August 11, 2006 README FILE FOR INSTALLING AND EXECUTING MCNPX UNDER WINDOWS The following information is provided to install MCNPX version 2.6.C (or later) on a Windows 9X, NT, 2000, or XP platform. This is an F90 version of MCNPX which uses standard F90 allocation schemes for dynamic variables. Over 200 test problems were run to verify this version (170+ MCNP and 30+ MCNPX). Section 1.0 is for those that only want to use available executables. Section 2.0 is for those that want to build an MCNPX executable. Section 3.0 discusses cross section issues. 1.0 USING THE PC WINDOWS EXECUTABLES ONLY The following steps can be followed to run MCNPX under Windows: (1) Go to the MCNPX web page (http://mcnpx.lanl.gov) and click on "The Code". Click on "Beta Release" and then the desired version (e.g., Version 2.6.C). Then click on "Win32.ZIP" near the bottom of the web page and save that file. Now click on "DATA.tar.gz" further down the page and save that file as well. (2) Create a new folder (e.g., MCNPX) on a drive with enough disk space (~20 Mbytes). (3) Unzip the "Win32.ZIP" file using WinZip and extract all the files to the MCNPX folder. Depending on the version, this may create another folder (e.g., Win32) that contains the \Bin and \Data sub-directories. If so, simply move those sub-directories back into the MCNPX folder. (4) Now unzip the "DATA.tar.gz" file using WinZip and extract all the files into the MCNPX folder. Note the data files should automatically be put into the \Data subdirectory. If there is not a file called "xsdir" in that sub- directory, then copy "xsdir1" to "xsdir". (5) Set the needed environment variables. There are different ways to do this with Windows, but the simplest is to run a supplied batch file (SETUPX.BAT) whenever a Command Prompt window is created. To do this, modify the Command Prompt properties by right-clicking on Start=>Programs=> Accessories=>Command Prompt. Under the Shortcut Tab, modify Target to match the following: %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe /K C:\MCNPX\BIN\SETUPX Note this batch file assumes the MCNPX folder was put on the C: drive. If that is not the case, edit this file as needed. This sets the DATAPATH variable to C:\MCNPX\DATA. If you already have the MCNP cross-section files in another directory, copy all the files in C:\MCNPX\DATA to your other directory and use that directory for the DATAPATH variable. For other Windows versions, this SETUPX.BAT file can be run from a DOS window to set the environment variables. Some of these variables are used only for our classes. To run this batch file manually from a Command Prompt window enter: C:>C:\MCNPX\BIN\SETUPX (6) If graphics are desired, download and install an X-Server. Several flavors can be found on the internet (e.g., X-Deep/32, WRQ Reflection X, Exceed, etc.). I suggest downloading a trial version to make sure it works right - both X-Deep/32 and Reflection X work for me. If you choose X-Deep/32, make it a bit more user friendly by doing the following. Start the X-server from Start=>Programs=>X-Deep_32=>X-Server. Click "Try", then "Select", and then "Normal Mode" (if connected to a LAN it may take a few seconds finding remote hosts after "Select" is clicked). Edit the properties by right-clicking on the title bar, then X-Server Menu=>X-Server Options=>Window Modes=>Multiple MS Window Mode. Then click Apply and Yes to restart. Be sure to start the X-Server before running MCNPX for plotting. (7) You are now ready to run MCNPX. Simply open a Command Prompt Window and execute it: C:> mcnpx inp=test ... Of course you must supply the input file "test" and other command-line keywords (see the 2.5.0 User Manual under "Documents" on our Web site). 2.0 BUILDING MCNPX If you wish to modify the source or recreate the executables, you will need the Compaq Visual Fortran (CVF) compiler (version 6.1 or later) or the Intel compiler (version 8.0 or later). You can use just about any version of the MS C compiler with either one of these (I use the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003). When you install these compilers, be sure to check the box which instructs the installer to automatically update your environment variables. In some cases we have found that the installer does not properly set all environment variables. Here is a list of the 3 key environment variables for our installation of Intel 9.1 with MVS .NET 2003: PATH=%PATH%;D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Common7\IDE; D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Vc7\bin; D:\Program Files\Intel\Compiler\Fortran\9.1\IA32\Bin LIB=D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\SDK\v1.1\Lib\; D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Vc7\lib; D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Vc7\PlatformSDK\Lib; D:\Program Files\Intel\Compiler\Fortran\9.1\IA32\Lib INCLUDE=D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\SDK\v1.1\include\; D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Vc7\include; D:\Program Files\Intel\Compiler\Fortran\9.1\IA32\Include Once the Fortran and C compilers are installed, complete the following: (1) Make a folder MCNPX on a drive with enough disk space (~200 Mbytes). Unzip the v26c.tar.gz file in that folder. I suggest using WinZip 8.0 or later as this is a TAR/GZIP file. (2) Open a "Command Prompt" window, make a build directory, and CD to that directory. Execute the configure batch file: MKDIR MCNPX_BLD CD MCNPX_BLD ..\MCNPX\configure You must supply the appropriate path to this batch file which is located in the folder created in step #1. There are 3 options now available with the configure command: I8 Builds the 8-byte integer version MPI Builds the MPICH version CVF Builds using the CVF compiler The default (no configure option) is to build with the Intel compiler. To build the 8-byte integer MPICH version using the Intel compiler, the command would be: ..\MCNPX\configure I8 MPI The Intel compiler produces an executable that runs about 25% faster than the CVF executable. After executing the configure command, some files specific to a Windows build will be unzipped and placed in the MCNPX_BLD\Bin directory. The PATH environment variable will be updated to include the MCNPX_BLD\Bin directory. (3) In previous releases of MCNPX, a Make bug restricted PATH variables to 255 characters. The release of 2.6.C includes a newer version of GNU Make (3.81) that no longer has this restriction. Now you are ready to execute GNU Make by typing "MAKE" in the "Command Prompt" window. You can CD into any subdirectory and build any subcomponent of MCNPX just as on a Unix platform. If you wish to run the test suite, CD into SRC\TEST and execute "MAKE". Patches to MCNPX can be developed, as done for MCNP 4C; however one should contact us for the needed script file and instructions to apply such a patch. If a "stack overflow" error is generated, this is NOT an MCNPX bug. A stack limit must be specified upon linking. The included executable has a stack limit of 512 MBytes. This can be increased by editing the Makfile.h file in the MCNPX_BLD\SRC\MCNPX directory (~line 7) and rebuilding MCNPX. 3.0 CROSS SECTION DATA Please note that only the LA150 cross-section files are included in this ZIP file, as we are not allowed to distribute the other MCNP data libraries. These other libraries can be obtained from RSICC (http://rsicc.ornl.gov/) and are included in the MCNP/MCNPX combined distribution package (C00730). The following steps should be followed to include the LA150 data with the RSICC libraries: (I) Convert the LA150 libraries to Type 2 files by running MAKXS in the C:\MCNPX\DATA directory. This will create files XSDIR2, TPRINT (MAKXS output file), LA150h2, LA150n2, and LA150u2. (II) Copy the new directory lines from the file XSDIR2 (grab all lines after the word "directory") and paste at the end of the XSDIR file supplied with the RSICC distribution. (III) Copy the RSICC Type 2 data files, including the modified XSDIR file, into C:\MCNPX\DATA. After completing these steps you should be able to run MCNPX with the LA150 data and/or the standard MCNP data. Call or email if any problems are encountered or if questions arise. Gregg W. McKinney (gwm@lanl.gov) MCNPX Development Team, Group X-3 Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, NM 87545 Wk:(505)665-8367