Hey BTCZ Community,

ZhashOS has finally been released. Check it out and give any suggestons:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1854250.msg18447374#msg18447374

TLDR;

-Boot from pendrive, keep your windows intact.

-For the new BitcoinZ Zhash algo and other asic resistant Equihash 192,7, 144,5, 96,5 and 210,9 algos.

-For all NVIDIA cards GTX 9XX and 10XX series 2GB and up.

-Compact, download under 500MB. For 2GB+ USB Pendrives (USB 3.0 recommended).

-Just download, flash your 2GB+ USB flash drive with etcher (etcher.io), plug the USB into your PC, Set your BIOS to boot the USB before the hardrive, Boot, Configure in 3 EZ steps and get to mining!.

- 0.5% Dev Fee + 0.5% BitcoinZ Community Fund Fee = 1% Total Fee.

-Please read the readme 1st pdf to understand the install & config process:
http://www.altcap.biz/ZhashOSdocs/1stReadMe1st.pdf

-Mega Download: https://mega.nz/#!G3oHEYJQ!zn8K5XtdjDZ-62o4pxaXYjmZtL_DdLpikiLh_EHRGvw

-Website: http://zhashos.altcap.biz

Full details:

Hey Fellow Miners,

I have been developing and mining a simple version of Micro Linux for my personal rigs over the last year now.

Here's a couple of screen shots of the eye candy erm....I mean desktop in operation. Hopefully this will put Windows Users at ease and maybe even intrigued enough to check it out.

Desktop:
http://www.altcap.biz/ZhashOSdocs/DesktopView.png

Desktop Mining:


I have built a custom version of it to handle the new harder equihash parameters that are hopefully more ASIC resistant.

So it can be used to mine coins that use the new equihash 192,7, 144,5, 96,5 and 210,9 parameters.

The idea of this came about as I am a fan of BitcoinZ which has done an algo change on June 16th,2018.

In the original testing on June 10th, the new algo was making 1060 3GB cards unusable in Win 10 for mining. Something about Win 10 using to much GPU memory for itself and not leaving enough for mining the new equihash or Zhash parameters.

So the only option at the time was to fall back to Win 7.

Knowing that Linux did not have that problem, and wanting them to not be left out or have to regress their windows, I decided to build this O/S as a work around for them.

But as I said, It will work with all newer NVIDIA cards.

Also, knowing most were Windows users are not Linux aware, My main goal was to make this as easy peasy as possible for them.

Just download, flash your 2GB or larger USB flash drive with etcher, pop the USB into your PC, Set your BIOS to boot the USB before the hardrive, Boot, Configure in 3 EZ steps and get to mining!

Then you can keep your Win10 intact. You can also use like I do and not even have a hardrive/SSD installed at all on your rig. Saves me few bucks on my rigs that way. And uses less power as well.

I think most Windows users think of Linux as not very user friendly and lots of command line  configuration stuff.

While that was true in the beginning(1994-2004), there has been a push to make things more user friendly over the years. I feel it has come a long way since then.

I very rarely have to config anything on the command line anymore.

So, I set about my task of putting together a easy to deploy and configure solution. And once set, it will be stable and just flat work.

While I was working on this, EWBF released his much faster miner two days ago. Kudos to him for his work.

Soooo, we stopped the printing presses and built a brand new version with updated drivers using his miner instead. What is this "sleep" you speak of? LOL!

So that's the history of how I/we made ZhashOS.

Since EWBF's release, some people are claiming success with 3GB cards in Win 10, others are not.


Please read the readme 1st pdf to understand the install & config process:
http://www.altcap.biz/ZhashOSdocs/1stReadMe1st.pdf

BTW, this is also a full featured O/S complete with Spreadsheet, Word Processor,Email,Chat, Paint,Web Browser, FTP etc.

I have been using this Micro Linux since it came out in 2006 and was an instant fan. Not bad for a 900 MB O/S. When was the last time you heard of O/S install measure in MB's?

