How to Mine - Get started FAST and EASY For Windows 7- Detailed Guide
Hi Guys! So a lot of people have been asking the same questions OVER and OVER again. Being the huge Ethereum supporter that I am, I've written a detailed and simple guide on how to start mining.
This mining guide is for WINDOWS 7 AND NANOPOOL
IGNORE EVERY GUIDE YOU'VE READ OUT. THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO GET STARTED I PROMISE YOU.
Follow this guide very closely and you will start mining in no time! There are TONS of ways to start mining, but this is how I personally got / get mine starting ASAP. These are BEST drivers / programs to use in my opinion after reading and testing thoroughly.
1) Update to these drivers that are proven to work the best
Nvidia - 347.52 : http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/81877/en-us
AMD 15.12 :
http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/AMD-Radeon-Software-Crimson-Edition-15.12.aspx
2) Download these packages
Nvidia - openCL CUDA package :
https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-downloads
AMD openCL SDK Package:
http://developer.amd.com/tools-and-sdks/opencl-zone/amd-accelerated-parallel-processing-app-sdk/
3) Download the microsoft Redistributables
http://www.microsoft.com/en-US/download/details.aspx?id=40784
These above 3 things are MANDATORY to have before you proceed.
Download the above. 1) graphic drivers I specificed 2) cuda or openCL package 3) microsoft Redistributables
Now that you have the 3 necessary things downloaded. We can proceed with the fun part. Mining!!
1) Download your Ethereum wallet here first:
https://github.com/ethereum/mist/releases
2) open your ethereum wallet and let the block chain synchronize. The block chain is about 10 GB, so it's going to take a few good hours to synchronize.
There are several ways to synchronize the block chain. You can sync it through geth as well with geth --rpc, but this does the EXACT same thing!
Once your block chain is synchronized, Ethereum wallet will open up! TADA! You're now synced and up to date.
Open your wallet and you'll be asked for a master password. DO NOT EVER FORGET THIS PASSWORD
How to back up your wallet:
Store this guy special. Somewhere no one can find it except you!
To back up your wallet for Ethereum. First show hidden files in your system. If you don't nkow how to, go to your desktop, press F1, and type in "show hidden." A window will open with diffent options that can let you option the mentu to show hidden files.
Go to your c:/users/username/appdata/roaming/ethereum/
you will see a folder there called "keystore."
Back up that folder by zipping it and putting it somewhere safe.
If you ever needed to reinstall your wallet, do so then put this keystore folder EXACTLY where it was before. Start up your Ethereum and it'll ask for the password that you originally saved with that address.
3) Download geth:
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/releases
Unzip it any directory you want. Let's just call it c:/mining
Open up a notepad and write this exactly in it:
geth --rpc
Save it as whatever you want.bat. So for example, save it as geth --rpc.bat IN THE SAME FOLDER AS WHERE YOUR GETH IS, so c:/mining
4) Download genoil's newest ethminer:
http://cryptomining-blog.com/wp-content/download/ethminer-0.9.41-genoil-1.0.4b3.zip
Unzip it to that c:/mining folder
Open up a notepad and write this EXACTLY in it:
setx GPU_FORCE_64BIT_PTR 0
setx GPU_MAX_HEAP_SIZE 100
setx GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
ethminer.exe -F http://us-west1.nanopool.org:8888/your_wallet_address_here -G --farm-recheck 200 --cl-local-work 256 --cl-global-work 8192
Save it as whateveryouwant.bat. So for example, save it as nanopool.bat IN THE SAME FOLDER AS WHERE YOUR GETH IS, so c:/mining
Don't forget to open your ethereum wallet and copy YOUR ADDRESS and replace where it says your_wallet_address_here above! That's very important orelse you won't be paid!
Now that you have two .bat made. Let me explain what it does and how to start it up.
Create a shortcut for the geth --rpc.bat and the nanopool.bat command in the notepad from the above instructions.
1) excecute the geth --rpc.bat shortcut
What this does is it syncs you to the ethereum network. It keeps your block chain syncrhonized and geth --rpc must be ran every time before you start mining.
Wait till it says this EXACTLY:
"Block sychronization started"
Then you'll see it download a few blocks here and there. when it says "0 blocks queued" is when you're entirely synchronized and can move to the next step.
2) execute the nanopool.bat
It's going to create a DAG file. This could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, SO BE FRIGGEN PATIENT. DO NOT TURN IT OFF, DO NOT RESTART IT. Sit your ass there and wait.
Sometimes you'll see 0/0 H/s. DON'T FRIGGEN WORRY. JUST WAIT MAN! Everyone's FREAKING OUT cuz they see 0/0. WAIT WAIT WAIT! I can't stress that enough!
