Can I Install BOINC from the Repos?

[LoneWolf_53]

Alright Fitzcarraldo what am I doing wrong that I'm still getting the masked package message?

I just installed SL 5.5 Gnome and ran all the updates. Installed eix which tells me there is no boinc.

Then I opened a terminal and pasted your exact command into it to get this result..

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!!! All ebuilds that could satisfy "boinc" have been masked.
!!! One of the following masked packages is required to complete your request:
- sci-misc/boinc-6.10.58-r1::gentoo (masked by: package.mask)
/etc/portage/package.mask:
# Temp. masked


As encouraged several times I did a bit of reading and basically Gentoo defines this type of mask as "package.mask means that the package has been found corrupt, unstable or worse and has been deliberately marked as do-not-use."

My last attempt to install once unmasked resulted in failure and I'd rather not embark on another couple of days down time in a futile effort.

I'm puzzled now as to what's going on and why I get indications that the package is masked and you don't?

I also ran eix-update and this time I got...

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# eix boinc
* sci-misc/boinc
     Available versions:  [m](~)6.10.58-r1 {X +client cuda}
     Homepage:            http://boinc.ssl.berkeley.edu/
     Description:         The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing

I need Boinc running and I'd really rather not reformat yet again.

[Fitzcarraldo]

The error message you're getting tells you that the mask is in the file package.mask (which is in the directory /etc/portage/), and the lower case "m" in square brackets in the eix output means the same thing. 'Hard masked' packages are shown with an upper case "M" in eix output, and a different file, not /etc/portage/package.mask, contains the mask. Hard masked packages are ones that you really have to treat with care before unmasking them. BOINC is not hard-masked, so is probably not too much of a risk. If you look in /etc/portage/package.mask you will find an entry for BOINC. I don't have an entry for BOINC in there (which is not my doing, as I don't use BOINC). When was the last time you did an 'emerge --sync'? That would update the mask/unmask files in /etc/portage/, so chances are you have an old version of package.mask.

If I get some time in the next couple of days I'll have a go at merging BOINC on my old laptop running SL, to see if it builds. I don't want to build it on my two other machines running SL.

EDIT: It's good practice to do the following roughly once a week (no need to do it more frequently unless you are sure a new ebuild is in Portage and it's not on your PC yet):

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emerge --sync
layman -S
eix-update

[LoneWolf_53]

I just did a fresh installation and updated and upgraded everything I could find.

I ran all the commands you suggest in that code box as well just to clarify.

I'm running on kernel 2.6.38-sabayon.

I'll wait and see how you make out as my experimenting generally ends up breaking something.

Much appreciate your patience.



ETA: To be honest I'm not really even sure if I unmasked properly last time I tried so if you wouldn't mind I'd sure be grateful to see the proper installation command that takes the masking into consideration.

On the bright side I'm sure this thread will prove to be of some use to others as well.

[tekwyzrd]

Yes, it can be done. I'm currently running BOINC version 6.10.58 manually compiled from the official sources. I realize it's frowned on but I've been doing it this way since I switched from windows in 2005. I prefer to run it as a user app rather than a system app. I still do it the old way and use an app launcher and run_client to launch BOINC and another for run_manager to start BOINC Manager. I realized yesterday evening that there was a problem created by recent updates when it wouldn't start. I tried ./run_client in a console and got a message about a libpng.so file not found. I re-compiled, re-installed, and it's running fine again.

One of the reasons I do my own build is the low benchmarks compared to similar computers running windows. I include a few optimizations that bring the benchmarks closer to those of a windows computer with the same processor and memory. It also looks better than the standard version.

[LoneWolf_53]

I've no doubt that an advanced user such as yourself can get it going but I'm not in that class and rely on repositories.

I waited for a solution for a few days but since the only reason I use Linux is to run the BOINC client, and hopefully get a bit more familiar with Linux, I just switched to Ubuntu 10.10.

There you just check it off in Synaptic and it installs and runs as it should. Without having to manually go in and provide extra account information to get the BOINC manager running I might add, as you do in Sabayon.

I've also gotten less than enthusiastic about the silly way in which Sabayon uses multiple package managers whilst knowing it causes problems.

In the end what it really boils down to is one can customize any Linux flavor to look the same as another so I think I'll just work with something where the package manager makes more sense and does a much better job of describing the various packages.

One of the things I liked about Sabayon was the drop down terminal but I've even found that available in Ubuntu.

I've now got this thing looking exactly the same way as I had Sabayon but without error messages and BOINC hassles.

Even back when it was more or less running right, I'd have to restart every now and then as BOINC would get stuck and act strange.

I speculate a part of that may well be due to the rolling release updates breaking things I'm unaware of.

This distro must be more aimed toward the elite who enjoy having things more difficult than they need be.

Unfortunately I'm not one of those and subscribe to the KISS manner of doing things.

[tekwyzrd]

I've used a number of linux distributions and while it's true things sometimes break the only ones I used that were killed by recommended updates were ubuntu and kubuntu. I installed, updated, reboot, and... it wouldn't start.

[LoneWolf_53]

I've used a number of linux distributions and while it's true things sometimes break the only ones I used that were killed by recommended updates were ubuntu and kubuntu. I installed, updated, reboot, and... it wouldn't start.

I wouldn't dispute that at all as I had struggles with it previously too and that was why I'd come here and tried Sabayon.

