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Windows Mining Walkthrough

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heph

heph

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I taught myself to mine a week or so ago, and there's very few proper walklthroughs. People expect you to already have the knowledge and they simply throw node addresses at you and say "hyg, start mining". So... for the beginners:

Setting up a Darkcoin Miner

Step #1: Download a Darkcoin Wallet
1iydtv.jpg


Step # 2: Download and Install a mining program (you can run both at the same time if you like)

Step #3: Set up wallet and create a "Receiving" Address
  • Open your synchronized wallet and encrypt it: Settings -> Encrypt Wallet
  • Once Encrypted create a receiving address for each miner you will use (ie one for CPU and one for GPU if you want to mine with both). To do this click on the "Receiving" tab. There should be one receiving address already, you can add more by clicking the "+ New Address" button in the bottom left
  • You will use the receiving address as your "username" when you create your .bat files in step #4.
33vjm2q.jpg


Step #4: Set up mining programs
CPU Miner:
1. Extract your CPU Miner to a folder of your choice
2. Read the "ReadMe" file and identify which version you will use based on your processor.
3. Pick a node to mine from, from this list: http://darckcoin.mine.nu/ (choose one with low latency)
4. Set up your execute file... open notepad and use the following:​

Code: 
programidentifiedfromreadme.exe -a X11 stratum+tcp://nodeofchoiceURL -u yourreceivingaddresshere -p x --quiet

Example:​

Code: 
minerd-corei7-avx.exe -a X11 -o stratum+tcp://213.229.88.102:7903 -u XfyWeaucC3pFdcbxEGCn1yUyhRezXeKFEv -p x --quiet

5. Save the file as "filenameofyourchoice.bat" it's important that you save it as a .bat file and not a .txt file. In the "Save as" window change "Save as type" to "All Files". Then simply type "filenameofyourchoice.bat" for the "file name" and save it in the same folder as your CPU miner.​
2dsn42t.jpg


6. Double click the "filenameofyourchoice.bat" file.... it should begin mining​
a44vlt.jpg

For reference: "-u" is "username" and "-p" is password. in this case password is not used so a simple "x" will suffice.​


GPU Miner:
1. Extract your GPU Miner to a folder of your choice
2. Pick TWO nodes to mine from, from this list: http://darckcoin.mine.nu/ (choose two with low latency)
4. Set up your execute file... open notepad and use the following:​

Code: 
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100

setx GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1

sgminer.exe  -k darkcoin -o stratum+tcp://FIRSTnodeofchoiceURL-u yourreceivingaddresshere -p x --failover-only -o stratum+tcp://SecondnodeofchoiceURL-u yourreceivingaddresshere -p x --xintensity 100 --gpu-threads 1 --no-submit-stale

Example:​

Code: 
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
setx GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1

sgminer.exe  -k darkcoin -o stratum+tcp://62.141.39.175:7903 -u XfyWeaucC3pFdcbxEGCn1yUyhRezXeKFEv -p x --failover-only -o stratum+tcp://213.229.88.102:7903 -u XfyWeaucC3pFdcbxEGCn1yUyhRezXeKFEv -p x --xintensity 100 --gpu-threads 2 --no-submit-stale

5. Save the file as "filenameofyourchoice.bat" it's important that you save it as a .bat file and not a .txt file. In the "Save as" window change "Save as type" to "All Files". Then simply type "filenameofyourchoice.bat" for the "file name" and save it in the same folder as your GPU miner.​
2dsn42t.jpg


6. Double click the "filenameofyourchoice.bat" file.... it should begin mining​
dpcodv.jpg

For reference: "-u" is "username" and "-p" is password. in this case password is not used so a simple "x" will suffice.​

After you get comfortable mining, read this: http://www.overclock.net/t/1461916/tutorial-ultimate-guide-to-tweaking-amd-cgminer-3-7-2-kalroth-edition-sgminer-instructions-included-aswell-get-the-most-hash-out-of-your-gpu and tweak your settings to maximize your potential. You may wish to add a .conf file for tweaking.​


Step #5: Profit!
The miners will run and payments will automatically be sent to your "receiving address"/username. \o/​

Here is what successful mining looks like:
2urqikg.jpg

The top is CPU Mining, The bottom is GPU Mining.


