Dual Core Wastage

The Jackal · 12-01-2007, 18:23

Man do I hate this windows shhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Is there a way to launch another instance of an application if its designed to be single threaded ?

I'm converting 100odd ebooks to repligo format and looks like repligo is just using the one core

(nearly finished after 3 hours of processing !)

I know I'm going to run into this again and again so is there a way to run two instances ?

Graham M · 12-01-2007, 18:31

Can you start a second copy of the program? If so just assign each process to a single core.

The Jackal · 12-01-2007, 18:33

No mate. The program obviously doesnt like being in multi window mode

r1ch · 12-01-2007, 18:39

It depends how the app checks if it is the only instance running. Some just look for another process running with the same name so renaming it might do the trick. Others use mutexes or files as flags in which case running it as another user (via fast user switching on windows XP or via terminal services) could do the trick.

The Jackal · 12-01-2007, 19:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by r1ch

It depends how the app checks if it is the only instance running. Some just look for another process running with the same name so renaming it might do the trick. Others use mutexes or files as flags in which case running it as another user (via fast user switching on windows XP or via terminal services) could do the trick.

Good tip mate but in this instance it didnt work. Mind you not sure if I fancy the idea of tricking an app to play ball with potential shared resources.

r1ch · 12-01-2007, 20:25

Thanks for the rep. The fast user switching or terminal services should be safe - it's designed so that they get duplicate environments. Admittedly renaming is a bit dodgy though...

keithwalton · 12-01-2007, 21:03

Have you tried setting the affinity of the process to one cpu using a launching program then loading another copy with the affinity set to the other cpu.

The Jackal · 13-01-2007, 00:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by keithwalton

Have you tried setting the affinity of the process to one cpu using a launching program then loading another copy with the affinity set to the other cpu.

That would be good and hence my query but what program wrapper do I use ?

Ramrod · 13-01-2007, 00:06

Which repligo are you using?
I use pdf mobilizer as it's the only one that works on 64bit......perhaps you could try that?

MovedGoalPosts · 13-01-2007, 00:10

I suspect that you would at least have to somehow install tow completely separate versions of the software, i.e. version 1 to \program files\copy 1 & version 2 to \program files \ copy 2. Even then you'd probably have to play around in the registry and what not to ensure the PC identifies the settings of each separate instance as a completely separate program.

We sort of do this to get dual core PCs running two instances of distributed computing applications, like folding. But most of those have specific file settings, that are made public, enabling the computer tosee that there are truly 2 separate versions runninge, each with their own configurations, logs and such like. This overclockers thread gives more clues on that.

The Jackal · 13-01-2007, 00:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob

I suspect that you would at least have to somehow install tow completely separate versions of the software, i.e. version 1 to \program files\copy 1 & version 2 to \program files \ copy 2. Even then you'd probably have to play around in the registry and what not to ensure the PC identifies the settings of each separate instance as a completely separate program.

I would have thought as much - too much grief.

Hey do you fold for ocuk ? I boinc for them.

Anyway the machine I ran this process on have BOINC running on both processors - as soon as I ran my program the 2 BOINC instances were shuffled both onto the spare core as they should have and returned back to using both cores when my singled thread cr*py program finished.

13-01-2007, 00:25

maybe the single threaded program would have multi threaded if you wasnt boincing all the time lol

MovedGoalPosts · 13-01-2007, 00:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrC-3rr0r

I would have thought as much - too much grief.

Hey do you fold for ocuk ? I boinc for them.

Anyway the machine I ran this process on have BOINC running on both processors - as soon as I ran my program the 2 BOINC instances were shuffled both onto the spare core as they should have and returned back to using both cores when my singled thread cr*py program finished.

hmm, moving a little

but yes I do, working out my identify should be easy based on similarity in siggies

I'm surprised that boinc moved both instances to the spare core, I'd have thought one core would have kept going, while the core devoted to your other application would have virtually shut down.

The Jackal · 13-01-2007, 00:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob

I'm surprised that boinc moved both instances to the spare core, I'd have thought one core would have kept going, while the core devoted to your other application would have virtually shut down.

Yeh well BOINC is 'niced' I mean DC runs its processes at low priority in windows terminology.

That meant that before starting my program both cores were fully utilized by boinc.
Once starting my program since it has the priority booted one of the BOINC processes off and hence both processes were fighting over the remaining core.

Process manager therefore looked like this..

Core 1 - My prog
Core 2 - Boinc 1 70% Boinc 2 30% etc