Ubuntu
boinc package

BOINC Manager won't launch in 22.04

Asked by Chapman

When I try to launch the BOINC Manager application (after installing the boinc package) I get a brief error message pop-up that says: "Failed to launch BOINC Manager. Failed to change to directory "var/lib/boinc-client" (Permission denied)". I just installed 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish from scratch.

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#1

"Failed to change to directory "var/lib/boinc-client" (Permission denied)"

For diagnostic purposes, what is the output of the commands
uname -a
lsb_release -crid
apt policy boinc-manager boinc-client
ls -ld /var/lib/boinc-client/

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Chapman (chapman-shoop) said : 		#2

uname -a
Linux chapman-Alienware-Aurora-Ryzen-Edition 5.15.0-46-generic #49-Ubuntu SMP Thu Aug 4 18:03:25 UTC 2022 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

lsb_release -crid
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS
Release: 22.04
Codename: jammy

apt policy boinc-manager boinc-client
boinc-manager:
  Installed: 7.18.1+dfsg-4
  Candidate: 7.18.1+dfsg-4
  Version table:
 *** 7.18.1+dfsg-4 500
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
boinc-client:
  Installed: 7.18.1+dfsg-4
  Candidate: 7.18.1+dfsg-4
  Version table:
 *** 7.18.1+dfsg-4 500
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

ls -ld /var/lib/boinc-client/
drwxr-x--- 3 boinc boinc 4096 Aug 19 14:33 /var/lib/boinc-client/

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#3

I assume that the user must be member of the boinc group to be allowed running boinc-manager

see https://boinc.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=13946&postid=100575#100575

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william frantom (linuxcruizer) said : 		#4

I know that this thread is a bit dated, but I ran into the same issue after installing Kubuntu 23.04. After going down the research rabbit hole, I found that I could remedy the issue by going to the file system and opening var as root, then right clicking on boinc-client folder and clicking on properties. In the properties window I clicked on Permissions. Next to Others: I clicked the down arrow and chose "Can View & Modify Content". I then clicked OK.

I was then able to click on the Boinc Manager application and the Boinc Manager open on my desktop. I felt comfortable in doing this as I am the only user of this PC. However, I realize this is a quick fix, and not the resolution needed. It is my hope that Ubuntu will have a fix for this in the future, as I did not find one in my research.

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#5

@william franton:

There is no fix needed. The solution is adding the user to the boinc group.

Can you help with this problem?

Provide an answer of your own, or ask Chapman for more information if necessary.

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