Your mining computer doesn't need any HDD or CD/DVD/BD as long as it has at
least 2GB of RAM, can boot USB, has some network connection to the internet and
of course a reasonable mining ATI graphics card
least 2GB of RAM, can boot USB, has some network connection to the internet
and of course a reasonable mining ATI graphics card
... Or you can boot a windows PC with the USB to only do mining ... and ignore
the system HDD ... wasting energy Smiley
the system HDD ... wasting energy running the HDD :)
To create the USB, you need of course a 4GB USB and temporarily need a PC with a
CD (or DVD/BD) writer, a USB port and of course an internet connection to the PC
To create the USB, you need of course a 4GB USB and temporarily need a PC
with a CD (or DVD/BD) writer, a USB port and of course an internet
connection to the PC
1) Download the xubuntu 11.04 desktop live CD iso for amd64
( look here for mirrors: http://www.xubuntu.org/getubuntu )
2) Burn it to CD then boot that temporarily on any PC with a CD/DVD/BD and a USB
port (this and the next 2 step won't effect that PC)
2) Burn it to CD then boot that temporarily on any PC with a CD/DVD/BD and
a USB port (this and the next 2 step won't effect that PC)
3) Plug in your 4GB USB device and it should appear on the desktop - you can
leave it's contents as long as there is at least 2.8GB free
@ -24,8 +37,8 @@ CD (or DVD/BD) writer, a USB port and of course an internet connection to the PC
@@ -24,8 +37,8 @@ CD (or DVD/BD) writer, a USB port and of course an internet connection to the PC
4) Now run "Startup Disk Creator" in "Applications->System"
(the system menu is the little rat in the top left corner)
(if you have no mouse you can get the menu with <ctr><esc> and navigate the menu
with the arrow keys and <return> key)
(if you have no mouse you can get the menu with <ctr><esc> and navigate
the menu with the arrow keys and <return> key)
From here select the boot CD as the "Source" and the USB as the "Disk to use"
lastly move the slider to 2GB for reserved extra space
@ -46,21 +59,21 @@ After about 10-15 minutes you have a base xubuntu 11.04 boot USB
@@ -46,21 +59,21 @@ After about 10-15 minutes you have a base xubuntu 11.04 boot USB
7) sudo apt-get install openssh-server screen
if you have a problem here then it's probably coz the internet isn't
available ... sort that out by reading elsewhere about routers etc
available ... sort that out by reading elsewhere about routers etc
N.B. always do a "sudo sync" and wait for it to finish every time before
shutting down the PC to ensure all data is written to the USB
shutting down the PC to ensure all data is written to the USB
9) sudo aticonfig --lsa
this lists your ATI cards so you can see them
sudo aticonfig --adapter=all --odgt
this checks it can access all the cards ...
10) aticonfig --adapter=all --initial
10) sudo aticonfig --adapter=all --initial
this gets an error - no idea why but the xorg.conf is OK
sudo sync
sudo shutdown -r now
@ -91,13 +104,17 @@ N.B. always do a "sudo sync" and wait for it to finish every time before
@@ -91,13 +104,17 @@ N.B. always do a "sudo sync" and wait for it to finish every time before
13) cgminer:
sudo apt-get install curl
get the binary linux cgminer (see the bitcoin forum cgminer thread
for where to get it)
get the binary linux cgminer
(see the bitcoin forum cgminer thread for where to get it)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=28402.0
./cgminer -n
this shows you the GPU's it found on your PC
See further below if you get an error regarding libtinfo.so.5
14) An OC option:
This is no longer needed since cgminer 2.* includes OC, however:
sudo apt-get install libwxbase2.8-0 libwxgtk2.8-0
http://sourceforge.net/projects/amdovdrvctrl/
@ -106,21 +123,22 @@ N.B. always do a "sudo sync" and wait for it to finish every time before
@@ -106,21 +123,22 @@ N.B. always do a "sudo sync" and wait for it to finish every time before
15) set the screen saver to ONLY blank ...
Move the mouse to the bottom of the screen and you see a set of icons
like on an Apple PC
Move the mouse to the bottom of the screen and you see a set of icons like
on an Apple PC
Click on Settings, then in the Settings window "Screensaver"
Set "Mode:" to "Blank Screen Only"
Edit: originally left this somewhat useful addition out:
16) apt-get install ntpd
An accurate clock is always a good idea Smiley
An accurate clock is always a good idea :)
Edit2: another item that seems I missed
17) if you wish to ssh into the box you must set a password
to do this you simply have to be logged into it at the screen and type
sudo passwd ubuntu
it will prompt you (twice) to enter a password for the ubuntu account
Initial setup complete.
========
@ -129,17 +147,23 @@ If you want to SSH into the machine and run cgminer:
@@ -129,17 +147,23 @@ If you want to SSH into the machine and run cgminer:
From a terminal on the miner display each time after you boot:
xhost +
Then after ssh into the machine:
'xhost +' isn't needed if you ssh into the machine with the same
username that the GUI boots into (which is 'ubuntu' in this case)
Then after you ssh into the machine:
export DISPLAY=:0
before running cgminer
Also note, that you should force the screen to blank when mining if the ATI card
is displaying the screen (using the screen saver application menu)
Also note, that you should force the screen to blank when mining if
the ATI card is displaying the screen (using the screen saver
application menu)
In my case it takes away 50Mh/s when the screen isn't blanked
It will auto blank - but make sure the blank is of course just blank
as mentioned above at 15)
This is of course just the basics ... but it should get you a computer up and
running and able to run cgminer
This is of course just the basics ... but it should get you a computer
up and running and able to run cgminer
========
@ -147,10 +171,15 @@ You should keep an eye on USB disk space
@@ -147,10 +171,15 @@ You should keep an eye on USB disk space
The system logger writes log files in the /var/log/ directory
The two main ones that grow large are 'kern.log' and 'syslog'
If you want to keep them, save them away to some other computer
When space is low, just delete them.
When space is low, just delete them e.g.
sudo rm -i /var/log/syslog
sudo rm -i /var/log/kern.log
The 'df' command will show you the current space e.g.:
sudo df
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on