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How to use SETI@home screen saver on Windows NT/2000

You can analyze SETI data while no one is logging on Windows !

SETI@home is a software to analyze extraterrestrial radio data while users are not consuming CPU power. (Read the SETI@home WWW page to understand the purpose and the method in detail.)
Normally, SETI@home software runs on Windows as a screen saver, and calculate while user is leaving PC without touching keyboard or mouse.
But in the cases of Windows NT or Windows 2000 OS's, users "logon" and "logoff" the computer. Screen savers run on Windows NT/2000 only while a user is logging on and leaving PC longer than a certain time.
CPU is the least active on Windows NT/2000 while OS is waiting for user's logon (displaying the window like below, in Japanese). But ordinary users cannot set up to run any screen saver programs.

Do you aware that "Waiting for logon" window is moving around the screen while you leave a NT/2000 PC without logging on for a long time ?
I found the method to replace the "Logon-waiting" screen saver by SETI@home one, running SETI@home program as a "Service".
Warning: You should not run SETI@home on Windows NT machines which work for the network clients even while users are not logging on. For example, file servers, domain controlers, Internet servers.

How to set up:

  1. Download SETI@home program from URL http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/windows.html , and Install it using the default setting.
    Adjust the "mail address" and "Preferences" as you like.

  2. Register SETI@home as a "service" using "Resource Kit"
    Logon Windows NT/2000 as "Administrator".
    Put 2 files, "INSTSRV.EXE" and "SRVANY.EXE" into the directory "C:\Program Files\ResKit\".
    Then open "Command Prompt" and execute a command
    "C:\Program Files\ResKit\INSTSRV.EXE" "SETI at home" "C:\Program Files\ResKit\SRVANY.EXE"
    to register a service named "SETI at home".
    "SRVANY.EXE" program makes any ordinary Windows application run as a background "Service" without user's logon.

  3. Edit registry.
    Write following text to a file "SETIhome.reg". Then double-click the file as a user "Administrator". 
    -----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\SETI@Home]
"Status"=dword:00000000
"ClientPath"="C:\\Program Files\\SETI@home\\SETI@home.exe"
"ClientDir"="C:\\Program Files\\SETI@home"
"WinDir"="C:\\WINNT\\"

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop]
"ScreenSaveTimeOut"="60"
"ScreenSaveActive"="1"
"SCRNSAVE.EXE"="C:\\WINNT\\SETIhome.scr"
"ScreenSaverIsSecure"="0"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SETI at home\Parameters]
"Application"="C:\\Program Files\\SETI@home\\SETI@home.exe -min"
"AppDirectory"="C:\\Program Files\\SETI@home"

-----
    Registry under [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\] tree contains the settings for "Services" to run as "System Account".
    [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\SETI@Home] paragraph is for SETI@home application settings.
    [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop] paragraph sets up the screen saver which runs while Windows is waiting for user's logon.
    "SCRNSAVE.EXE"= line replaces the default screen saver "logon.scr" by SETI@home one.
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SETI at home\Parameters] paragraph gives parameters to "SRVANY.EXE" program, which makes "SETI@home.exe" run as a "Service" in a minimized window.

  4. Start SETI@home by "Control Panel - Service"
    Open "Control Panel - Services" on NT4 or "Admin Tools - Services" on Windows 2000. Find "SETI at home" in the service list, and double-click it.
    When a dialog box opens, select
    "Start up" = "Auto"
    "Logon" = "System account", check "Interactive"
    and close the dialog.
    If you find the "Green Radio-Telescope icon" in the "Task Tray" in the right-down part on the screen, click it by the right-button and select "Exit" to terminate SETI@home .
    * You cannot start the service when SETI@home is already running.
    Then click "Start" button in the window to start the "SETI at home" service.
    Confirm "SETI at home" is now running and starts automatically in the "Services" window.

  5. Logoff Windows and wait 1 minute.
    If you see the screen saver analyzing SETI@home data, your setting is successful.
    * When SETI@home is running as a "Service", sometimes you cannot display SETI@home screen saver while you are logging on Windows.

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