Bitcoin Forum

Help appreciated in advance..

Ive never used the thing.. I just want to load if off a cd .. Setup a wallet.. And start mining !

Is this possible? Do you know how it can be done...

Does it make sense??  :-\ Maybe!

Hey I don't have a lot of experience with mining on ubuntu, but I do have a lot of experience with ubuntu itself.  My advice would be to just install ubuntu onto a flash drive (8gb is just fine) that is new or close to it.  You will get user interface at almost adequate speeds with one of these, not as good as a hard drive and only slightly as annoying as running from a  cd.
 
My suggestion would be to use ubuntu 10.04 live cd, select "install" and then select the flash drive as the install location.  If you do this you will be able to save your work, if you try to run off a live cd all the time saving your programs and settingd becomes more difficult.  not impossible--just more difficult.

Even better would be creating a live USB with rw partition. It works like livecd, but the changes you make are saved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Live_USB_creator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Live_USB_creator)

Why would that be better/easier for op? 

because he can alter the install and later boot back into it in its altered state

 ;D
Thanks for the great responses guys!!

I was thinking of running it from a cd so my wallet didnt leave any trace on a physical drive.. Then again, I ve had no experience, but Id imagine you'd have to save some data somewhere to be able to mine, right?

I will be using it to mine with a BFL single. Anyone had any experience mining with BFL on ubuntu? How do I go about it?

Do you guys know any guides or vids that explain how to mine with BFL single using BFGminer .. How do I go about installing a wallet and BFGminer on ubuntu?? I found it hard to install anything on ubuntu!!!

Again, can't help with part of your questions but maybe some.  I have little experience with what Deafboy recommended, but I see why you would want that for security purposes.

To install on ubuntu linux is a bit of a paradigm shift from windows.  For one thing, any "software" that is fairly run of he mill can be acquired quickly through the synaptic package program, (just run an internet search to see what you want first the descriptions can be fairly short) other bits and pieces or programs have to be downloaded, unpacked and then typically (with any luck) you can go from there.  Sometimes though you have to use the command line and then its super important to follow instructions explicitly. 

Actually installing ubuntu gives you a bit of a feel for how it works which is why I typically recommend doing so...

I ran xubuntu off a usb stick for months for my mining rig, it worked well when it worked, but the file table was too easily corrupted and would require reinstalls. I finally just installed it on an actual HDD and it has been far more reliable and robust. If you're using it on a mining machine, I'd recommend this to save yourself downtime and hassle from having to restore your usb stick from a corrupted state. Yes, you do waste some power with an HDD running (though if you have a SSD this is a moot point), but the tradeoff is worth it in my experience anyway. You're also able to upgrade/install any packages you want instead of being limited like you are with a persistent store usb stick install.

If you want it for secure wallet purposes, a live CD boot is probably the way to go as long as you make sure to backup the wallet on a flash drive or something. There's a nice thread in the newbie forum that explains this process.

Thanks for the info..  :)  I wonder why the usb stick got corrupted?? Is it because of the quality of the chip??

I believe the corruption happened due to the file system ubuntu uses for the persistent store. I couldn't find any way to change it to a more robust file system. With the frequent reads and writes, another concern is wear on the usb stick's flash memory, since they weren't designed with this type of application in mind (whereas SSDs are).