Bitcoin Forum

So I recently learned about bitcoins and mining and was looking to start mining with the pool, but for some reason the BitMinter client will not start/download. I clicked the "Engine Start" button to download the client onto my desktop, but now when I click it, I am stuck on a pop up that just says the application is starting/downloading, but the progress bar remains at 0%.

Does anyone know why I can't start using the client??

Thanks!

Firewall/Peerblock/etc blocking Java? If Java's out of date, that may also be a factor.

All Firewall has been turned off, and I've updated Java to the most updated version. Still at 0% unfortunately.

Which OS are you using?

If UAC's enabled, Javaws may not have admin privileges.

I'm trying both Ubuntu and Windows 7. On Windows 7, I get the pop up saying it's downloading but will not move past 0%; and on Ubuntu, no pop up even opens up.

What is UAC? Sorry I'm a newbie in the truest sense =/

Do you have AVG antivirus?  If so, disable or uninstall it, and use something else.  I had trouble starting up BitMinter when AVG was enabled, and other people have reported the same.

User Access Controls. It's the Win security feature which makes default setups deal with an intrusive popup box every time you try to open a program asking if you trust it. Javaws might require admin privileges to download and install software. If a popup box comes up when you try to run the .jnlp file, you'd want to click allow... probably not the problem.

Are you downloading at work or some other place which might have firewalls up?

It sounds like the Ubuntu installation doesn't have Java with Java Web Start on it. Try downloading an installing https://apps.ubuntu.com/cat/applications/lucid/openjdk-6-jre/ (might need to reboot after installing) - then try launching the .jnlp downloaded from Bitminter.

Out of ideas after that. /passes on to someone else

It was AVG, had to uninstall it sadly.

Thanks guys!


Do I have to do anything to start using it or do I just press start and log in?

Also, what rates are average for a decent laptop? I'm getting ~350KHPS with 4 of 8 cores.

I'm getting 60,000,000 KHPS with one dedicated Bitcoin miner.  In other words, it's not worth it to run on your laptop.  But, it is fine to use to play around with and get to know how Bitcoin mining works...!  You will make 0.0002 BTC per month mining 24/7 at that rate.