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Why do you shutdown after 30 minutes im still using it

G
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So at the start of covid issues there was a automatic shutdown instigated if the machine “Thought” it hadnt been used for 30 minutes. Only it was being used and still shut down, if i wan to leave something running then i cant. If i pay for your service why do i keep getting cut off even when my  machine is technically in use? can i have longer maybe 2 hours rather than this and detection of login and running process maybe.

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Best answer by Hascrack 28 May 2020, 14:29

Right now a lot of people are using shadow due to the current crisis. This means that the shadow cages are going to be much closer to capacity than normal. The shud down timer is a short term solution to make sure people who are activly using their shadow can get on.

 

Once things settle back down restrictions should be lifted. Yes you are paying for your shadow but so is everyone else, the timer acts as a load balance so that everyone can have an enjoyable experience.

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B
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I could be wrong, but I think the 30 minute setting is so that machines that aren’t being actively used don’t all run at the same time, I think it’s just a way for them to lower the impact on the data centers. If you’d like, I can do a bit of digging and see if there’s a way to turn it off. 

H
Userlevel 1
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If you’d like, I can do a bit of digging and see if there’s a way to turn it off. 

 

Trying to bypass the timer is against ToS and is grounds for terminating your Shadow account.

 

Right now the timer is so short because of the pandemic, from what I know they'll have the shutdown timer longer. If you're actively using it, you shouldn't have it shutdown on you, and I'd contact support about that. If you're running something on it and are AFK, it will shutdown, and you need to be actively using the Shadow so your Shadow isn't automatically shut down.

I am not a Shadow employee, I just like helping the community. Any views and opinions are my own and do not reflect Shadow or my employer.
J
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@grumpy_whale i totally agree with you. This “feature” is really annoying. A couple of hours would be okay, but 30 min are far too early. It is impossible to let a task run that needs more than 30 min. So you have to sit next to it and move the mouse instead of doing something else.

Ayasato69
Userlevel 2
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it’s because of the current situation (covid) and it has been said that when everything goes back to normal they’d set the timer back to 2h30 (i think that was it)

 

also your shadow wont turn off if you’re actively using it. (video, movie etc doesnt count) 

but playing or all other stuff that includes interaction is counted

 

the only case i see it turning off when you’re on it is because you didnt do anything for 30 min straight (no mouse movement, not touching the kb, etc..) plus you get a message at the bottom center of the screen saying it will be turned off soon so just move that mouse a lil bit and you’re good to continue using it

メンヘラごめんへら
Tyriel
Userlevel 1
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As long as you keep moving the mouse or using the keyboard, Shadow will not shutdown. But once you leave it for 30 minutes, it will turn off. Which is just fair because if you don’t use is it then it just takes resources that someone else can use.

Hascrack
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

Right now a lot of people are using shadow due to the current crisis. This means that the shadow cages are going to be much closer to capacity than normal. The shud down timer is a short term solution to make sure people who are activly using their shadow can get on.

 

Once things settle back down restrictions should be lifted. Yes you are paying for your shadow but so is everyone else, the timer acts as a load balance so that everyone can have an enjoyable experience.

It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are. ~Clive James
B
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I support the 30 min time out. Really helps when you want to use your shadow at "peak" times.

Putting measures in place to provide quality service is what a good company does. Imagine not being able to start your shadow at all or have a really bad laggy and spikey connection if everyone was allowed on at the same time. That would be more frustrating, creating more "useless" support tickets, bad publicity in social media and possibly even losing customers.

We gamers have a tendancy of leaving our PCs and other devices running anyway. Shadow would not be that different.

Plus as long as you are actually at it watching something or having it idle in a game menu it won't shut down. Worse case is when you download and install a large game and there is no reason for you to sit there and look at it downloading.

Best Tactic approved !
Hascrack
Userlevel 4
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I support the 30 min time out. Really helps when you want to use your shadow at "peak" times.

Putting measures in place to provide quality service is what a good company does. Imagine not being able to start your shadow at all or have a really bad laggy and spikey connection if everyone was allowed on at the same time. That would be more frustrating, creating more "useless" support tickets, bad publicity in social media and possibly even losing customers.

We gamers have a tendancy of leaving our PCs and other devices running anyway. Shadow would not be that different.

Plus as long as you are actually at it watching something or having it idle in a game menu it won't shut down. Worse case is when you download and install a large game and there is no reason for you to sit there and look at it downloading. In that case, i believe an auto clicker might help (not sure if mouse clicks reset the timer, if it does not on a empty space on the desktop background, just set it up so it is on the refresh page button on your browser, that generates traffic which most likely will reset the timer, make sure you use like a 5 or 10 minutes click time and not every second) so your shadow does not shut down and the installation does not pause.

Using an auto clicker to bypass the shutdown timer is against the ToS. For more information please reference: https://help.shadow.tech/hc/en-gb/articles/360000455174-Not-allowed-on-Shadow 

It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are. ~Clive James
W
Userlevel 1

Covid 30mins

When lifes back to normal 2.5 hours

Just have to put up with it until then 👍

Lily
Userlevel 6
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If its actively in use (not using VR) it should not shutdown. 

K
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This feature is really a hard shutting down mode.