More resources:
Additional Troubleshooting:
- If the GPU miner fails to run you may need to add the zlib1.dll file (I had to)
1. Download the zlib 1 file here: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/libpng/zlib123-dll.zip?download
2. Save the zlib1.dll file to the same folder as your miner (JUST THE zlib1.dll FILE, not the whole zip).
- Alternatively LIB1.DLL could be copied to the SYSTEM or the SYSTEM32 folders, should work the same)​
- Note: If you want to see the "per thread" speed along with the total speed of your CPU Miner, simply remove "--quiet" from the end of the string in the .bat file.​
 
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Any necessary corrections, just let me know.

If any links break, let me know and I will fix them.


Thanks.
 
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Advanced Configurations
The following are intended as examples.

Settings in the .conf could lead to better or worse performance. In my experience the .conf has no effect. The only thing that altered the performance was intensity (x, raw, or regular) and shader count settings in the .bat file.

CPU miner fail over scripts are extremely handy and I suggest that you use one. They add backup mining pools to switch to in case your primary pool goes down (they keep you mining). I cannot confirm that the "Failover Script with Tasklist" will cycle back to primary as designed, but I can confirm that it will work as far as cycling through connections when one is lost. I can also confirm that the "Simple Failover Script" cycles through connections once one is lost.​

Example Conf File for GPU Mining:

Code: 
{
"pools" : [
    {
        "Poolname": "Darkcoin P2Pool - Preferred"
        "Url": "http://176.31.117.210:7903"
        "User": "your receiving address"
        "Pass": "x"
     }
     {
        "Poolname": "Darkcoin P2Pool - Failover"
        "Url": "http://85.131.127.26:7903"
        "User": "your receiving address"
        "Pass": "x"
     }
],

"xintensity" : "100",
"vectors" : "1",
"worksize" : "256",
"kernel" : "darkcoin",
"lookup-gap" : "2",
"thread-concurrency" : "0",
"shaders" : "2048",
"gpu-engine" : "880",
"gpu-fan" : "0-0",
"gpu-memclock" : "1250",
"gpu-memdiff" : "0",
"gpu-powertune" : "0-20",
"gpu-vddc" : "0.000",
"temp-cutoff" : "100",
"temp-overheat" : "90",
"temp-target" : "80",
"api-port" : "4028",
"expiry" : "120",
"gpu-dyninterval" : "7",
"gpu-threads" : "1",
"hotplug" : "5",
"log" : "5",
"no-pool-disable" : true,
"queue" : "1",
"scan-time" : "60",
"scrypt" : true,
"temp-hysteresis" : "3",
"shares" : "0",
"kernel-path" : "/usr/local/bin"
}

Simple Failover Script for CPU Mining

Code: 
@echo off

:Global
:: Set options - Change Retries, seconds and pool/usernames to those you desire. Make sure to include port numbers

SET retries=3
SET seconds=5

::Change TTL to how long you want to be at the secondary/tertiary pool before trying the primary. Time in milliseconds. 600000 = 1 hour, 60000 = 1 minute

SET TTL=60000

:If you would like to a specific amount of threads, remove the ":" from the next line and specify. Add "--threads=%threads%" to the end of each minerd line.

