CPDN/BBC: Making a backup of your model

A backup option written by Les Bayliss:

Backing up on these two projects is possibly the single most important thing a Boinc participant can do to successfully complete an entire climate model.

Why make a backup?

Because, for the vast majority of people, if you join a long-duration project such as ClimatePrediction.Net or the BBC/CCE, this is the largest, most complex program that you'll ever have on your computer. And a lot of these computers are 'minimum entry level'. That is, they have just enough resources to run 'normal' household programs.

Which often means minimum memory, often no separate graphics card, (just a few chips on the main board, which use some of the system memory), minimum cooling, (and often no 'case fans' at all), and a minimally rated power supply.

So you need to do everything possible to decrease the very real risk of crashing a climate model over the months it will take to complete. This post is about just one of the ways to improve your chances.

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There are several ways to make a 'backup'.

One is with Windows Briefcase.

Another (on the BBC/CCE project), is to use Richard Rodway's automatic backup program. (Documented and linked to from this post.)

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This post is about using a simple 'Copy and Paste' process.

To make a backup:

1. Somewhere on your hard disk outside the Climate Change Experiment (or BOINC) folder, make a new folder with a name suitable to label it as a backup folder. (Or several folders if you want to keep several backups.)
2. In the menu, click on Suspend. (The location varies with different versions of the Manager, AKA BOINC.)
3. Watch what it says in the Status section of the Tasks tab, until it SAYS Suspended.
4. In the menu, click Exit.
5. Wait until the manager has disappeared, and also the small round B icon in the system tray. (Bottom line of screen, right hand side.)
6. Using Explorer, select the Climate Change Experiment (or BOINC) folder.
7. In the explorer menu, click Select all.
8. In the explorer menu, click Copy.
9. Go to the new folder created in step 1), and right click in it.
10. Click paste.

To restore:

A) Using Explorer, select the CCE (or BOINC) folder. B) In the explorer menu, click Select all. C) In the explorer menu, click delete.

All the contents of the folder(s) should now be gone, leaving only the CCE (or BOINC) folder.

D) Go to the backup folder and click on it. E) In the explorer menu, click Select all. F) In the explorer menu, click copy. G) Go to the CCE (or BOINC) folder and right click in it. H) Click paste.

The older copy of the experiment should now be restored to its original location.

I) Reboot computer to remove anything in ram that may cause a problem, and to also restart the CCE (BOINC) Manager.

Addendum, 22 Sep 2006

There are indications that a Windows System Restore can scramble working models, and perhaps, backups.

It is therefor safer to store backups on a separate drive, either physical or logical. If you must store backups on the C: drive, placing them in My Documents seems to offer most protection from Windows System Restore, though we have not tested this.

Addendum 2, 5 December 2006

People who run multi-project need to read my posts on this subject on these boards, or this page in the BOINC Wiki.

Basically, if you run multiple models/projects, EVERYTHING gets copied in both directions. So some work is needed before copying back.

| Jorden
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| 2007-08-25
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| 2007-08-25 13:53:35
| 2007-08-25 13:53:35