Keep same BOINC system profile after Windows reinstall

[Fardringle]

I'm sure I'm not the first person to ever ask this, but I can't find any results when I search on these forums or anywhere else online.

I need to do a clean install of Windows 10 on my main home PC to fix some problems not related to BOINC. However, since I'm a silly stats junkie, I really don't want the BOINC projects to see the reinstalled OS as a 'new' computer and stop adding to the previous results for this PC. I know it doesn't really matter as far as the work done is concerned, but it matters to me, so I'm wondering if there's a way to make a new install of Windows/BOINC show up as the correct old computer in the various projects.

I tried backing up the BOINC directories on a secondary/test computer and then restored them after a Windows reinstall to see what would happen, but the projects it was linked to all registered it as a new computer...

 

[crashtech]

Windows 10 does a better job of refresh installations than previous versions. Have you tried refreshing or reinstalling inside of Windows, just to see?

 

[Fardringle]

Windows 10 does a better job of refresh installations than previous versions. Have you tried refreshing or reinstalling inside of Windows, just to see?

Unfortunately, that won't fix the problem that I need to fix. Windows itself is running fine. The issue is that Windows 10 was installed as an upgrade from Windows 7 so it's not running in GPT/UEFI mode, and some of the recent Win10 updates require UEFI so they just keep trying to download/install, and pop up really annoying errors when they fail.

I can't just switch from Legacy/MBR to UEFI modes so I need to wipe the drive, set the BIOS to UEFI, and reinstall Windows. I did try the instructions here to switch without reinstall but Windows just blue screens if I change the BIOS to UEFI. I made a backup image before trying that so I was able to just restore the image and make the computer usable again for now.

I might just have to do the clean install and accept that my lovely stats will get messed up, but I really don't want to..

 

[TennesseeTony]

WCG recognizes my systems after a reinstall, other projects think it's a 'new computer.'

 

[Fardringle]

WCG recognizes my systems after a reinstall, other projects think it's a 'new computer.'

That's the same type of results I have seen as well. I wouldn't care if it wasn't for the fact that this computer is the one that I use to get my "stats in everything" milestones. It doesn't really matter, but it still bothers me (more than it should).

 

[iwajabitw]

I've reinstalled many times including a new mobo. What you will have to do is go into your specific project accounts website. Click the view computers link. Find the the fresh installed system IF it shows up different with all 0.00 for stats. Click on the Details link right under the computers #, this will show you the systems profile. Scroll to the bottom of the page until you see MERGE. Click the link and merge it with the old install that has all of your stats. Thats it! You can go look now and get an idea for how it works, the Merge link is always on your systems detail page for each project.

 

[Fardringle]

I've reinstalled many times including a new mobo. What you will have to do is go into your specific project accounts website. Click the view computers link. Find the the fresh installed system IF it shows up different with all 0.00 for stats. Click on the Details link right under the computers #, this will show you the systems profile. Scroll to the bottom of the page until you see MERGE. Click the link and merge it with the old install that has all of your stats. Thats it! You can go look now and get an idea for how it works, the Merge link is always on your systems detail page for each project.

I've done that a few times in the past, but many projects (especially the smaller ones) don't have it or it doesn't work right, and doing it for 100+ projects will take longer than reinstalling Windows but that might be what I'll have to do.

Thank you for the suggestion, though. This is useful information for people who don't know about it already.

 

[Howdy]

The only time I have had the "merge" not work is when I drastically changed the machine.....as in everything (less HD)...... but kept the name of it the same as what it was before the component change.

 

[Fardringle]

I finally got around to reinstalling Windows 10 on my home PC. And sadly EVERY project says that it is not eligible to be merged with the old copy of the same PC because the OS and CPU are different. BOINC is actually reporting the OS name differently now with the new one showing as "Microsoft Windows 10 Professional x64 Edition, (10.00.16299.00)" and the old one showing as "Microsoft x64 Edition, (10.00.15063.00)", probably because the old install was an upgrade from Windows 7. But the CPU, GPU, hard drives, motherboard, and RAM are exactly the same.

I guess it will just have to act as a new computer and the stats junky in me can just go sit in a corner and be sad for a while..

 

[lane42]

Found this, when building a new system and preserving stats, just copy your old stats files to the new system BEFORE you attach to the SETI project (or any project I guess).
So install BOINC, Copy, Attach.

There is a stats_log file in the Boinc folder. Iv'e never done this so I'am not sure.
.