Well,
I downloaded version 5.2.13, and immediately heard about 5.4.9 coming out, so I downloaded it as well. I wonder if they could be interfering with each other.
Also, I'm never sure what the buttons in the Activity dropdown menu mean(on or off?).
Now it's telling me it can't connect to a BOINC client.
Believe me, I'm new to this Linux biz myself.
Thanks for your help so far.

McGeeWorld, I think I can clarify what's going on. As you know, the core client runs separately to BOINC Manager. BOINC Manager communicates with the core client via RPC, either on localhost (the same computer) or on a different computer on your network. The password is in the file gui_rpc_auth.cfg - BOINC Manager normally picks this up and connects to localhost automatically, after starting the core client if it's not running.

Yes, if you stop the RPC service, the GUI won't work. BOINC doesn't use port 135, though.

Prestige, Woody!! All the cool kids are doing 5.4.9 this spring.

Seriously...

I don't think think you're missing out on much by using 5.2.13. Mind you "much" is like beauty, it's all in the eye of the beholder.

The 5.4.9 can read the settings from a config file on your disk and those settings will override the settings on the project website. I don't see a big advantage in that but some folks might. It's easier than logging into your account on the website but if you don't fiddle with the settings very often then it's not a big deal.

I like 5.4.9 better because it seems to have fixed a small annoyance I was having. I have BOINC setup to auto start when the system boots (via shortcut in the startup folder). It worked perfect 50% of the time but frequently boincmgr would hang. That was happening on all my devices. Again, it wasn't a big deal because my 'puters run 24/7, it's not like I boot 10 times a day.

On the other hand, 5.4.9 has a bug that really irks me... the return_results_immediately switch doesn't work . Now I have results reports needlessly lingering around long after the results have been uploaded. Why? What earthly purpose does that serve? I have heard that this wierd and potentially self-destructive behavior is in keeping with the mysterious "2 step process" , a doctrine apparently given us by some holy man who wanders in the desert dressed in rags eating locusts and honey. Some say his name was Billy Tucker but I think it was Silly Mucker

Hello Dagorath,
I am a naive newcomer to BOINC, but I have been reading some other boards. On one of them I read a post (which may or may not be correct) which said that the return_results_immediately switch was intentionally disabled last year. If this is correct, then I can only guess why.

Here is my guess (Yes, I am brash and impulsive) - The UD client follows a very simple model. It returns the result, then downloads the next work unit. Apparently BOINC at least allowed something similar as an option. If they changed that, then the only reason can be to reduce the load on the server by splitting up the length of the contact, concentrating on getting the download and only then trying to upload the result. The internet link is set to back off if the server is down or congested (perhaps as a result of being down). The thing to remember is that BOINC was developed to run SETI, which has an enormous number of contributors, much larger than many Denial of Service attacks use. I suspect that SETI has run into many problems of scale that we smaller grids have not encountered yet. My guess is that whenever the server goes down, there is a tremendous crush once it comes back up. This peculiar 2-part transfer that seems so needlessly complex is probably intended to cut this congestion in half.

This is just my guess - - and yes, I would like to handle all the communications in one simple contact too.
Lawrence