:SET threads=X

:Primary Pool

SET userpass2=yourreceivingaddress:x
SET URL1=stratum+tcp://213.229.88.102:7903

:Secondary Pool

SET userpass1=yourreceivingaddress:x
SET URL2=stratum+tcp://p2phash.com:7903


:Tertiary Pool

SET userpass3=yourreceivingaddress:x
SET URL3=stratum+tcp://q30.qhor.net:7903

:MINE

minerd-corei7-avx -a X11 --retries=%RETRIES% --retry-pause=%SECONDS% --userpass=%USERPASS1% --url=%URL1% --quiet
minerd-corei7-avx -a X11 --retries=%RETRIES% --retry-pause=%SECONDS% --userpass=%USERPASS2% --url=%URL2% --quiet
minerd-corei7-avx -a X11 --retries=%RETRIES% --retry-pause=%SECONDS% --userpass=%USERPASS3% --url=%URL3% --quiet

GOTO MINE
:END

Example Fail-over Script with tasklist to Switch back to primary after a time, for CPU Mining:

Code: 
@echo off

:Global
:: Set options - Change Retries, seconds and pool/usernames to those you desire. Make sure to include port numbers

SET retries=3
SET seconds=5

::Change TTL to how long you want to be at the secondary/tertiary pool before trying the primary. Time in milliseconds. 600000 = 1 hour, 60000 = 1 minute

SET TTL=60000

:If you would like to a specific amount of threads, remove the ":" from the next line and specify. Add "--threads=%threads%" to the end of each minerd line.

:SET threads=16

:Primary Pool

SET userpass2=yourreceivingaddress:x
SET URL1=stratum+tcp://213.229.88.102:7903

:Secondary Pool

SET userpass1=yourreceivingaddress:x
SET URL2=stratum+tcp://p2phash.com:7903


:Tertiary Pool

SET userpass3=yourreceivingaddress:x
SET URL3=stratum+tcp://q30.qhor.net:7903

:MINE

minerd-corei7-avx -a x11 --retries=%RETRIES% --retry-pause=%SECONDS% --userpass=%USERPASS1% --url=%URL1% --quiet
minerd-corei7-avx -a x11 --retries=%RETRIES% --retry-pause=%SECONDS% --userpass=%USERPASS2% --url=%URL2% --quiet

tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq minerd-corei7-avx.exe" 2>NUL | find /I /N "minerd-corei7-avx.exe">NUL
if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" PING 1.1.1.1 -n 1 -w %TTL% >NUL


minerd-corei7-avx -a X11 --retries=%RETRIES% --retry-pause=%SECONDS% --userpass=%USERPASS1% --url=%URL1% --quiet
minerd-corei7-avx -a X11 --retries=%RETRIES% --retry-pause=%SECONDS% --userpass=%USERPASS3% --url=%URL3% --quiet

tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq minerd-corei7-avx.exe" 2>NUL | find /I /N "minerd-corei7-avx.exe">NUL
if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" PING 1.1.1.1 -n 1 -w %TTL% >NUL

GOTO MINE
:END
 
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thanks. might give this a go - windows, gpu. tried connecting to the main pool earlier, nothing much happened other than lots of rejects and then banned from the pool like I was attempting ddos
 
make sure you're running the darkcoin kernel, ie "-k darkcoin", if not it will default to scrypt, which will give you tons of rejects and get you banned.
 
Thanks for writing this up.

By the way, your link to the windows miner links to the source, whereas I assume you meant to link to the compiled binaries.
 
whoops, fixed. thanks for the heads up... and apologies for any issues this may have caused folks

I have also updated the guide with some small content changes, added a pic of successful mining, and added some more info to the advanced mining post.
 
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Nice! My only suggestion would be that you might want to include a line about how to find out your latency to each node, since you say to pick one with low latency.
 
these are all the files in the zip.

non open in word.

what to do??
 

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The .bat file has to be made by you in Notepad, there is not a pre-compiled .bat file.
You can take same examples from the 1st post or thru the net but you have to write it yourself. Nothing difficult BTW
 
thank you. ok i have done this.
minerd-corei7-avx.exe -a X11 -o stratum+tcp://144.132.128.29:7903 -u XrDx5xXQpzFExZuVZaG3ogtM83poV9x4gM -p x --quiet
still does not run. what now?
 
:)
Difficult to say, what's the error message? Put a "pause" (without quotes) at the end of the bat file and read what's the error.
What's your pool?
 
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