOINC client. If you are not sure how to do that, it's easiest just to reboot the computer.
Once BOINC is restarted, make sure that there are no errors in the BOINC log.
You should now be able to run any of the LLR tasks on your W2K machine.
If you want to run any of the sieves, you'll have to add additional entries to app_info for those apps.
____________
My lucky number is 75898524288+1 | |
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NortechVolunteer tester
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Thanks very much! | |
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Michael GoetzVolunteer moderator
Project administrator
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Joined: 21 Jan 10
Posts: 13513
ID: 53948
Credit: 237,712,514
RAC: 903
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RIP 32 bit Macs and 64 bit Mac OS 10.6 and older. They join the list of old computer systems we no longer have the means to support.
____________
My lucky number is 75898524288+1 | |
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Dang the old kitchen sink is just that now. | |
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Number crunching :
End of support for 32 bit Macs, Mac OS 10.6 or older, Windows XP-64, 2000, NT, ME, 98, and 95 |
