setiathome fails to start

[Scott Thompson]

lsb_release -rd:

Description: Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS
Release: 16.04

apt-cache policy boinc-app-seti-graphics:

boinc-app-seti-graphics:
  Installed: 8.00~svn3363-2
  Candidate: 8.00~svn3363-2
  Version table:
 *** 8.00~svn3363-2 500
        500 http://us.ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports xenial/universe powerpc Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

I expected BOINC Manager to download and process setiathome work units

Instead Boinc Manager failed with the following errors:

Fri 05 Aug 2016 07:37:19 AM CDT | SETI@home | Found app_info.xml; using anonymous platform
Fri 05 Aug 2016 07:37:19 AM CDT | SETI@home | File referenced in app_info.xml does not exist: setiathome_v8
Fri 05 Aug 2016 07:37:19 AM CDT | SETI@home | File referenced in app_info.xml does not exist: setiathome_graphics
Fri 05 Aug 2016 07:37:19 AM CDT | SETI@home | [error] State file error: missing application file setiathome_v8

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: boinc-app-seti-graphics 8.00~svn3363-2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-31.50-powerpc64-smp 4.4.13
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-31-powerpc64-smp ppc64
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.1
Architecture: powerpc
CurrentDesktop: MATE
Date: Fri Aug 5 11:03:29 2016
InstallationDate: Installed on 2016-07-08 (27 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-MATE 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release powerpc (20160420.1)
SourcePackage: boinc-app-seti
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

Hi, this is strange, please run
ls -l /usr/lib/boinc-app-seti*

thanks

[Scott Thompson (scottt4)]

scott@New-Quad-G5-UbMate-16:~$ ls -l /usr/lib/boinc-app-seti*
total 1036
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 67232 Feb 2 2016 setiathome_graphics
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 987436 Feb 2 2016 setiathome_v8
scott@New-Quad-G5-UbMate-16:~$

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

what does it happen while trying to run it?
/usr/lib/boinc-app-seti-graphics/setiathome_v8 --start

I admit, it works here, and I have not many clues.
I would try the boinc-app-seti instead of the graphics version, to see if it makes any difference

[Scott Thompson (scottt4)]

scott@New-Quad-G5-UbMate-16:~$ /usr/lib/boinc-app-seti-graphics/setiathome_v8 --start
boinc-app-seti is invoked with the following arguments:
--start
  1: '--start'
--end.
scott@New-Quad-G5-UbMate-16:~$

Also I note that
scott@New-Quad-G5-UbMate-16:/$ find . -iname "*setiathome*"

[snip]

./var/lib/boinc-client/account_setiathome.berkeley.edu.xml
./var/lib/boinc-client/sched_reply_setiathome.berkeley.edu.xml
./var/lib/boinc-client/statistics_setiathome.berkeley.edu.xml
./var/lib/boinc-client/sched_request_setiathome.berkeley.edu.xml
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/setiathome_v7
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/setiathome_graphics
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/setiathome_v7
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/setiathome_graphics
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/setiathome_v7
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/slideshow_setiathome_v7_02
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/slideshow_setiathome_v7_00
./var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/slideshow_setiathome_v7_01
./var/lib/boinc-client/master_setiathome.berkeley.edu.xml

[snip]

is setiathome_v7 not setiathome_v8.

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

So, just remove the old v7 version.
Probably you installed setiathome package, *after* using the upstream version, and boinc is continuing to prefer that one instead of the packaged one

[Scott Thompson (scottt4)]

Please elaborate, the only packages that I believe that I installed with Synaptic were

boinc 7.6.31+dfsg-6ubuntu1
boinc-app-seti-graphics 8.00-svn3363-2

I do not believe I installed anything else.

Also I inadvertently omitted the following lines from the find results listed in my previous comment.

./usr/lib/boinc-app-seti-graphics/setiathome_v8
./usr/lib/boinc-app-seti-graphics/setiathome_graphics
./home/scott/.AppleDouble/boinc_setiathome_0
./home/scott/boinc_setiathome_0

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

the problem is that probably you opened boinc and added setiathome project *before* installing setiathome package.
This downloaded the binaries from the website, rather then using the (non-existing-yet) binaries from the repo.

Now, since you have installed them *after*, boinc is still picking up the upstream version and giving you errors.

Proposed solution (if I'm correct)
remove setiathome package
open boinc and remove the project
install setiathome package
add-project again on boinc.

[Scott Thompson (scottt4)]

Thank you for your assistance. It now seems to be working.

My only comment would be that it wasn't clear to me that I needed to install the setiathome package before I added the project.

This bug can be closed and thanks again.

[Riccardo (riccardo-cicuto)]

Please check in a terminal:

ls -al /var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu

If you have a broken simlink:

setiathome_v7 -> /usr/lib/boinc-app-seti-graphics/setiathome_v7

please try adding:

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/boinc-app-seti-graphics/setiathome_v8 setiathome_v8;
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/boinc-app-seti-graphics/setiathome_graphics setiathome_graphics;
sudo chown -h boinc:boinc setiathome_graphics;
sudo chown -h boinc:boinc setiathome_v8;
sudo service boinc-client restart;

This solved the same problem in my ubuntu 16.04.

[Riccardo (riccardo-cicuto)]

The broken simlink
/var/lib/boinc-client/projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/setiathome_v7 -> /usr/lib/boinc-app-seti-graphics/setiathome_v7
when using setiathome_v8 should be investigated by developers.

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

Yes, this is a boinc issue probably, but I don't think there is a sane way to do such check, on seti upgrade, specially when seti has so few upgrades.
such link is not handled at all by boinc-app-seti package

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for boinc (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]