# Seti at home dopers...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741 "2002-06-12T22:48:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/1 "2002-06-12T22:48:36Z")
Hey, I am part of the Seti@Home dopers, but, er, what happened to our reporting? I haven’t seen our stats in forever. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/2 "2002-06-12T23:01:01Z")
There’s a report? I started a few weeks ago. I have currently processed 20 units of data with a total time over just over 218 hours (I leave mine running in the background whenever my computer is on). In the seemingly unlikely event something shows up, what do the SETI people do? ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/3 "2002-06-13T02:53:25Z")
You will become world famous. FTR, I have processed 2138 units, for a total CPU time of 1.755 years, at an average of 7hrs 11 mins per unit. However, I am not part of the SDMB team, but another, rather small team in members that is #167 overall! (we have a nice, high output per member.) I’m hoping I’m the first to find ET. But if I don’t, I get immense pleasure in seeing my units rack up. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/4 "2002-06-13T02:57:59Z")
Oh, and I do realize the chances of me processing a unit that has proof of ETI is less likely than winning the lottery 5 times in my life, but I can still hope, ok? I like SETI so much better now that I get about 6-7 units/day out of my machine now…about 3.5hrs/unit. My old computer took 15 hrs per unit. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/5 "2002-06-13T03:08:20Z")
Well, the Seti@Home page doesn’t seem to be working well for me right now… but I was able to gleen this: Web site click here Members 27 Results received 28344 Total CPU time 47.743 years Founder Jason ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/6 "2002-06-13T05:11:41Z")
Right, that’s all I’ve been getting for weeks now, **Astroboy**. Strange. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/7 "2002-08-02T15:08:43Z")
Since the original “Straight Dopers” SETI@home group seems to have gone permanently AWOL, I’ve started a new one, [The Straight Dopers](http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/stats/team/team_147143.html). Any members of the old group, Dopers who run SETI@home who were _not_ members of the old group, or Dopers who want to start running SETI@home, please join up. ---
**Author:** ![Stiletto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Stiletto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stiletto)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/8 "2002-08-02T17:14:59Z")
Okay. I’d been looking for just one more reason to actually start using it…I guess this qualifies. I’m signing up now. 🙂 -Stil ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/9 "2002-08-02T18:26:37Z")
I used to use SETI@Home, but then I discovered the project that analyzes molecules for cancer treatments. It’s at [http://www.intel.com/cure/](http://www.intel.com/cure/) . I feel that this is far more likely to have a tangible benefit than SETI@home. ---
**Author:** ![Eran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Eran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eran)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/10 "2002-08-02T19:53:03Z")
I just joined. I have about 45 units and it takes about 50 hrs to complete (I run it as a screensaver) but I’m unlikely to add any more because my own computer (the one I’m on now is the family’s) isn’t online. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/11 "2002-08-06T12:51:12Z")
Thanks, **Stiletto** and **Eran**. What about the rest of you guys. I know the old “Straight Dopers” group had at least a couple of dozen people, but it no longer seems to have any members listed, and when I tried to re-join before, I didn’t show up in that group and it would still say I wasn’t a member of any group in my individual profile. So how about it. If you’re still running SETI@home, why not sign up? ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/12 "2002-08-06T13:15:52Z")
I just wanted to mention, for those of you keeping score, that the original reason I joined this MB in the first place was to ask **Gatsby** a question about how to install the seti@home program. A thread almost identical to this one, which I saw in Threadspotting on June 6, 2000. Time flies. ---
**Author:** ![mkl12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@mkl12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkl12)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/13 "2002-08-06T19:45:46Z")
I just joined SETI@home and the Straight Dopers group, but my name doesn’t show. What can I do about this? Or does it change once I have completed 1 unit? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/14 "2002-08-06T20:37:00Z")