4GB RAM recommended, 2GB Minimum. If you have at least 4GB ram, You do not need *any* swapfile(Virtual Memory).  The whole thing loads into a ram drive and is lightening fast.  If you look at the CPU utilization screen when it was mining you will see Total CPU was running at 8%. Basically  idling.

Old download link removed see new version down below

Be sure and read the readme completely before starting.

First formal release  with: New Nvidia 387 driver, EWBF Miner, Basic miner crash recovery, Dev(0.5%) and BTCZ Fund(0.5%) fee sharing engaged, More icons set on the desktop for user ease of access, updated readme to help new installations. etc.

We are going to handle the fee arrangement a little differently.

I set it up to 50% share mining on it for about 15 minutes a day. You and I would split mining shares for the 15 minutes.  The other 23hours 45 minutes are all yours of coarse.  

I guess we would kind of call it a dev fee. That would work out to be roughly a 0.5% fee.

I would rather do it this way because most pools are PPLNS.

Being a miner myself, I'm thinking if you stop mining on your pool account completely like most Dev fees work, it would be more harmful to your daily earnings.

Rather, if you slow down for a period of time while sharing with me would be less harmful as the pool will see you haven't stopped completely.

I will use the fee to further feature enhancement going forward.

Some of the thoughts I have are self-monitoring and repair of mining crashing i e watchdog, automatic fan and power control to keep the card safe when it gets warm, have the "option" to activate being able to remote into a PC via remote desktop, keeping up with new releases, adding other btcz miners as they are developed Etc. Things like that.

We have also set up another 15 minutes for the bitcoinZ Community Fund. So they would get a 0.5% fee donation as well.

So your total donation would be roughly 1%.

So check it out. Linux has come a long way since its beginning. It has a pretty good proven track record of just flat working which is why most servers are using it. If it is good enough for them than it probably is good enough for us as well. eh?

Update: June 19th 2018
Release 2 of ZhashOS is now availible.

Updated to EWBF 0.2 cuda 8 which allows us to use a more mature nvidia driver.

Added a icon for editing GPUoverclock.sh plus a dialog box reminder/instructions to activate it after editing. Be sure and restart the miner after you activate it.

Added "Take a Shot" screen shot program.

Have shrunk the download size to under 500MB. Will fit on to a 2GB USB Flash Drive now. USB 3.0 drives are still highly recommended. It is 6x-10x faster. Makes boot times measured in seconds.


Update July 4th 2018
Release 2.01 of ZhashOS is now available

-Updated to EWBF 0.3 for up to 10% faster hashrate depending on the card.

-Revised the 1streadme1st document to give further guidance

-added FAQ.PDf to instruct on setting up Power/Fan Speed/Overclock settings on GPU. Very Important!

-Made password change function (passwd) operational. All users setting up Remote Desktop are highly recomended to set thier own password for the rig.

-Shrunk the download even further. Now ~475MB.


Update July 17th 2018
ZhashOS Release 2.02 is now available.

-Updated to EWBF 0.4

Improved performance for algo 144_5 and maxwell gpus,

Allows launching over 9 gpus in a single instance


Update August 1st 2018

ZhashOS Release 2.03 is now available.

-Updated to EWBF 0.5 Improved performance for algo 144_5 and maxwell gpus,
I am seeing 14-15% increase on 1070ti's

-Updated Faq.pdf with more questions answered.

-Modified StopZhash.sh to work better with certain high power CPU's

-Added more information pertaining to P106-100 type GPU's in EditGPUoverclock.sh

-Fixed a small formatting bug in EditGPUoverclock.sh reminder dialog box.

Update October 28 2018

ZhashOS Release 3 rc2 is now available

-HUGE improvement in setup time and ease with our new SetupWiz. One "new" user reported he was mining in 2 minutes after boot.

