Linux Mint 20 and FAH

[Pokey]

My personal instructions.

After installation of linux mint 20:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
reboot
(it is important to install all updates before installing video driver)
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go to menu , administration, device manager to install nvidia driver then
reboot
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sudo apt install ocl-icd-libopencl1 (already installed with Mint 20)
sudo apt install ocl-icd-opencl-dev (still required with Mint 20)

python-gtk2 Required for Mint 20
Where? Go to > and download and install:

http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/p/pygtk/python-gtk2_2.24.0-6_amd64.deb

FAHControl installed successfully after this file is installed.
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Install Fahclient and FAHConrol
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This step may no longer be required:
cd /var/lib/fahclient
sudo wget https://apps.foldingathome.org/GPUs.txt

sudo service FAHClient restart
or reboot
-----------------------------------
Open up FAHControl:

Click the Configure button (on toolbar).
Select the Slots tab.
click on the cpu slot and then click on remove.
click on "add" a slot.
click on the radio button to add a GPU slot.
click OK.
You should see the new gpu slot in the slot list.
click on save.
A new task should download and start folding on one of your GPUs.
repeat the above to add another gpu slot for your second GPU.

Tweak as desired.

Configure>advanced>select cause preference

Configure>Expert Tab> Add Client control items:

client-type
advanced

next-unit-percentage
100

Again, this is what I use. YMMV

 

[Desslok]

Thanks for the write up, unfortunately Mint keep freezing on my hardware so I went back to Win10 which is rock stable.

 

[TennesseeTony]

Most unusual...could you list your hardware? Perhaps try 19.3 if you get a chance...

 

[Desslok]

Most unusual...could you list your hardware? Perhaps try 19.3 if you get a chance...

Yes, it is odd.

Asus M5A97 LE R2.0

AMD FX-8350

16GB RAM

Nvidia 2070

1000w PSU

I will give 19.3 a try once things slow down at work.

 

[StefanR5R]

The by far most likely cause of system freezes on Linux are bugs in 3rd-party drivers in kernel mode, i.e. kernel drivers which are developed outside of the mainline kernel source tree. That includes the NVidia graphics driver, and the VirtualBox drivers.

I recently updated from Mint 18.3 with version 3xx driver to Mint 20 with version 450 driver, on X99 and Z270 based systems with GTX 1080Ti. It's stable so far with a few GPU based DC projects. I haven't yet tried Folding@home since the update though. Besides, stability on 10 series doesn't mean it must be stable on 20 series GPUs...

Anyway; check in the driver manager of Mint 20 for availability of either a newer or an older driver version.

One other point: If the freezes happened when the GPU was utilized a lot, and if power draw under Linux was higher than under Windows (because of a higher performing Linux version of the GPGPU application), then another item to look into would be whether the PSU is up to the task.

 

[Desslok]

The driver update utility pointed me to the "official"Nvidia driver if I remember correctly. I will check again when I have time.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've run into issues using Linux Mint with more modern AMD platforms, and toggling IOMMU: Enabled or Disabled in BIOS/UEFI, sometimes fixes some of the issues that you might run into.

 

[gizmo23]

This is v. useful, I was thinking about upgrading from 19.3. Initially I has a couple of niggles getting F@H and Boinc to work ok when I updated from 18, so was a bit cautious. This info makes me more confident, so thanks.

 

[Mike_F]

Peace to you all.
This is especially @StefanR5R or anyone else (biodoc) who are Linux wizzes.
I have a Mint box dedicated to F@H. It has two GPU's (potentially, three). They both fold with no difficulties, however, I can only get 'coolbits' active for one of them--not both. I have tried a lot of different commands, most of which leave me with a black screen and Mint in recovery mode. I now have a HDMI dummy plug, if that is useful to know. It hasn't helped as I thought it might.
Help!
Thank you in advance.

 

[Mike_F]

The GPU's are both nvidia--a 1070ti and a 2070, in case that matters.

 

[StefanR5R]

I can't help you with this particular issue, never explored this topic. (Each of my 2x/3x GPU computers have one and the same GPU model in them, as GPUs of different performance in a single host are awkward especially in competitions. Also, I use GPUs for computing only, and therefore run the fans at fixed speed instead of temperature control.)

 

[biodoc]

I have a Mint box dedicated to F@H. It has two GPU's (potentially, three). They both fold with no difficulties, however, I can only get 'coolbits' active for one of them--not both. I have tried a lot of different commands, most of which leave me with a black screen and Mint in recovery mode. I now have a HDMI dummy plug, if that is useful to know. It hasn't helped as I thought it might.
Help!
Thank you in advance.

This usually works for me:
sudo nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=28
reboot
If you just want fan control:
sudo nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=4

I'm running MINT 20 with the MATE desktop.

If you want to try reducing heat by setting the power limit (watts) on the card(s), this is what I do on my dual 1080Ti rig to set the power limit to 180 watts on both cards:
sudo nvidia-smi -pl 180

If you want to set the limit to a specific GPU use the -i switch. For device id 1:
sudo nvidia-smi -i 1 -pl 180

If you reboot the computer, you'll have to rerun the commands.

 

[Mike_F]

Thank you both.
Stefan actually helped me out with the power limit settings some months ago. That works great, but I would still like a little more control on the second GPU.
biodoc, I will try the commands you that you mention. I'm pretty sure that I have already, but it is possible that I had the syntax wrong. I am MUCH more familiar with Windows.
I have had this box loaded with Mint for about a year now. I am basically satisfied if it runs stably, so I only mess with it occasionally to try to get it perfect. Over this time, I can get cool-bits working fine for one card, but not on both.
I do not game. These are running compute 24/7. In addition to setting a fixed fan speed, I like to be able to adjust the over/underclocking to tune for performance and/or efficiency as needed.

 

[StefanR5R]

I use GPUs for computing only, and therefore run the fans at fixed speed instead of temperature control.

PS, the fans are not plugged into my GPUs. They are powered and controlled completely separate.

 

[biodoc]

The GPU's are both nvidia--a 1070ti and a 2070, in case that matters.

Perhaps mixing a pascal and turing card in the same machine is causing a problem. My dual rigs are pascal/pascal and turing/turing.

sudo nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=28 <----fan, overclocking/underclocking, and voltage control

Have you tried coolbits 12?
sudo nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=12 <----fan, oveclocking/underclocking

There's things that you could do but I have no rationale for trying them.

1} uninstall the drivers and then reinstall
2) uninstall the drivers, shut down, then reverse the cards, boot and install the drivers.

I guess my point is this could be a big time sink with no guarantee of success.

 

[Mike_F]

"I guess my point is this could be a big time sink with no guarantee of success."
I hear that loud and clear.
Thank you.