BOINC doesn't lock the file it is using properly. I ran defrag with crunching, and suddenly BOINC sad this: "Result XXX exited with zero status but no 'finished' file". Checking the reports of defrag, it had defraged the project files. So defrag was able to access the files and move them about, while BOINC was using them!
Didn't lost much data: Seti started all over, and climate prediction fall back a percent of two (i think)...

Sounds to me more like a bug in the user! ;-)
I wouldn't try to defrag with applications actively updating their files.

Are you sure Defrag respects file locking? I think it pays more attention to file attributes, leaving "hidden" and "system" files untouched.

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> Sounds to me more like a bug in the user! ;-)
> I wouldn't try to defrag with applications actively updating their files.
>
> Are you sure Defrag respects file locking? I think it pays more attention to
> file attributes, leaving "hidden" and "system" files untouched.
>

When I'm downloading a file, defrag is unable to move that file. So it is possible to lock the file up enough to make it anti-defrag-able. Defrag also reports that is was unable to move the file. I didn't got that message with the BOINC-files. Using WinXP SP2 by the way.

I suspect it all depends on the defrag application you are using (and O/S + filesystem for the Hard Drive).

Some Defrag Utils: O/O Defrag +, Built in Windows Defrag, Norton Defrag, FixIt Utils, etc.
Some Hard drive filesystems: FAT 16, FAT 32, NTFS (1.1 -> 3.x), various Unix types

Flags Defragger could check: Read Only, System, Hidden, Open for Read/Write...

For that last flag (open R+W), defragger would have to use a different query command to the O/S than the first 3.

> > Sounds to me more like a bug in the user! ;-)
> > I wouldn't try to defrag with applications actively updating their
> files.
> >
> > Are you sure Defrag respects file locking? I think it pays more attention
> to
> > file attributes, leaving "hidden" and "system" files untouched.
> >
>
> When I'm downloading a file, defrag is unable to move that file. So it is
> possible to lock the file up enough to make it anti-defrag-able. Defrag also
> reports that is was unable to move the file. I didn't got that message with
> the BOINC-files. Using WinXP SP2 by the way.
>

Locks only work when all programs use them the same way, and defrag doesn't. Use locks that is. Besides that the files have to be open in order for locking mechanisms to work. While boinc/seti leaves some files open all the time, others are created, written to and closed at whatever rate you specify in your preferences. Which files got moved?

If you don't believe the files are locked properly, try copying the boinc folder (and all subfolders) do a new directory. While boinc is running that is.

What other errors were there, other than the "no finished file" message? While it would be nice to have the output from the seti client, thats all deleted. But the errors are put into the "completed" workunit, so should be available. Anything there? Your computers are hidden so I can't check it for you.