If you see 0/0, the DAG probably isn't loaded properly, or you were impatient with geth --rpc and it didn't sync up, now you're working on some old block, hashing away, because you didn't sync properly.
The key points to emphasize are follow this guide step by step and you will get it work. This is a VERY BASIC guide. There's a lot of optimization involved, but this guide is meant to get you up and running within 24 hours.
Keep this thread as a for newbies thread and ask any question you want. I will answer it fast! Cheers friends and happy mining
HOW TO CHECK YOUR MINING STATS:
Go to: http://nanopool.org/
And type in your address in field.
EVERYONE FREAKS OUT BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND SIMPLE MATH.
Do yourselves a favor and learn what an average is. Seriously people! if you hash nothing for 3 hours, then hash at 25 MH/s for another 3 hours, YOUR AVERAGE SHOULD NOT BE 25 OVER 6 HOURS.
Don't freak out when the numbers are skewed like 95% of people here. The BEST WAY to get a SOLID AVERAGE OF YOUR HASHRATE is to MINE FOR 24 HOURS and get the EXACT number of ether. Then simply plug it in backwards into a formula factoring network hash, difficulty, etc, and VOILA YOU GET YOUR HASHRATE.
A LIST OF HASH RANGES OF ALL VIDEO CARDS;
http://62.212.74.86/~mining/list/amd/index.php?algo=eth
QUICK FACTS ABOUT MINING:
- The DAG size is currently about 1.45 GB. You need at LEAST a 1.5 GB video card to mine for now. In a few months, 2 GB will be the minimum. The DAG MAY REACH (most likely not though) 3 GB before Proof of stake. It may not... but what I do know is that they're working on a way to "split" the DAG in simplest terms. A 4GB card may not even be needed.
-
- You can combine any amd card in one system or any nvidia card in one system. I don't recommend using both an amd and nvidia as there are more complications and fixes. So YES you can use say a GTX 760 and a GTX 970 or a 290X and 380.
- Windows is a PAIN IN THE ASS to use more than 4 GPU. DON'T USE WINDOWS FOR 4+ gpu. Use Ubuntu.
- OVERCLOCKING is almost directly proportional to hashrate. i.e, 10% overclock = 10% more H/s.
- Memory may or may not affect overclock. This is up for debate. I personally downclock my memory (reported to be downclocked and confirmed by all software from msi afterburner to gpuz to sgminer to ethminer) and on both extremes, low and high, I notice no difference in hash power over a 24 hour period.
-
- You can use ANY PCIE slot, whether it's 1x or 4x. You just need RISERS. Follow this general rule:
- GET POWERED RISERS IF YOUR MOBO DOES NOT HAVE ANY MOLEX POWER SUPPORT FOR ADDITIONAL GPU
- If you have a mobo that uses only 4pin atx power and no additional molex on the board, you need powered risers!
REMEMBER THIS GUYS:
Every minute you're not mining is ether missed. Spending a stupid amount of plan optimizing is ridiculous. You're missing out. Spending 24 hours planning is 2-3 ether lost at 100 MH/s. Don't be silly and spend all your time planning.
The ultimate goal is to get your rig up and running as FAST as possible. Stop trying to tweak 1 more MH/s. That 1 MH/s isn't worth all the downtime you'll have to invest. If you're a professional miner, yes it may matter. But for the average joes, JUST MINE.
The above parameters and programs I suggested are PROVEN TO WORK.
Please add suggestions and I'll update this post.
CHEERS EVERYONE I HOPE IT HELPS!
My advice to everyone is and take it with a grain of salt:
You have a chance, a small chance, if you play your cards right, to get filthy rich. For example, there was one year where $100 of litecoin was worth $30,000 over a period of JUST ONE YEAR. What you do now with your ether is up to you. You can horde it and hope (it will.. trust me it will go up so friggen much that it's going to blow your face away) it goes up. You can sell it right away or use the extra capital for trading crypto.. the choice is yours.
But just remember that Ethereum is HUGE. This is the biggest thing to happen on the internet in the longest time. How much you believe in Ethereum versus how much time you can afford to wait will determine what you do.
I'm not rich by any means. I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on rigs or thousands of dollars to horde as much ether as I can. But what I do have is faith. Lots of it in Ethereum. I'm willing to take a huge risk to wait and sit on this ether.
What will 100 or 200 ether mine 3-4 years from now? Ask yourself that. If you don't know, check out the history of popular coins like bitcoin and litecoin, etc. Check out how much they skyrocketted in price. Read forums about people who sold them really early and didn't wait. Find out how much REGRET everyone has who had the chance to be millionaires. Read the success stories of 20 year olds who spend $200 bucks on bitcoin and are now millionaires.
When something this rare comes along... when something with this much opportunity comes along... believe in it like how I believe in it. Can you see where I'm going?
