Updates, New Features, Known Bugs and Fixes in Progress

Latest Version: 3.03

Version 3.03 is now available for Windows, Mac, several Unixes, and Mac OS X public beta.

For more information about updates in version 3.x, click here.

Bug fixes and new features in Windows version 2.04:

• Fixed a potential divide by zero error.
• Installer automatically closes old client if running.
• Fixed start menu short cut to help file.
• Properly show 100% progress when work unit complete.
• Synchronize output files when computer is shut down; this fixes one cause of progress occasionally being reset to zero.
• Don't accumulate CPU time when computer is in low- power hibernate or standby mode.
• Use multithread-safe libraries for better stability.
• Changing "always run" option takes immediate effect.
• When relaunching client, show progress and elapsed CPU time before doing baseline smoothing.
• Don't delete old result.sah file on version upgrade.

Bug fixes and new features in Windows version 2.03:

• Screensaver now draws at 480X640 screen resolution ("immediate blanking" bug).
• Fixed drawing problem when switching screen resolutions.
• Write the state file no more than once per minute.
• Improved logic to keep files in sync. This should reduce the likelihood of spontaneously resetting progress to zero.
• Made autodialing and connection retries more robust.
• Fixed bug where Connect Now menu was sometimes not enabled properly.
• Don't show connection dialog if "connect automatically" set.
• Setting "connect automatically" takes immediate effect (some old versions needed exit & relaunch of client).
• Fixed a crash bug when memory or disk space was low.
• Modified installer to fix occasional conflicts with existing setup.exe files.

Bug fixes and new features in Windows version 2.02:

• Fixed bug which allowed output file to grow above 32K.
• Properly clear Gaussian threshold for each new work unit.
• Fixed bug which caused long delays in drawing and made the client unresponsive to mouse clicks.
• Eliminated possible problem with some proxies by tweaking the format of HTTP headers.
• Changed the way we handle the state.sah file to solve a "can't create file" bug when used with SETISpy, SETIWatch and disk backup programs.

Bug fixes and new features in Macintosh version 2.04:

• Fixed a potential divide by zero error.
• Properly show 100% progress when work unit complete.
• Synchronize output files when computer is shut down; this fixes one cause of progress occasionally being reset to zero.
• Don't delete old result.sah file on version upgrade.
• Sleep corner works properly after screen resolution is changed.

Bug fixes and new features in Macintosh version 2.03:

• Fixed bug which prevented launch over MS Office 98 programs.
• Fixed bug which sometimes moved S@h Prefs and Data to the wrong folder (e.g., root level of hard drive) at installation and/or at system restart.
• Fixed screensaver launch over OS 9 login password dialog.
• Fixed a crash bug when memory or disk space was low.

Bug fixes and new features in Macintosh version 2.02:

• Properly clear Gaussian threshold for each new work unit.
• Fixed AppearanceLib bug (affected only Macintosh OS 7.x)
• Eliminated possible problem with some proxies by tweaking the format of HTTP headers.
• Under OS 9, put Preferences and Data in the "Application Support" folder (inside the System Folder) instead of in "Shared Data" folder.
• Changed the way we handle the state.sah file to solve a "can't create file" bug.

Changes in version 2.0x of SETI@home (since version 1.0x)

All platforms

• Increased security: SETI@home now checks for unauthorized modifications to data and program files. If it detects tampering, it will delete files and start over. It is still possible to move SETI@home data files between computers; see below for more information.
• Support for SOCKS proxies. The hostname, port, user name, and password for SOCKS proxies can be entered in the Proxy Server dialog (Win/Mac) or through command-line options or environment variables (text-only versions).
• Improved support for HTTP proxies. SETI@home now conforms to the HTTP 1.0 protocol.
• Better network protocol for updating user statistics after returning results: one message to server instead of two.
• Client returns power array summary for Gaussians
• The server can have the client display an arbitrary message, and/or quit.

Graphical versions

• The old Peak Power and Best Gaussian values on the display have been replaced by a graph showing how well the power-over-time data fits the shape of a Gaussian curve. While performing calculations other than curve fitting, the display shows the best Gaussian fit so far.
• When getting new work unit, clear display of strongest Gaussian.

Windows and Macintosh

• Improved network connection retries: if SETI@home fails to connect to the server, it will retry twice at 45-second intervals, then wait 15 or 60 minutes and repeat this sequence. This accommodates users whose dialup sequence is longer than a minute or so. Also, connection errors are reported more accurately.
• Retry file opens, to coexist with Sherlock, FastFind etc. This may also give sleeping hard drives time to spin up.
• More accurate CPU time calculation

Windows

• More reliable display of icon in System Tray.

Macintosh

• Password locking. There is now a "Require Password" checkbox in the Preferences dialog. If you check it, the screensaver will require a password to wake up.
• Version 2.0 runs under Mac OS 9 (see SETI@home Readme for details).
• In application mode, SETI@home runs faster if its window is collapsed, using the Windowshade feature under OS 8.0 and later.
• Improved responsiveness to Hot Key.
• More accurate CPU time calculation
• Better compatibility with older PPC Macs.
• Increased timeouts for network input/output.
• Resolve alias if preference file is aliased.

