Hi folks,

Once in a while, my Rosetta@home Boinc project complains that it doesn't have enough space to run. Since I don't have a lot of space, I restrict Boinc projects' disk usage to 10GB. This works great until Rosetta reaches around 1.5 to 2GB of used Boinc space on my laptop, at which point it starts complaining that "Rosetta needs X MB more disk space. You currently have Y MB available and it needs Z MB."

Because it seems that Rosetta needs ever more space and I can't infinitely increase the space allocated to Boinc, I'd like to be able to purge the old or obsolete task files simply and easily.

Past searches lead me to simply remove the project and add it again but it's cumbersome (I have to dig up my login and password and remember how to do it).

Is there an easy way to clear the old / obsolete task files for Rosetta without breaking the project or having to do a bunch of complicated tasks?
Is it possible for Rosetta to do this clean up regularly on its own?


Thank you
Thomas

Is there an easy way to clear the old / obsolete task files for Rosetta without breaking the project or having to do a bunch of complicated tasks?

Yes: Reset project under Project commands (Simple view) or on the Projects tab (Advanced view).

However: resetting will probably not make any difference, because Rosetta@home needs about 1.6 GB for its applications and data files in any event, and the current batch of work units is (mis-)configured to require 8.5 GB of disk space. So even if you get some tasks initially (which is itself not guaranteed, as there is a shortage of available work at the moment), they will consume 1.6 GB of your 10 GB limit, which will prevent the sending of any further tasks that also (claim to) need 8.5 GB.

Here is a post from a user who reset recently, only to see the disk space warning come back shortly afterwards.

Other users have reported that the tasks do not in fact require anywhere near 8.5 GB, so you could try increasing the limit to be able to download some tasks without much risk of Rosetta actually using much more than it currently is.

Thank you Brian, the "Reset Project" function is exactly what I wanted.

It's good to know about the 8.5GB "claim to need" thing too. I took your advice and increased available space to 15GB and I'll see if I still get this message.

I think I had read that in theory, the project can make calls to receive past finished tasks' local data in some cases, and that's why they persist some of the data post-task completion. Did I imagine it or is that correct ?

Cheers,
Thomas

I think I had read that in theory, the project can make calls to receive past finished tasks' local data in some cases, and that's why they persist some of the data post-task completion. Did I imagine it or is that correct ?

It’s possible such a mechanism exists, but I’m not familiar with it. In my recent observation, BOINC deletes all Rosetta task files as soon as the results are uploaded. It’s the shared applications and the large protein database (500 MB download that unzips to 960 MB) that persist between tasks and consume disk space.

i full leave all the disk for Boinc, ( uncheck the box who limit the disk usage ) and still have the same message ...

BOINC 7.16.11 64b ... W7 64b ...


i have 2 other computer with BOINC 7.14.2 64b with W7 64b but no message about disk space limited for BOINC ...

the two computer with BOINC 7.14.2 have downloaded a lot of WU , not the other ...

https://nsa40.casimages.com/img/2021/04/10/210410121431111496.png

try the 7.14.2 version instead of 7.16.11 , same disk space problem ...

add some extra space to second partition where BOINC is installed ... pick up 4Go from the first one , and then, no more space problem with BOINC ...

at least, with this actual misconfiguration, 19Go free space for BOINC seems to be sufficient ..

at least, with this actual misconfiguration, 19Go free space for BOINC seems to be sufficient ..

And what is the actual disk space in use by Rosetta according the the BOINC Manager? 2.5GB or less?

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Grant
Darwin NT

actually, Boinc show 1.63 GB used in storage tab

actually, Boinc show 1.63 GB used in storage tab

Which shows just how badly configured those Tasks are.

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Grant
Darwin NT