-Now includes a enhanced software watchdog that monitors "multiple" GPU parameters for crashes and will reset the miner or restart the desktop depending on what is needed.

-Also now has "SmartFan", a option to run the fans at the "minimum" speed needed to maintain your target GPU temperature. If set correctly, this may extend fan life.

-Updated EWBF to 0.6, added MiniZ 1.0c, gminer 1.05 and bminer 10.2.

Update November 06 2018

ZhashOS Release 3 is now available

-Added extra support features.

-Turned off unneeded ports in firewall when Remote Desktop is not activated.

-Updated MiniZ 1.0e and gminer 1.07.

# MD5
b5b97643338b55156b773a2fc43a6bcf  ZhashOS_r3.img.zip

Mega Download: https://mega.nz/#!G3oHEYJQ!zn8K5XtdjDZ-62o4pxaXYjmZtL_DdLpikiLh_EHRGvw

@dafatboy,

Yeah, that's how it's going to have to happen.

I will resume release development. Some hash beat no hash any day of the week right?

EWBF, What is the oldest Linux driver version that will work with your miner?

I prefer to stay a bit back from the bleeding edge of drivers. Experienced to many driver regressions in my 34+ year administrator career. Let me know....

Yes, ZhasherOS is a Micro Linux O/S trying to address the issue with 1060 GB cards don't work in Win10

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3086664.msg40073261#msg40073261

Started development of this custom version 2 days ago. I've been developing and using the base O/S for a year now. But now customizing it to be Windows user friendly. Trying to get released before the fork. Don't want to lose 1060 3GB miners during the fork transition. Up until 2 hours ago I was getting ready to release with ample time for everyone to get their rigs set for the fork (algo change). Then ewbf releases. Not enough time to develop support for both. One or the other. That's where I am at with this.

So, ewbf has released a new miner. He has a good track record of good Kung Fu. Don't know if this is as good though. He claims faster. But to early to know if stable or not. My problem is I'm running out of time here. Arrgghhh! His timing totally sucks though! I'm trying to get the ZhasherOS released! LIKE NOW!!! I can't support both on the next release.  Both will be included but only one supported out of the box. We KNOW Zhasher is working here and now. I don't own a 1060 3GB to confirm ewbf works or not. I really need someone linux aware with a 1060 3GB to download it and verify.  And also some big GTX cards as well. And I need it QUICK!!! Can anybody help. Otherwise I feel it is better to release with a known working image. I know I'm  new here. But PLEASE HELP if you can! We got 2 days and the users will have to download,burn and configure to be ready before the switch.

Zhasher for Linux Setup Guide in (hopefully) 8 easy steps

Read all of this to get the process clear before you start.

You will need to use etcher to copy the downloaded image to your 4GB or larger USB flash drive.
FYI, You don't have to unzip it before using etcher. They will do it for you and clean up after themselves.
You will need to make sure BIOS is set to boot to usb BEFORE hard drive

Process these icons in sequential order

This Linux will come out of the box ready to DHCP to a Ethernet port.
If it sees the connection you will see the Internet icon in the lower right corner go from black to to green within 15-30 seconds upon desktop display.
If it does, hover your mouse pointer over the icon and you should see your local IP address. Probably something like 192.168.blah.blah.
If it is, you are good to skip the 1st step. If not, start with step 1.

1st Connect To Internet -Be sure and thoroughly read all the dialog boxes.  Should be pretty much self explanatory.

2nd ResetNvidiaXorg.sh - This is a quick script. No interaction necessary. Go to Step 3 afterwards.

3rd Reboot2SaveSettings.sh - Again very quick to start shutting down. It is best to use USB 3.0 drives and ports.
USB 2.0 will work but will be somewhat slower. USB 1.x Really?!? See you next week! LOL!

