I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with my dual core only using one core when it always used both before (my general prefs have it at 1 CPU, but this has somehow never been a problem until now). Here is what happens when I try to sync with BAM! As you can see below, it runs CPU benchamrks, tells me that my number of CPUs has changed from 1 to 2, then immediately runs another set of CPU benchmarks and concludes that the number of CPUs has changed from 2 to 1. I do realize that I have some multiple personality problems, but they are until now relegated to only when I argue with myself!!

Here are the messages:


3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||Contacting account manager at http://bam.boincstats.com/
3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||Account manager: BAM Host-ID: 29811
3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||Account manager contact succeeded
3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||General prefs: from http://bam.boincstats.com/ (last modified 2007-03-12 18:25:35)
3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||Host location: none
3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||General prefs: using your defaults
3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||Number of usable CPUs has changed from 1 to 2. Running benchmarks.
3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||Running CPU benchmarks
3/12/2007 6:25:27 PM||Suspending computation - running CPU benchmarks
3/12/2007 6:25:45 PM||General prefs: from http://bam.boincstats.com/ (last modified 2007-03-12 18:24:06)
3/12/2007 6:25:45 PM||Host location: none
3/12/2007 6:25:45 PM||General prefs: using your defaults
3/12/2007 6:25:45 PM||Number of usable CPUs has changed from 2 to 1. Running benchmarks.
3/12/2007 6:26:29 PM||Benchmark results:
3/12/2007 6:26:29 PM|| Number of CPUs: 1
3/12/2007 6:26:29 PM|| 1921 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) per CPU
3/12/2007 6:26:29 PM|| 4085 integer MIPS (Dhrystone) per CPU
3/12/2007 6:26:30 PM||Resuming computation
3/12/2007 6:26:30 PM||Running CPU benchmarks
3/12/2007 6:26:30 PM||Suspending computation - running CPU benchmarks
3/12/2007 6:27:31 PM||Benchmark results:
3/12/2007 6:27:31 PM|| Number of CPUs: 1
3/12/2007 6:27:31 PM|| 1946 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) per CPU
3/12/2007 6:27:31 PM|| 4123 integer MIPS (Dhrystone) per CPU
3/12/2007 6:27:31 PM||Resuming computation

I just realised I deleted my host specific prefs earlier today bacause of this problem. Hope knowing this helps.

Gerry

Time travel is possible!!!! Only 8 seconds, but it's a start...

Seriously, I find it curious that the second time the preferences were loaded (why they were loaded again I don't know), an older version was used (older by 1.5 minutes). Does this continue in an endless loop so that the only thing your computer does is run benchmarks? or just the two times? I don't know which versions of BOINC honor (or honour if you prefer) the # of CPUs preference, maybe implemented along with the % CPU usage? Which version are you running?

My suggestion (use at your own risk):
1) Exit BOINC.
2) Set Preferences in BAM! to use both CPUs.
3) Save Prefs to Projects.
4) Check some projects to make sure they took them.
5) Restart BOINC.
6) Update all projects.
7) Sync with BAM!.

Maybe you already did that and I'm wasting precious bits in cyberspace...

Does BOINC/BAM create a prefs_override.xml file when host specific prefs are declared?

I just implemented your positively brilliant suggestion. I now have two cores humming BOINC melody. In case it might help, here are some of the preferences I thought you might be interested in. Anything you see that I might change? Also, does this mean that I will have to add another preference for my other two boxes, one of which will hyperthread when it gets the message that there are two CPUs? I prefer not to HT.

Use at most 100% of CPU time
Storage and memory usage
Use no more than 400.0 Gb
Leave at least 1.5 Gb free
Use no more than 50% of total disk space
Write to disk at most every 60 seconds
Use no more than 80% of total virtual memory
Use at most 80% of memory when computer is in use
Use at most 80% of memory when computer is idle

If you don't like HT, disable it at the BIOS level. I had to disable it because: Firefox sometimes hanged, Thunderbird always hanged, POV-Ray sometimes hanged. All hangs solved by turning HT off.

How do I do that. I know windows pretty well as a user, but any technical stuff is out of my league. I hope this isn't too invoved.