FAQ

From SeventeenOrBust

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I've lost a test, what do I do?

This has come up so many times it's not even funny anymore. If you search through the message you'll notice this has happened before and there is a solution for certain cases. For others there is none. I understand users' frustrations, so here is a way to solve 95% of the problems with lost tests.

Losts tests are generally a Micros$%# problem not SOB. It has to do with the registry and can be easily fixed.

If you lose a test, here is a step by step procedure to regain the "lost" work.

First exit the SOB client, then:

1. Check your SOB directory for the unfinished test.

This is generally C:\Program Files\SB\ or whichever directory you installed SOB to.

Within this directory there should be a file with unrecognised format. The name of the file will be:

z####### where # is some number 0-9

For example: z6779487. Generally, when you have a lost test there will be two of these files — z6779487 and z6670993, for example.

If you don't have any z####### files in the Sb directory you're not in the correct directory or you're out of luck. Since only progress is reported, there is no way to get the file back from the server or SOB. If you have deleted it (e.g., Cleansweep, a mistake, etc.) your work is more than likely unrecoverable.

2. Great you have the file. So now you know the n value of your lost work.

e.g. z6779487 has an n value of 6779487 and z6670993 has an n value of 6670993

The lower n value is probably your lost test.

(Note: the z files are restricted to 7 digits after the z. So for an n of 10000000 or more, the z file will drop the first digit. E.g., for an n of 12006103, the z file would be z2006103. Most tests now have n values >10000000, so you'll have to add the 1 before the number of the z file to get the correct n value. To be sure, you can check your log file.)

But which k value does it correspond to? If you use logging, you can simply view the log (go to Config / View Log) and see what k value and n value you were assigned. You can then skip step 3 below and move on to step 4. If you don't use logging, you'll have to login to the server to check which k corresponds to the n.

3. Login to SOB

http://www.seventeenorbust.com --> preferences --> pending test management

http://www.seventeenorbust.com/acco...tsPending.mhtml if you're already logged in.

You will be presented a screen which looks like a speadsheet with the following headers:

ID, Number, IP Address, Assigned, Last Reported, Progress, Percent, cEMs/s, Expire?

Followed by the relevant information, if you run more than one computer you will have several of these.

363953 4847?2^6779487+1 169.1.000.100 Thu Aug 19 15:59:21 2004 never 0 % -0

358621 28433?2^6670993+1 169.1.000.100 Sun Aug 1 03:08:44 2004 Fri Aug 13 03:52:13 2004 4589089 68 %

Notice the two above have the exact same IP address 169.1.000.100 and one test shows 0% done the other 68%. The 68% is your lost test and notice that the n values match 4847?2^6779487 28433?2^6670993 the z files in your SB directory.

Note the k value for your lost test in this case 28433.

4. Now go to your registry in Windows.

Start --> Run, type "regedit". You will get a registry screen. Be careful here. Only change those values relevant to SB.

Now navigate to the following folder

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-->SOFTWARE-->LhDn-->sob-->cache

and click on the cache folder, this will bring up three REG_DWORD values

cache REG_WORD 0x00000002 (2) k REG_WORD 0x000012ef (4847) n REG_WORD 0x0065ca91 (6779487)

These values must be modified to reflect your lost test.

Left click on k so that it is selected then right click and choose modify.

A box will come up with the header Edit DWORD Value.

Click the radio button in the "base" subwindow to decimal.

Doing so will change the Value data: on the left from hexadecimal to decimal (In this case from (12ef --> 4847) )

Change the 4847 to reflect the old test, 28433, or whatever your k value is, and click OK.

Now do the exact same with the n-value.

Your registry should then look like this

cache REG_WORD 0x00000002 (2) k REG_WORD 0x00006f11 (28433) n REG_WORD 0x0067725f (6670993)

if your cache value is not 2 for example 0 then change this value to 2 as well.

5. Now restart your SB client, and it should pickup from where the previous unit left off — 68% in this instance.

6. If everything went smoothly now you can re-login to the SOB website and delete the 0% test.

Hope this helps, people. Perhaps we could make this a sticky or incorporate the message into the website. Of course anyone could edit. I won't scream copyright.

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Sections to be Added:

• "I keep getting errors, what do I do?"
• "What Is Seventeen Or Bust?" (What is the Sierpinski Problem, &c)
• "What does xxxx mean?" (Terms and Definitions)
• "What is the importance of Seventeen Or Bust?"
• "What is the latest SOB client version for xxxxOS?" --see also Version History
• "What's the best Configuration for my Client?" (Affinity and &c)
• "What's a Wiki?"