How to Install Prime95 for the NSU Team
Windows Vista
Find out whether you are running the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Vista. Either use the key combination [Windows]-[Pause] or go to the Start Menu, right-click Computer and choose Properties.
Look for System Type to tell what bit version of Windows you have.
Download both the Windows version and the Windows Service version of Prime95 from http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/#newusers. If you are running the 64-bit version of Vista, download both the Windows 64-bit and the Windows 64-bit Service versions instead of the regular ones.
Right-click on the Prime95 zip file and choose Extract All. (Note that the name of the files you download may be different from the ones in this picture.)
Change the name of the folder at the end of the file path to Prime95, then click Extract.
Extract the files from the Windows Service zip file into the Prime95 folder that was just created.
Right-click and Copy the Prime95 folder.
Paste the Prime95 folder into C:\Program Files\.
Choose the Continue option, then click on OK or Continue on the next screen.
Open the folder C:\Program Files\Prime95\. Right-click on the Prime95 program and choose 'Run as Administrator'.
Choose the Run option, then on the next screen choose the Allow option.
Choose the option Join GIMPS.
For the User ID enter: linded
For the computer name, enter whatever name you would like to identify your computer.
Set the daytime hours to match when you use your computer the most. You can let Prime95 use more memory during whatever hours you specify as "night".
| System RAM: | 512 MB | 1 GB | 1.5 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | 5 GB | 6 GB | 8 GB or more |
| Daytime Memory: | 8 MB | 32 MB | 64 MB | 128 MB | 256 MB | 256 MB | 512 MB | 1024 MB | 1024 MB |
| Nighttime Memory: | 32 MB | 128 MB | 512 MB | 768 MB | 1024 MB | 2048 MB | 3072 MB | 4096 MB | 6144 MB |
Choose whatever options the program gives here unless you know that you want to only do a specific work type.
The program will now receive assignments from the PrimeNet server. Note that if your computer has hyperthreading or multiple cores (which it probably will if it was made after 2005 or so) you will have multiple worker windows inside the Prime95 window.
Click on the Options menu and uncheck the 'Start at Logon' option.
Exit Prime95 by clicking on the Test menu and choosing Exit.
Go to the Start Menu --> Programs --> Accessories, right-click on 'Command Prompt', and choose 'Run as Administrator'.
In the command window, type in cd "\program files\prime95".
Type in the command ntprime -install.
Type in the command net start "Prime Service".