Idle in a game menu for 30 mn => shutdown (no data save btw)

Idle in a citrix session for 30 mn => Shutdown (with potential issues in your citrix session)

Idle for moving but watching a streaming or a film on the shadow during 30 mn => Shutdown (don’t fall asleep and keep your keyboard with you)

Idle in windows for 30 mn => Shutdown, don’t care if there’s software such as office or other running

I hope it will get better asap.

A

i bought shadow to use with VR...surely there is a way it can recognise your vr virtual desktop use...my mac shows the game actually playing but of course i’m using the VR as a second monitor….i dont disagree with the policy, it is fair...but i am using the machine and it drops me and crashes the game after 30 minutes. i dont want to violate ToS.

Eastiling
Userlevel 2
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The timer was fair at first, no one could have predicted the crisis and the pressure that would put on existing infrastructure.

 

Months later though and I would have expected Shadow to have taken steps to alleviate this pressure and build out their service to match demand. This is what websites and services do when their customer base increases or bandwidth is regularly exceeded.

 

I would have expected the timer to have increased by now to reflect service improvements, perhaps in stages initially until back up to the full 2.5 hours. 

Jim29er
Userlevel 5
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Months later though and I would have expected Shadow to have taken steps to alleviate this pressure and build out their service to match demand. This is what websites and services do when their customer base increases or bandwidth is regularly exceeded.

And when exactly would they have done that, during the crisis I guess, which is still going BTW? Do you need some education on what it takes to rack and stack equipment in data centers? Or what it takes to source that new hardware? Shadow is a specialized service with relatively expensive GPU hardware...it’s not like autoscaling on AWS.

A

Months later though and I would have expected Shadow to have taken steps to alleviate this pressure and build out their service to match demand. This is what websites and services do when their customer base increases or bandwidth is regularly exceeded.

And when exactly would they have done that, during the crisis I guess, which is still going BTW? Do you need some education on what it takes to rack and stack equipment in data centers? Or what it takes to source that new hardware? Shadow is a specialized service with relatively expensive GPU hardware...it’s not like autoscaling on AWS.

i dont disagree with you...and i’m not suggesting they even lift the timer…..but it cant be that hard to implement recognition you are using virtual desktop. i dont need educating either...get over yourself...its an expensive service but one i’m paying for thats obviously making them money..do you need educating in profit and loss?

W
Userlevel 5
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If its actively in use (not using VR) it should not shutdown. 

That’s wrong. You can be working on it, doing renders and it still shuts down. Totally annoying.

B
Userlevel 1
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If its actively in use (not using VR) it should not shutdown. 

That’s wrong. You can be working on it, doing renders and it still shuts down. Totally annoying.


Yeah, can confirm that. Highly annoying to shutdown my instance when i have a render job running. They should at least check if there is any load on the GPU / CPU instead of checking if there is some mouse movement.

This actually makes me think about canceling my subscription and moving on to some render farm though i still like shadow.

W
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

If its actively in use (not using VR) it should not shutdown. 

That’s wrong. You can be working on it, doing renders and it still shuts down. Totally annoying.


Yeah, can confirm that. Highly annoying to shutdown my instance when i have a render job running. They should at least check if there is any load on the GPU / CPU instead of checking if there is some mouse movement.

This actually makes me think about canceling my subscription and moving on to some render farm though i still like shadow.

100% this!

K

Can the 30 min shut down be avoided?

T
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Why not use the hybernate mode insteat of turning it off completely. So we don’t lose our data because of it.

Jim29er
Userlevel 5
Badge +3

Why not use the hybernate mode insteat of turning it off completely. So we don’t lose our data because of it.


That would be nice...but as mentioned previously, the hardware is not necessarily the same between sessions, so would cause potential problems for a resume. They used to support hibernation, and it’s speculated they stopped using it because of this.

T
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That would be nice...but as mentioned previously, the hardware is not necessarily the same between sessions, so would cause potential problems for a resume. They used to support hibernation, and it’s speculated they stopped using it because of this.

A pottential loss of data is still better than a garanteed one though.

Jim29er
Userlevel 5
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A pottential loss of data is still better than a garanteed one though.

I do agree...I just don’t think it’s likely they’re going to change things to support it.

Thortok2000
Userlevel 4
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It used to be hibernation, and I believe it’s on the to-do list to get it back to hibernation again ‘someday’ but due to pandemic and current priorities, it is unknown and unlikely it will be any time soon.

Although Shadow is great for stuff like rendering and such, it’s meant for gaming. Unless you’re botting or afk farming or something, or I think someone said autopilot in a flight sim that you play in real time (sounds very masochistic to me), the vast majority of game-related activity will never incur a timeout.

Personally I recommend whatever streaming service you’re using to watch stuff, to just watch it on whatever device you’re using Shadow on, instead of on your Shadow. I know there’s situations where that can’t happen but for most people that will probably be a better experience.

Regarding increasing the timer, yeah they’d like to, but they also have a huge activation backlog. It’s really when they have more hardware than users, or lots of users that don’t get on very often, that they can afford to increase the timer a bit. Until the pandemic ends and people go outside again and stop using their Shadow so much, or they get a lot more hardware (which the pandemic is making hard to acquire) and caught up with the activation backlog, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to extend the timer.

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." - Bilbo Baggins, from his speech on his eleventy-first birthday.

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