Believe in Ethereum! Tell the world about it!
Hi Guys! So a lot of people have been asking the same questions OVER and OVER again. Being the huge Ethereum supporter that I am, I've written a detailed and simple guide on how to start mining.
This mining guide is for WINDOWS 7 AND NANOPOOL
IGNORE EVERY GUIDE YOU'VE READ OUT. THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO GET STARTED I PROMISE YOU.
Follow this guide very closely and you will start mining in no time! There are TONS of ways to start mining, but this is how I personally got / get mine starting ASAP. These are BEST drivers / programs to use in my opinion after reading and testing thoroughly.
1) Update to these drivers that are proven to work the best
Nvidia - 347.52 : http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/81877/en-us
AMD 15.12 :
http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/AMD-Radeon-Software-Crimson-Edition-15.12.aspx
2) Download these packages
Nvidia - openCL CUDA package :
https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-downloads
AMD openCL SDK Package:
http://developer.amd.com/tools-and-sdks/opencl-zone/amd-accelerated-parallel-processing-app-sdk/
3) Download the microsoft Redistributables
http://www.microsoft.com/en-US/download/details.aspx?id=40784
These above 3 things are MANDATORY to have before you proceed.
Download the above. 1) graphic drivers I specificed 2) cuda or openCL package 3) microsoft Redistributables
Now that you have the 3 necessary things downloaded. We can proceed with the fun part. Mining!!
1) Download your Ethereum wallet here first:
https://github.com/ethereum/mist/releases
2) open your ethereum wallet and let the block chain synchronize. The block chain is about 10 GB, so it's going to take a few good hours to synchronize.
There are several ways to synchronize the block chain. You can sync it through geth as well with geth --rpc, but this does the EXACT same thing!
Once your block chain is synchronized, Ethereum wallet will open up! TADA! You're now synced and up to date.
Open your wallet and you'll be asked for a master password. DO NOT EVER FORGET THIS PASSWORD
How to back up your wallet:
Store this guy special. Somewhere no one can find it except you!
To back up your wallet for Ethereum. First show hidden files in your system. If you don't nkow how to, go to your desktop, press F1, and type in "show hidden." A window will open with diffent options that can let you option the mentu to show hidden files.
Go to your c:/users/username/appdata/roaming/ethereum/
you will see a folder there called "keystore."
Back up that folder by zipping it and putting it somewhere safe.
If you ever needed to reinstall your wallet, do so then put this keystore folder EXACTLY where it was before. Start up your Ethereum and it'll ask for the password that you originally saved with that address.
3) Download geth:
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/releases
Unzip it any directory you want. Let's just call it c:/mining
Open up a notepad and write this exactly in it:
geth --rpc
Save it as whatever you want.bat. So for example, save it as geth --rpc.bat IN THE SAME FOLDER AS WHERE YOUR GETH IS, so c:/mining
4) Download genoil's newest ethminer:
http://cryptomining-blog.com/wp-content/download/ethminer-0.9.41-genoil-1.0.4b3.zip
Unzip it to that c:/mining folder
Open up a notepad and write this EXACTLY in it:
setx GPU_FORCE_64BIT_PTR 0
setx GPU_MAX_HEAP_SIZE 100
setx GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
ethminer.exe -F http://us-west1.nanopool.org:8888/your_wallet_address_here -G --farm-recheck 200 --cl-local-work 256 --cl-global-work 8192
Save it as whateveryouwant.bat. So for example, save it as nanopool.bat IN THE SAME FOLDER AS WHERE YOUR GETH IS, so c:/mining
Don't forget to open your ethereum wallet and copy YOUR ADDRESS and replace where it says your_wallet_address_here above! That's very important orelse you won't be paid!
Now that you have two .bat made. Let me explain what it does and how to start it up.
Create a shortcut for the geth --rpc.bat and the nanopool.bat command in the notepad from the above instructions.
1) excecute the geth --rpc.bat shortcut
What this does is it syncs you to the ethereum network. It keeps your block chain syncrhonized and geth --rpc must be ran every time before you start mining.
Wait till it says this EXACTLY:
"Block sychronization started"
Then you'll see it download a few blocks here and there. when it says "0 blocks queued" is when you're entirely synchronized and can move to the next step.
2) execute the nanopool.bat
It's going to create a DAG file. This could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, SO BE FRIGGEN PATIENT. DO NOT TURN IT OFF, DO NOT RESTART IT. Sit your ass there and wait.
Sometimes you'll see 0/0 H/s. DON'T FRIGGEN WORRY. JUST WAIT MAN! Everyone's FREAKING OUT cuz they see 0/0. WAIT WAIT WAIT! I can't stress that enough!
If you see 0/0, the DAG probably isn't loaded properly, or you were impatient with geth --rpc and it didn't sync up, now you're working on some old block, hashing away, because you didn't sync properly.
