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SETI@home for Windows
May 1999
(c) SETI@home, UC Berkeley, 1999
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This document provides information on setting up and using
SETI@home. For the latest version of this document, and
other information about SETI@home, visit our web site:
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu
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How to use this document
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To view this file on-screen, maximize the window. To print
this document, open it in Notepad or another word processor,
go to the File menu, and click Print.
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Contents
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- Introduction
- Logging in to SETI@home
- Preferences
- The blinking icon
- Removing SETI@home
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
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Introduction
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Thank you for installing SETI@home. With your help and the
help of hundreds of thousands of other computer users like
you, we increase the odds of detecting signs of intelligent
life elsewhere in the universe. This Help File explains how
SETI@home works, how to alter its settings, or how to remove
it from your computer.
SETI@home actually consists of two parts: an "application"
and a "screensaver". The application does all the work: it
downloads blocks of data from through the Internet, performs
the number crunching on that data (looking for orderly
patterns that might be artificial), returns the results, and
gets another block of data. The application is represented
by a green radio telescope icon in the System Tray (normally
at the lower right of your screen). You can open the appli-
cation window by double-clicking on this icon.
The screensaver program runs when you haven't used your key-
board or mouse for a while. It displays color pictures
showing the data analysis process. Normally the application
processes data only when the screensaver is running.
Optionally, you can have the application process data all
the time.
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Logging in to SETI@home
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To use SETI@home you must create an "account" on the
SETI@home server. Your account is identified by your email
address. This lets us notify you in case you discover ET.
If you run SETI@home on several computers, they can all run
under the same account.
When you install SETI@home, you are asked whether you want
to create a new account or use an existing account. The
account is verified or created on our server at UC Berkeley,
and SETI@home will run under this account indefinitely. If
you want to switch to a different account, bring up the
application window, open the Settings menu, and select
Change/Create login. You will be shown the name of the
current account, and you can elect to switch to another
existing account or create a new account.
To switch to an existing account, you just type in the email
address. If you create a new account, you will be asked for
1. Name or nickname (handle)
2. Email address
3. Country
4. Postal code
5. Whether your computer is at school, work, or home
We will not give this information out to anyone. We use it
to get statistical information such as how many people in
country X are participating in SETI@home, how many users are
at school, etc. This information is on display at our Web
site, http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu.
If you check the option to display your email address, your
email address might be shown on our web site if your screen
saver finds something interesting, or if you earn some other
mention, such as by crunching more data than any other user.
The default for this setting is to NOT provide your email
address. It's up to you. You can also decide whether to
have your name appear on the web site.
Windows lets you declare names and passwords for different
users on the same machine. However, changing your Windows
login doesn't affect SETI@home. If you want to change your
SETI@home login, you must use the Settings menu.
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Preferences
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SETI@home lets you express your preferences for when it does
data analysis, and when it makes network connections. You
are asked for your choices when you install SETI@home, but
you can change them later if you like. To do so, bring up
the application window, open the Settings menu, and select
Preferences.
There are three sets of preferences:
Data Analysis: either
- Data Analysis happens only when the screen saver is active
or application window is open, or
- Data Analysis always runs
If you select the first option, SETI@home won't use any of
your computer's processing power or memory when you're doing
your normal work. If you select the second option,
SETI@home will analyze data all the time. this uses about
15 MB of RAM and requires processing power, so we recommend
this only if your computer is fast and has lots of RAM. If
you try this setting and notice sluggish performance of
other programs, turn it off.
Network Connection: either
- Ask me before connecting to the Internet, or
- Connect automatically whenever needed
You can choose whether SETI@home should ask your permission
before setting up an Internet connection to the SETI@home
server. A connection to the SETI@home server is only neces-
sary when it's time to retrieve a new block of data. On a
typical Pentium-class computer, this will happen every one
or two days. Therefore, connection is not going to occur
very frequently, but still you may want to have the screen
saver alert you before doing so.
If you connect through a modem and your computer shares the
phone line with voice calls or a FAX machine, you'll prob-
ably want SETI@home to ask your permission before connecting
(otherwise it might try to dial while you are in a phone
conversation, which can be annoying). Choose the first
option in this case. The flashing SETI@home icon will alert
you when SETI@home wants to set up a connection.
