Computer Hope

Basically, this is just an outline so far, only a little content and not neatened up yet.
I will add to this as and when I have time.
Feel free to post in this thread or PM me if you want to add something, but bear in mind it may be a while before I add it - I want this thread to cover as much as possible, and this may involve adding more FAQ articles.
Anyone who helps will of course be referenced in the final thread.
Once this FAQ is finalised, other posts will be moved elsewhere.

What is F@H?
This is just a brief overview of the aims of the Folding@Home project.  If you want to read more, there's no better palce than their official website - click here.

Folding@Home is a distributed computing project.  It uses spare, or idle, processing power to basically crunch numbers.  The project is run by Stanford University, and they use the results for research.  The research they do covers a wide range of subjects but is all focused on the subject of protein folding.  When proteins misfold, certain diseases can result - Alzheimer's, cancer, BSE ... this research goes towards understanding and eventually finding a cure for these diseases.

Now, one machine's idle power may not sound like much.  Multiply that by millions of computers sitting doing nothing much whilst their owners drink coffee, play Solitaire or browse the web, and you've got a hige amopunt of processing pwoer that could be used for a great purpose.  Why not be part of it?

Why would I not want to run F@H? / Common misconceptions about F@H
Power requirements - Folding@Home will increase my power bill!
The short answer to this is, in most cases it won't.  The project will use as much of your processor power as you want, the default is 100%.  This means your CPU is running at 100% instead of 5%.  So what?  The actual power increase is very small, and won't consume much more power.  When I say that, I mean running your computer costs a few dollars a month in the US.  Factor in the time you'd be using the computer anyway, and the additional load from this project costs you even less than that.

Folding@Home will wear out my computer!
Not under most circumstances.  Modern components such as CPUs are perfectly fine to be running at 100% load.  The only issue could possible be cooling, which is why I do advise you monitor your temperatures (covered later in this FAQ)

What do I need to get started?
According to Stanford (the university that runs F@H) to run Folding@Home, all you need is a computer running Windows 98 onwards, Mac OS X 10.4 onwards, or Linux, with at least a Pentium III 450MHz, with SSE.  In other words, most computers out there can run Folding@Home.  Bear in mind though that if your CPU is quite old, and close to the minimum requirements, it will struggle to complete work units on time unless you run it 24/7.  Additionally, with a slower CPU you'll find Folding@Home will have more of an impact on your system's performance.  At an educated guess, I'd recommend at least a 1GHz Pentium III or equivalent.  Faster CPUs will complete units faster and will mean Folding@Home has less of an impact on your day-to day computing (more on this later).
Folding@Home can also run on PS3s, Nvidia 8 series or later graphics cards, ATI HD2 series and later graphics cards, and can take advantage of multiple cores or CPUs.  This is covered a little later.

Differences between clients - uniprocessor (normal), SMP (multi-core), GPU - and how to set them up for best results
Will also cover any special drivers needed, hardware/software requirements.  (Merge with above?)

Troubleshooting
EUE (Early Unit End) problems.  Overclock stability (see Advanced section).  Client crashes.  Work not being sent/recieved.

Advanced (overclock/temperatures, probably more)
Rivatuner/ATITool etc to control fan speeds.  Testing overclock stability.  Optimizing airflow etc to get better temps.

(reserved for expansion if necessary)

(reserved for expansion if necessary)

(reserved for expansion if necessary)

Mabye something on setting up the high performance client for the cpu would be helpful.

Original post edited, added in a section to talk about the different clients, how to set them up, what's needed for them, etc.

      Easy set up for folding@home



Go to  http://folding.stanford.edu/English/Download , when download is finished

Click start , programmes , folding@home , move right , click folding@home

There should be a multi coloured icon by the clock , right click go to configure

When configure comes up, enter your computerhope name , enter team no 67290   
It is important to get the team number right , please fill in nothing else

Click start , there should be a folding@home icon there , left click hold and drag to your screen 

Click start , programmes , right click startup and open , drag folding@home
Icon from your screen to the startup page

Restart your pc , check the icon is by the clock , if it is , that's it working

Try not to stop your PC with the tower button as you will loose the folding
the pc is doing at that time , but not what has been saved

Folding  will work in the back ground , and do your pc no harm