This client is an application. It does not have a screensaver function.

Download Link:   X GUI (171 KB)

1. Download the client. If the file did not unstuff automatically, unstuff it by dropping it on either Stuffit Expander or OpenUp. Experienced users can also unstuff it with the command line utilities.
2. You will have a new app called "Folding@home" on your desktop. Doubleclick it to launch it for the first time. Note: you should be connected to the internet while doing this.

3. When Folding@home launches, the first thing it does is to benchmark your system. This is apparently to make sure you have enough free CPU available. It might be a good idea to have an otherwise idle system the first time you start up Folding.
4. Upon the first launch, it should open the Preferences window, to allow you to enter your name and team number. If it did not open the Preferences window automatically, open it up manually under the menu Folding.
5. Enter a suitable name or email address in the Name field.

6. Be sure to enter "16" as the team number for Team MacNN. Once Folding units are returned, you cannot change the team that they are assigned to. The default "0" is a null team. Unlike most other projects, Folding@home does not allow you to crunch individually and later assign the units to a team of your choice. They have to be assigned before they are returned. If you allow a work unit to be returned with the "0" team setting, it will be permanently assigned to the null "0" team.

Note: This is the way to join Team MacNN on Folding@home. Return a work unit on our team number 16, and you will appear on the team. Also, you can modify these settings later if you wish. They are not final for a particular work unit until the finished unit is actually uploaded.

7. You may want to enter settings into the Proxy pane of the Preferences window if you are behind a firewall, otherwise you can ignore the proxy pane. Close the Preferences window when you are done.
8. While you were setting your preferences, Folding@home will have attempted to connect to the project server to obtain an agent ID code. It will also have tried to download a crunching core called "core_65.exe", along with a work unit. If you are behind a firewall, these steps will have initially failed, as the proxy settings would not have been entered yet. Folding should retry automatically, and get the needed files after the Preferences have been set. If it fails to do so, quit and restart the client.
9. You are now crunching on the Folding@home project.

The GUI display is turned off when the client starts up. You can activate it by selecting the menu option Folding@home -> Display Protein.

Folding@home crunches 50-400 "Frames" per work unit. Results are saved to disk only when a frame finishes. When it comes time to quit the client, it would be a good idea to do so right after it finishes a frame. Otherwise, you will lose the work already done on the next frame.

The client app can be moved to any location. Data and config files are stored in /Users/(your user name)/Library/Folding@home/. If you open that folder, you will see several new files.

client.cfg is the preferences file. You can edit it with BBEdit if you like. Core_65.exe, despite the name, is a PPC crunching core. FAHlog.txt is a log of the current session startup to shutdown. It does not include the work unit progress, which is separately logged inside the Work folder. queue.dat contains a log of completed units, along with completed units that have not been uploaded yet. Work contains the actual work units until they have finished being crunched.

The Work folder contains a variety of files, which will change over time. The most interesting is the logfile_01.txt - the number varies by what unit you are crunching. This file shows your progress on the current work unit.