Problems Running Multiple GPUs

[Aux10]

I'm having some problems running multiple GPUs on Cassandra. In reinstalled the original GPU (Nividia 210) in my extra PCIEx16 slot. Boinc will recognize both cards but it will ony use the older 210 card and won't used the newer Nvidia GTS 250. Any way to get it to use both?

Start up message log:


12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Starting BOINC client version 6.10.18 for windows_x86_64
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Libraries: libcurl/7.19.4 OpenSSL/0.9.8l zlib/1.2.3
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Data directory: C:\ProgramData\BOINC
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Running under account Ethan
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Processor: 4 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz [Intel64 Family 6 Model 30 Stepping 5]
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Processor: 256.00 KB cache
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Processor features: fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 pni
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM OS: Microsoft Windows 7: Home Premium x64 Edition, (06.01.7600.00)
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Memory: 3.99 GB physical, 7.98 GB virtual
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Disk: 297.99 GB total, 139.46 GB free
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Local time is UTC -5 hours
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM NVIDIA GPU 0 (not used): GeForce GTS 250 (driver version 25896, CUDA version 3010, compute capability 1.1, 1006MB, 456 GFLOPS peak)
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM NVIDIA GPU 1: GeForce 210 (driver version 25896, CUDA version 3010, compute capability 1.2, 475MB, 45 GFLOPS peak)
12/22/2010 2:35:36 PM Not using a proxy
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Collatz Conjecture URL http://boinc.thesonntags.com/collatz/; Computer ID 15188; resource share 100
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Milkyway@home URL http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/; Computer ID 142337; resource share 100
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Pirates@Home URL http://pirates.spy-hill.net/; Computer ID 62028; resource share 100
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM FreeHAL@home URL http://www.freehal.net/freehal_at_home/; Computer ID 20520; resource share 100
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM General prefs: from http://bam.boincstats.com/ (last modified 06-Jan-2010 02:22:50)
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Host location: none
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM General prefs: using your defaults
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Reading preferences override file
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Preferences limit memory usage when active to 2043.56MB
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Preferences limit memory usage when idle to 3678.41MB
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Preferences limit disk usage to 10.00GB
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Milkyway@home Restarting task de_nbody_model2_3_107801_1292975619_0 using milkyway_nbody version 21
12/22/2010 2:35:37 PM Collatz Conjecture Restarting task collatz_1292225166_781556_1 using collatz version 203

[Fire$torm]

Have you tried plugging the monitor into the other card? If your monitor has multiple inputs and you have an extra cable try connecting both cards to your monitor.

More things to try:

*Extend Windows desktop [Required] - For Windows 7 (http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=how+to+extend+desktop+in+windows+7&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz35)
*Use a Dummy Plug - The 30 Second Dummy Plug (http://www.overclock.net/overclock-net-folding-home-team/384733-30-second-dummy-plug.html) or Dan T. Morris's How To Make a Dummy Plug (http://dantmorris.com/gpuinfo.htm)
*Update Video Drivers - nVidia Driver Page (http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us)

[Maxwell]

F$ is about half-right: Be sure to extend your desktop to the second card (if you haven't done so already), but you won't need a Dummy Plug with CUDA cards (that's only an issue with ATI).

Something that will likely solve it since BOINC sees both cards drop the following cc_config.xml file into your BOINC data directory:


<cc_config>
<options>
<report_results_immediately>1</report_results_immediately>
<use_all_gpus>1</use_all_gpus>
</options>
</cc_config>

If you've never done this, open Notepad, copy the code above and paste it in there, save it as "cc_config.xml" in your BOINC data folder. You don't even have to stop BOINC - after you save the file there, go to Advanced -> Read Config File.

Let us know if that works...

[Aux10]

Since I have two monitors hooked up to my computer I just switched the the smaller one from the GTS 250 to the 210. I then updated my graphics drivers and added the cc config file to the program data folder but it still won't work. Here's the log message from when it reads the cc config file:


12/23/2010 1:05:40 AM Re-reading cc_config.xml
12/23/2010 1:05:40 AM Re-read config file
12/23/2010 1:05:40 AM log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task


I'm no quite sure but is it even reading the file?

[Fire$torm]

Under the messages tab in BOINC Manager, the first to lines should look something like this:

12/22/2010 1:25:28 PM Starting BOINC client version 6.10.58 for windows_x86_64
12/22/2010 1:25:28 PM Config: report completed tasks immediately


If you see that then BM is reading the cc_config file. I will take a look at my server box that has dual 8800 cards. I'm not sure what the problem is.

[Maxwell]

I'm no quite sure but is it even reading the file?
F$ is right - your BOINC is not reading the file. Which folder did you put it in? It should be in C:\ProgramData\BOINC for a normal Vista/Win7 install. And you did save it as an XML file (i.e., cc_config.xml)? If yes, shut down BOINC, and restart it and see if that works...

Sorry if these are stupid questions, but have to ask the "forehead smacking" questions before the weird ones...:D

[Aux10]

It works! Apparently it didn't like the .xml format tag at the end of the config file's name. Took it off and it works! :D

[Maxwell]

Yay! Glad to hear it!