Go to the [User Account Area](http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/account_area.html) page. Input the e-mail address you used to create the SETI@home account, and your SETI@home password. You’ll probably have to have them mail your password to you; click on the link that says “If you don’t know your password, click here” on the User Account login page, or go to the [Get your SETI@home password](http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/get_passwd.html) page. Your password will be automatically mailed to the e-mail account you’re using. (Make sure you use the same e-mail address for this process that you used to set up the SETI@home account; if you don’t know which e-mail address you used, I can look it up for you, since I’m the group founder.) Once you have input your e-mail address and password on the login page for the User Account Area and clicked the “Change User Info” button, you’ll be taken to the screen to change your account information. Right under the “Name or nickname” field there’s a box that says “Can we show your name on the SETI@home web site?” Make sure the box is checked. That _should_ make you “visible” on the membership roster for the team. At any rate, I was able to duplicate your condition by unchecking the box on my account, then solved it by checking the box. The change may not show up right away when you pull up the team info; I can manually update if you still aren’t showing up. ---
**Author:** ![barking\_frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@barking\_frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barking_frog)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/15 "2002-08-06T21:44:50Z")
I hope that isn’t referencing the United Devices software, Revtim. That stuff was obnoxious as hell. First, there was no close button (only a sleep button), and I had to shut it off because my CPU was overheating (yes, I realize that I could have just put 999999 minutes in the sleep bar, but I thought it’d be easier to shut down the program for the rest of my Windows session). I go into taskmanager and close the program but another program is still using 98% of my CPU’s capacity, which, of course, is part of the UD software I just closed. I close that process too (and yes I’m sure it was part of the UD software since the UD window was still open and it was called something like ud.exe), causing me to reboot. After that I can’t boot into Windows. I go into BIOS and disable bootup virus protection and Windows then boots up normally. I use system restore to before I installed the software but then my soundcard began to have problems (I installed my soundcard when I first got my computer and did not have any problems with it). After an hour of trouble shooting and a couple of hours of uninstalling/reinstalling my soundcard’s software (and if you’ve ever had a Creative SB Audigy you’d know how god awfully long the installation is), it finally works again. I’m all for the betterment of mankind, but the experience left an awful taste in my mouth and I’ll probably never use it again. As for SETI@Home, I feel that the odds of doing anything useful (decoding noise, even if it helps to sort the rift raft, does not seem useful to me) are one in many many trillions. However, I’d probably run it anyways if my computer didn’t get too hot under loads, but that’s because I have a nice quiet computer :). Sorry for the rant, I just had to get that off my chest. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/16 "2002-08-06T21:54:08Z")
**Ian** , I’ve run the United Devices software for over a year now and never had any problems. Unfortunately, “your mileage may vary” seems to be par for the course with UD. Some people never had a single problem, others nothing but headache. Of course, back when I used to frequent the UD message boards it seemed the latter case was all we ever heard from. Usually it was someone posting a “UD suks a$$” message describing some kind of problem that was usually addressed in the FAQ no one could be bothered to read. Not that I’m accusing you of that. **Ian** , just commenting on how your experiences are not unique. Sorry it didn’t work out for you. ---
**Author:** ![mkl12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@mkl12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkl12)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/17 "2002-08-06T22:13:38Z")
Thank you, MEBuckner, that’s probably it. When I first installed the program, I unchecked that box. It is checked now, so I’ll probably just have to wait. ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/18 "2002-08-08T00:06:23Z")
Just added myself to the team. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/19 "2002-08-08T00:17:28Z")
I’ve run the UD software on many machines, 2 at home (a 400Mhz and a 2Ghz) and several at work, with no problem. Sorry about your problems, **Ian**. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2002, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741/20 "2002-08-08T13:29:51Z")
Welcome aboard, **Kwyjibo**. Of course, I should have mentioned that no one is allowed to join the group who has more work units than I do… 😉 P.S. **mkl12** , you now show up on the team roster. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-at-home-dopers/113741.md?page=2)