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cdn898
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PC Without HD, USB instead?

Hello -

I have an old Dell Inspiron 530S without a hard drive. I am wondering if there is a simple way to run WCG on this machine using something like Linux from a spare USB drive?

And if so, any instructions you could point to would be very helpful. I'm more technically inclined than the average person but booting a machine from Linux would be totally new to me.

Thank you!
[Oct 25, 2020 11:27:06 PM]   Link   Report threatening or abusive post: please login first  Go to top 
Sgt.Joe
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Re: PC Without HD, USB instead?

Absolutely. I run several machines only off of USB sticks. I use Pendrive and use their Universal USB Installer to create a bootable drive with Linux. I use the 4gb persistence option so even though I am running Linux as a live OS, I do not need to reinstall BOINC if the machine goes down or I turn off the machine. I used to use 16gb sticks which work very well and are cheap, but I recently got some 32gb Sandisk sticks for $3.75 US on clearance, so when one of the 16's wears out I will move to these. I did use some bargain basement sticks a long time time ago, but they did not last, so I would stick with some name brand sticks. I have gotten up to 80 CPU years out of one of the 16 gb sticks, but the average is more like about 40 to 50 CPU years per stick. The ones I am using are USB 2, but they work OK. They are currently being used on 24 thread machines running OPN and SCC. I did misconfigure a machine a while back and have a couple of ARP units get in, but they used too many resources on the stick and completely fried the stick. So, no more ARP units. I have not tried MIP units.
I have had the best luck running with Linux Mint, but have had some success with a few other distros. I just liked the ease of use of Mint.
I have been running these for several years now and credit Widdershins for enlightening me on the concept.
If you have any questions please post as I am sure others will chime in with solutions.
Good luck
Cheers
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Sgt. Joe
*Minnesota Crunchers*
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[Edit 1 times, last edit by Sgt.Joe at Oct 26, 2020 12:02:25 AM]
[Oct 26, 2020 12:01:41 AM]   Link   Report threatening or abusive post: please login first  Go to top 
gta198
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Re: PC Without HD, USB instead?

If you want to use puppy linux 32 or 64 bit the following process will work If your system has 4 GB or less of ram use the 32 bit version, if it has than 4GB or more, use the 64 bit version.

I use puppy linux with boinc, you can get it either 32 or 64 bit. Burn an "live " { bootable }image to a thumb drive, then boot the system up on that drive.

When it starts set the time zone and use the "Ethoi" internet connection.
After the install is done, go to the menu ( bottom left ) then to the "puppy package manager " Search for "boinc" and choose the package that you want { there are multiples like for the seti project, ect. } you want the one that says boince manager and doesn't mention any particular project.

Tell it to install and follow the prompts using the defaults.

Then menu-boinc manager

When it opens scroll down through the projects and select World Community Grid. Again follow the prompts, log in/create an account at World community Grid.

When you are completely done, go to menu - shut down.
As the system is shutting down it will ask if you want to save changes?

Tell it yes and let it save everything.
When you start up the system next, everything will be ready to run.

Note: the startup + boinc can all be put on a cd/dvd as well, but you will still need a thumb drive to hold the temporary files the projects create when running. I use a 16gb NVME drive i picked up online pretty cheap.

Both versions of Puppy are very small and can run completely in ram, making it a very fast operating system. You can also use it in newer and larger systems as I run Puppy 64 in my dedicated cruncher which is an 8 core Lenovo tower.
[Oct 27, 2020 5:18:27 AM]   Link   Report threatening or abusive post: please login first  Go to top 
cdn898
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Re: PC Without HD, USB instead?

Thank you both for these instructions. I was unable to get the machine to do much more than beep when I tried booting it with the drive and there was a slight smell of smoke so I gave up and will just recycle it. (It was a cast off from my parent's house that I thought I'd try and revive to WRG.)
[Nov 2, 2020 4:00:24 AM]   Link   Report threatening or abusive post: please login first  Go to top 
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