UNIX and other text-only versions

• Most platforms include a graphical front end (xsetiathome). This is a separate program; to use it, the client must be run with the -graphics option.
• New options:
  • -verbose: enable printfs.
  • -nolock: skip multiple-instance checking
  • -graphics: generate data for xseti
• Better support for directory locking in UNIX version

Moving SETI@home's Data Files

Due to our new security measures to prevent falsified results, it is best to treat all the data files as a unit. If for any reason you must move or copy the data files, be sure to move them all together. The files affected include key.sah, state.sah, outfile.sah, result_header.sah, work_unit.sah and result.sah (not all of these will exist at any one time). You need not move user_info.sah, version.sah or "SETI@home ReadMe" together with the others.

Some users download work units and return results from one computer, but process different work units on different machines, or save them for later processing on the same computer. If the computers are all of the same type and are all running the same version of SETI@home, then the procedure above will work.

As an alternative, you may move only work_unit.sah or result.sah between different computers running SETI@home. If you move only work_unit.sah, SETI@home will delete and reinitialize the other files, so the work unit will be processed starting at the beginning.

If you move only result.sah to a different computer, that SETI@home client will send the result to the server.

(Windows) IMPORTANT: Be sure to completely exit from SETI@home (by right-clicking on its icon in the System Tray and selecting Exit from the pop-up menu) before moving files. Selecting Exit from the maximized application's File Menu or Close Box does _not_ completely exit. The SETI@home screensaver will will automatically restart the application when it kicks in, or you may restart it in the usual way by double-clicking SETI@home.exe.

(Macintosh) IMPORTANT: Be sure to completely quit SETI@home before moving files. The SETI@home screensaver will will automatically restart the application when it kicks in, or you may restart it in the usual way by selecting Launch from the SETI@home icon in the menu bar.

Server/Network Related Problems:

• We spent a vast amount of time working on support for people behind firewalls and various proxies (including both socks and http). Despite this effort, many users may still be unable to connect to SETI@home. If this is the case, please contact your systems adminstrator or ISP and ask what kind of security mechanisms may be blocking traffic to/from SETI@home.
• The server may be temporarily over-loaded or offline. Since version 1.06 we have greatly enhanced hardware and software, but due to our huge userbase and occasional spikes in activity, you may notice the server to be very slow or even completely unresponsive. You can check the status of our data server at this server status page.

Version 2.01 Bugs: While still not officially available, some people have downloaded this version and may be experiencing the following problems:

• On Windows systems, the result file grows out of bounds. Under normal circumstances, this file should never go beyond 30K, but the check for this was broken in version 2.01. This has been fixed for all future versions.
• Some users have experienced the screensaver blanking immediately. We have currently been unable to reproduce this at the lab, but are looking into it.
• Some users claim that their work units return to 0% computation and start again after exiting/restarting the client. This is also impossible to reproduce at the lab, but being researched.

Windows Bugs: The following are known bugs in version 2.0x.

• If you set the "Connect Automatically" option when first installing SETI@home v2.04, it may exit with an "Illegal Operation" message. If this happens, please launch SETI@home again from the start menu. This error is harmless and will be fixed in the next release.
• Some systems experience "choppy" graphics, i.e. long pauses between displaying FFTs in the graph or even extremely slow response to mouse movement. This bug has been tracked down and will be fixed in versions greater than 2.0.
• There is currently no support for multiple graphics cards/monitors.

Macintosh Bugs: The following are known bugs in version 2.0x.

• SETI@home 2.0 has a known bug under Mac OS version 7.x and will not operate if you are running OS 7.x and do not have the Appearance Manager extension installed. This fix will be included in all future versions. This is not a problem if you are running Mac OS 8.x or 9.x.
• On some computers running systems 7.x or 8.x, the SETI@home Preferences file and SETI@home Data folder are moved out of the Preferences folder to another location on disk when the computer is restarted. This causes new copies to be created in the Preferences folder. This will be fixed in the next release. A simple temporary workaround is to do a Find File for "SETI@home Preferences" and/or "SETI@home Data", then move the correct ones back into the Preferences folder (which is inside the System folder).
• We have had reports that SETI@home will not launch if an application which is part of Microsoft Office 98 is in the foreground. We have reproduced this in our lab, and expect to have a fix in the next version. As a temporary workaround, move Word or Excel to the background when you want SETI@home to launch. An easy way to do this is to click on the desktop or select Finder from the icon at the right-hand end of the menu bar.

General bugs: The following are general problems which will be fixed in the near future.

• The trailing slash was missing in the http proxy headers - this didn't affect most people, but has been fixed for versions greater than 2.0.
• Credit for complete work units may take a few days to appear on your screen. This is due to the database being backlogged in calculating user credit.

Copyright (c) 1999 U. C. Berkeley