The key points to emphasize are follow this guide step by step and you will get it work. This is a VERY BASIC guide. There's a lot of optimization involved, but this guide is meant to get you up and running within 24 hours.
Keep this thread as a for newbies thread and ask any question you want. I will answer it fast! Cheers friends and happy mining
HOW TO CHECK YOUR MINING STATS:
Go to: http://nanopool.org/
And type in your address in field.
EVERYONE FREAKS OUT BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND SIMPLE MATH.
Do yourselves a favor and learn what an average is. Seriously people! if you hash nothing for 3 hours, then hash at 25 MH/s for another 3 hours, YOUR AVERAGE SHOULD NOT BE 25 OVER 6 HOURS.
Don't freak out when the numbers are skewed like 95% of people here. The BEST WAY to get a SOLID AVERAGE OF YOUR HASHRATE is to MINE FOR 24 HOURS and get the EXACT number of ether. Then simply plug it in backwards into a formula factoring network hash, difficulty, etc, and VOILA YOU GET YOUR HASHRATE.
A LIST OF HASH RANGES OF ALL VIDEO CARDS;
http://62.212.74.86/~mining/list/amd/index.php?algo=eth
QUICK FACTS ABOUT MINING:
- The DAG size is currently about 1.45 GB. You need at LEAST a 1.5 GB video card to mine for now. In a few months, 2 GB will be the minimum. The DAG MAY REACH (most likely not though) 3 GB before Proof of stake. It may not... but what I do know is that they're working on a way to "split" the DAG in simplest terms. A 4GB card may not even be needed.
-
- You can combine any amd card in one system or any nvidia card in one system. I don't recommend using both an amd and nvidia as there are more complications and fixes. So YES you can use say a GTX 760 and a GTX 970 or a 290X and 380.
- Windows is a PAIN IN THE ASS to use more than 4 GPU. DON'T USE WINDOWS FOR 4+ gpu. Use Ubuntu.
- OVERCLOCKING is almost directly proportional to hashrate. i.e, 10% overclock = 10% more H/s.
- Memory may or may not affect overclock. This is up for debate. I personally downclock my memory (reported to be downclocked and confirmed by all software from msi afterburner to gpuz to sgminer to ethminer) and on both extremes, low and high, I notice no difference in hash power over a 24 hour period.
-
- You can use ANY PCIE slot, whether it's 1x or 4x. You just need RISERS. Follow this general rule:
- GET POWERED RISERS IF YOUR MOBO DOES NOT HAVE ANY MOLEX POWER SUPPORT FOR ADDITIONAL GPU
- If you have a mobo that uses only 4pin atx power and no additional molex on the board, you need powered risers!
REMEMBER THIS GUYS:
Every minute you're not mining is ether missed. Spending a stupid amount of plan optimizing is ridiculous. You're missing out. Spending 24 hours planning is 2-3 ether lost at 100 MH/s. Don't be silly and spend all your time planning.
The ultimate goal is to get your rig up and running as FAST as possible. Stop trying to tweak 1 more MH/s. That 1 MH/s isn't worth all the downtime you'll have to invest. If you're a professional miner, yes it may matter. But for the average joes, JUST MINE.
The above parameters and programs I suggested are PROVEN TO WORK.
Please add suggestions and I'll update this post.
CHEERS EVERYONE I HOPE IT HELPS!
My advice to everyone is and take it with a grain of salt:
You have a chance, a small chance, if you play your cards right, to get filthy rich. For example, there was one year where $100 of litecoin was worth $30,000 over a period of JUST ONE YEAR. What you do now with your ether is up to you. You can horde it and hope (it will.. trust me it will go up so friggen much that it's going to blow your face away) it goes up. You can sell it right away or use the extra capital for trading crypto.. the choice is yours.
But just remember that Ethereum is HUGE. This is the biggest thing to happen on the internet in the longest time. How much you believe in Ethereum versus how much time you can afford to wait will determine what you do.
I'm not rich by any means. I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on rigs or thousands of dollars to horde as much ether as I can. But what I do have is faith. Lots of it in Ethereum. I'm willing to take a huge risk to wait and sit on this ether.
What will 100 or 200 ether mine 3-4 years from now? Ask yourself that. If you don't know, check out the history of popular coins like bitcoin and litecoin, etc. Check out how much they skyrocketted in price. Read forums about people who sold them really early and didn't wait. Find out how much REGRET everyone has who had the chance to be millionaires. Read the success stories of 20 year olds who spend $200 bucks on bitcoin and are now millionaires.
When something this rare comes along... when something with this much opportunity comes along... believe in it like how I believe in it. Can you see where I'm going?
Believe in Ethereum! Tell the world about it!