If you are connected to the Internet through a local area
network (LAN) or have a modem with a dedicated phone line,
choose the second option (connect automatically). This
allows SETI@home to be more productive. If you choose this,
don't be shocked when the modem suddenly begins to dial the
phone, seemingly out of nowhere. SETI@home probably just
needs more data to analyze.
SETI@home will connect to the Internet using the connection
that is specified as the "default" connection in your Inter-
net Settings. To set or check this setting, open the
Start/Settings/Control Panel/Internet/Connection. If you
use a modem to connect to the Internet, you probably already
have a dialup networking connection (DUN connection) there.
If you have multiple ISPs (Internet Service Providers), the
DUN connection specified as the "default" connection is the
one that will be used. Use the "Set as default" check box
to select which ISP will be used if SETI@home is going to
make an automatic connection. If you have trouble with your
Windows auto-dialing setup, just make the connection manu-
ally when SETI@home gives you the option to "Connect Now".
Proxy:
This lets you specify the name and port number of your HTTP
proxy. An HTTP proxy is a network security barrier used by
many businesses to protect their computers. Your network
administrator can give you the info.
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The Blinking Icon
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Sometimes you will notice that the SETI@home icon is blink-
ing. This means that your attention is needed. Double click
on the icon for instructions. There are several possibili-
ties:
- SETI@home needs to connect to the Internet, and is waiting
for your permission to do so. If you do not have your
computer set to dial automatically, you will have to dial
manually (by running your Internet Dial-up connection for
your ISP) before telling SETI@home to go ahead.
- There is a new version of SETI@home that you can download
from our web site (http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu).
- SETI@home has encountered an error that you can fix. For
example, you might be out of disk space. Delete some files,
then click on OK to have SETI@home continue.
- SETI@home has encountered an internal error. In some
cases you may be able to fix things by quitting the
SETI@home application (click the button in the upper right
corner of the application window) and starting it again. If
the same error occurs repeatedly, please report it to use
via our web site (http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu; go to
"Software Download and Help").
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Removing SETI@home
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Tired of looking for ET? Want to go back to flying toasters?
Is SETI@home causing problems, and want to turn it off?
Here are the three options you have:
- If you want to temporarily disable SETI@home until the
next time you start up, bring up the SETI@home application
window. Click on File and choose Exit. It will run again
the next time you boot up or the SETI@home screensaver runs.
To run it manually, click on Start / Programs / SETI@home.
- To select another screen saver. Click Start / Settings /
Control Panel / Display / Screen Saver. Choose a different
screen saver. If you have selected "Data analysis always
runs" in your Preferences, SETI@home will continue to work
in the background; otherwise it will run only when you bring
up the application window.
- To remove SETI@home from your computer and hard disk,
click Start / Settings / Control Panel. Then run Add/Remove
Programs, select SETI@home, and click the Add/Remove... but-
ton.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Q: How do I bring up the SETI@home application window?
A: Find the SETI@home icon in the Windows "system tray" and
double-click on it. The system tray is normally in the
lower right-hand corner of the screen. The SETI@home icon
looks like a green radio telescope dish. You can also
right-click on the icon and select "Maximize".
Q: Where is the SETI@home icon? I don't see it in the sys-
tem tray.
A: You may have exited from the SETI@home application by
accident. You can run it again by selecting Programs /
SETI@home from the Start menu.
Q: I don't see SETI@home in the Programs menu.
A: Install SETI@home again; download first if needed (from
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu).
Q: How do I set my default screen saver?
A: In the Control Panel, double click Display to bring up
the Display Properties dialog. Select the Screen Saver tab.
There you will see a list of available screen savers from
which to select. Note: SETI@home makes itself the default
screen saver when it runs for the first time after installa-
tion.
Q: Can I use Windows screen saver password protection with
SETI@home?
A: Yes.
Q: How do I completely get rid of SETI@home?
A: In the Control Panel, go to the Add/Remove Programs dia-
log, and select SETI@home. Or you can select "Remove
SETI@home" in the Start/Programs/SETI@home menu.
Q: My PC has lots of RAM and a fast processor. Can I have
SETI@home run all of the time?
A: Yes. Bring up the SETI@home application window, and in
the Preferences dialog, select the checkbox "Data analysis
always runs."
Q: I'm running on a laptop and the installer hangs after I
choose the directory into which SETI@home is to be
installed. How do I fix this?
A: On a few laptops, the InstallShield setup program causes
a search for the floppy drive (drive A:), which takes a
minute or two if the drive is not connected. Wait a bit, and
the installer should recover.