When we say “restart the simulation,” we might mean continue an interrupted run. Or we might mean change something and calculate again. PAMSTAMP has different routes for these jobs.
Let us separate them before deleting output files to make space.
Continue from a restart file
Restart a Computation uses a .rst file. Select an available restart and review the permitted stop-criterion and output changes.
If you leave those values unchanged, the stored settings remain. This is a continuation from a saved solver state, not a general way to replace the material or geometry that created that state.
The file also has to exist. Within-stage recovery output needs to be planned before the long run that might need it.
Change the setup and rerun
Master setup returns to full-project preprocessing. Stage setup lets you work on a particular stage when recalculating from there is appropriate.
Suppose you changed the original blank material. A later state still contains history computed with the old card. Starting from that later point won’t show the full consequence of changing the material.
Choose the earliest affected point, even if a later one would be faster.
What about continuation between stages?
The newer documented workflow distinguishes within-stage restart from stage-boundary continuation, using files such as .pic and .erfh5 for the latter.
So the absence of frequent .rst files doesn’t necessarily remove every continuation route. Read the file-types guide and check which files your route needs before cleaning the folder.
Keep the trial and master identifiable
After a stage-level change, the original master may still describe the old setup. A master-rebuild route is available when the appropriate rebuild data was stored; don’t assume accepting a result updates every version automatically.
Name the accepted trial and note what changed and where recalculation began. This is mainly for your future self, who otherwise has to work out which of six similar projects was the useful one.
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