Further note added below:

Martin 53N 1W wrote:

Terry wrote:

I am now forced to change to Boinc with problems.

I refer you to a post made somewhile ago.

[...]

I am using xp home with sp2 and no additional firewall.

My classic seti@home works very well.

Any ideas.

Note from a nearby thread:

###
This may be part of the answer to this problem (from S@H web site) -

November 25, 2005
We are getting reports of problems attaching to SETI@home, and are
working to resolve them.
If you get stuck in the Proxy Info dialog, make sure you're connected to
the Internet and that BOINC is not blocked by a personal firewall. More
help is here.
If you're not getting email with your account key, make sure your ISP
isn't blocking email from SETI@home, and try again.
If the BOINC Manager fails to connect, try restarting BOINC (this
problem will be fixed in the next BOINC release).
Please go to the Questions and Answers area for help.
###

Regards

PS is there a Boinc faq ?

You bet! :-)


For install help and step-through see:
http://boinc-doc.net/boinc-wiki/index.php?title=Installing_the_BOINC_Client_Software_And_Participating_In_A_BOINC_Powered_Project
in case you have missed something...

For a huge amount of help and information:
 >     http://boinc-doc.net/boinc-wiki
 >     for all you might want to know about Boinc and s@h and other Boinc
 >     projects!


And then there are the Q&A forums manned by some very keen and helpful fellow Boinc volunteers:
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_help_desk.php

And also from immediate feedback from the new wave of (Windows) users:

###
V5.2.10 ist out !

# Changes since 5.2.9

* Win: Fixes a BOINC Manager connection issue when the manager is waiting on a firewall for the all clear. This generally happens after a reboot.

# Changes since 5.2.8

* Win: Fixes the 'connection failed' message when another program is using the BOINC communication port.
###

Hopefully, that should clear a lot of the questions.


Welcome to Boinc and s@h!

Good luck,

Regards,
Martin