My first try was PCLOS and though I had no trouble getting it to work the one drawback to that distro is they appear to have little motivation in getting a 64Bit version happening and for distributed computing that is definitely a plus.

Right now though I'm running Maverick Meerkat, and everything I need installed without a hitch, plus I've managed to tweak a lot of eye candy stuff to a better degree than I could here on my own.

I think for me the biggest obstacle with Sabayon is the whole sulfur, equo, portage, emerge thing that can really mess things up when you make a wrong move, and I'm good at wrong moves.

I got accustomed to using Synaptic with PCLOS so that gives me a bit of a feeling of familiarity in Ubuntu.

With the exception of fitzcarraldo I don't feel people are all that interested in helping newbies out here and tend to exhibit a certain level of condescension whether it's intentional or not.

As a result I think this is a distro for people who have already conquered Linux basics elsewhere.

I did put some effort into reading the Wiki and a number of tutorials but I find that often times even the way that they are written assumes at least an intermediate level of ability with Linux.

For complete beginners there need to be more actual examples of how to do some basic things like properly unmask a package for example.

fitzcarraldo tends to always offer code examples and that is the kind of thing I learn from. One can hardly expect one person to educate a whole forum of newcomers though as people have lives beyond the PC screen.

In my opinion the reason Windows still rules as an operating system is because most people simply want something that runs and don't have the desire to learn how to compile packages and such simply to operate a peripheral, or piece of software they wish to use.

I much appreciate the efforts of fitzcarraldo and those like him, it's just too bad there aren't a few million more to go around.

[wolfden]

You are correct, it's not a distro for "newbies". It's easy to learn tho, just takes time. You may find running it in a VM while using Ubuntu for a while to learn more about it without a loss if you do break it will get you to come back later on.

I do disagree with comment about people using windows cause it is simple and works. The learning curve is much less, yes, but I deal with these people and their computers constantly as they have a plague of malware, spyware, and viruses on their computers. If with automatic updates, they still don't have all the latest updates. Even if they have an antivirus program, the definitions aren't updated or expired. So they use it till they can't and than dish out $$$ for someone to fix it or they go buy another one and repeat.

Simple isn't always the best thing. Knowledge is key and with anything, it just takes time. Here we like to point people in the direction so they can go and digest the information. This does a few things, such as teach people how to find information and when they fix their problem on their own, it gives them a reward of self accomplishment. The problem with the type of person that insists on the step by step process, they will copy and paste anything into a terminal and run it, not having a clue what it does. It could be a bad command that they shouldn't run. We even get the users in irc that want people to ssh into their computer and fix stuff. That is just insane if you ask me.

A user may not like being told to search and read the wiki, but it's really for their best interest. I've seen new users come in not knowing much at all, but over time they are soon helping people and I see them giving them advice to search and use wikis also.

LoneWolf, I've followed some of your posts and you seem eager to learn and were doing advanced things right away and it became frustrating to you. That is understandable. I've been waiting for the software boxee for quite some time now to easily install and work on a gentoo box. Ubuntu has it working just fine, but it's developed more so for that distro. Ubuntu has that upper hand for devs to build things and get it working their first as the audience base is huge. I can dual boot to windows or ubuntu and use it tho when I need to. There is no shame in dual booting. I recommend it all the time, especially for gamers. All my photo and video stuff is done in windows as it's better for me. I don't understand why people want to run BOINC, but that is nor here or there, but if it works on Ubuntu, than run it there, just don't use it on Sabayon.

Look and feel can be made to work across all linux distros. kde-look, gnome-look and rest of DE sites are all there for getting looks. Make it as sleek and sexy as you want or copy another distro's look.

Don't give up, keep learning and do what you have to do.

[tekwyzrd]

The same can be said of many things like growing tobacco (which I also do) or gardening or hunting or... the list is endless. What appeals to one person makes another scratch their head and wonder why they do it. I've been running BOINC since it started, and ran seti@home before that. For me, it makes constructive use of my computer when I'm not actively using it. One project I've been impatiently waiting for is orbit@home.

Mission

The mission of orbit@home is to apply distributed computing to the study of Solar System dynamics. Distributed computing provides an unmatched amount of computational power, enabling qualitatively new research levels in terms of detail and accuracy.

Many are the open problems that we plan to study with orbit@home. At first, we will focus on Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) research, focusing into the areas below:

NEA search strategies: we are studying a search strategy that maximizes the volume covered in the space of the orbital elements of the NEAs; its implementation requires the availability of a very significant amount of computing power, making the distributed computing approach the perfect candidate; [abstract]
NEA impact hazard monitoring: we are studying the applicability and advantages of using a distributed computing system to monitor the impact hazard by NEAs; when compared to standard systems, the distributed computing approach provides better scalability, responsiveness, and accuracy. [abstract]

Public outreach and education represents also a very important aspect of the system, because the public provides the main distributed computing power and participates in the science being studied.

I'll admit, I started on a simpler distribution (SuSE Linux - before it became openSUSE) and I used synaptic and a few non-SuSE package sources but within a year I started using Sabayon on one of my computers and have used it since. Actually, my first linux distributions were Red Hat and SuSE retail distributions back in the 1990s but hardware support for my rockwell based modem was non-existent so I switched back to Windows NT4. My final motivations for abandoning windows were the EOL of Win2k, the unnecessarily resource wasting WinXP, and the fact that Vista was even worse.

[wolfden]

yes of course, that is why I said it was neither here or there as to why. Congrats on the long term dedication.