4th EditZhasher.sh - Do this to modify your Zhasher commandline for your wallet.worker name, pool and port number.
Also adjust -cd for the number of GPU's you have. (I.E 6 GPU's use -cd 0 1 2 3 4 5 )  It comes out of the box setup to mine the testnet.
Which is testable until around June 16th 2018

5th TestZhasherWorks.sh - This should run Zhasher in a terminal screen (Command Prompt Screen).
It should start producing Sols/s results fairly quickly if everything is set correct so far.

6th StopZhasherTest.sh - This will shut down the test so we can activate the Auto Mine On Boot method.

7th ActivateZhasherOnBoot.sh This will activate Auto Mine On Boot. No interaction necessary. Go to step 8 afterwards.

8th Reboot2ActivateAndEnjoy.sh - Reboot and to Save Your Setup and Get Working! Enjoy!

NOTICE for GTX 1060 3GB users.

It is very likely Win10 and the new Zhash algo will not be able to work. Something about Win10 using to much memory for itself and not releasing enough for the new algo. Some people are claiming success but most others are not. One rather drastic solution is to revert back to Win7. I am developing a alternative that allows you to keep Win10 intact.

I've been working on a ready to work out of the box Zhasher Micro Linux O/S that will fit on a 4GB or larger USB Flash drive. I am building this to help address the GTX 1060 3GB issue but it will also work on the rest of the Nvidia cards as well. Sorry, AMD is not supported by Zhasher as of yet. Though I hear they are working on it. Whenever that is done, I will release a update. This will enable you to keep your Win 10 install intact. Just pop in the USB and reboot and start mining. You will have to configure a few things on the 1st boot but then after that it should just flat work. I am including a few screen shots of it showing some of the features it has at

http://www.altcap.biz/zhashwin10fix/

There is also a picture from one of the beta testers from discord showing his rig of 6-1060 3GB's running it.

http://www.altcap.biz/zhashwin10fix/1063Working.png

This is a work in progress. I am building it off of a Micro Linux that I have been developing and using for the last year on all my rigs. The whole O/S size is less than 1 Gig so theoretically I'll be able to fit it on a 2GB drive with room to work still. But 4Gb is fine for now.

Ok, So here is the question. Do you think is alright if I set it up to 50% share mining on it for about 15 minutes a day. You and I would split mining shares for the 15 minutes.  The other 23hours 45 minutes are all yours of coarse.  I guess we would kind of call it a dev fee. That would work out to be roughly a 0.5% fee. I would rather do it this way because most pools are PPLNS. I am thinking if you  stop mining on your pool account completely  like most dev fees work, it would be more harmful to your daily earnings.  Rather if you slow down for a period of time while sharing with me would be less harmful as the pool will see you haven't stopped completely. I am asking this before I release it.  If I am getting enough push back on this, I will release it without the fee share. If everyone is OK with it, I will use the fee to further feature enhancement going forward. Some of the thoughts I have are  self monitoring and repair of mining crashing, Have the "option" to activate being able to remote in to the pc via remote desktop, keeping up with new releases, adding other BTCZ miners as they are developed etc. Things like that. So let me have your complete thoughts on this concept.

We would also setup another 15 minutes for the BitcoinZ Community Fund. So they would get a 0.5% donation as well. So your total donation would roughly 1%. Just a reminder, Zhasher is being released with no dev fee.

So check out the pics and let know your thoughts on this.

Overdrive5

P.S. I'll post the current readme file contents in the next post.

Also, FWIW, The easiest method to try it out is to download the ISO and the burn the ISO image on to a CD (not copy).

Boot from the CD and then try it out. If you like it then use "Puppy Installer" to install it to a USB flash drive.

I recommend re-partitioning the flash drive as ext4 before you install it though. It is a much more durable filesystem for rigs that can crash regularly and often. I also recommend you use USB3 flash drives. They are speedier, even in USB2 ports.

I just PM'd you my number.

I have all my rigs set to boot from flash drives. None of them have or need hard drives.

I use sandisk 32gb drives. I get them on ebay for ~$13 each.

Updating becomes pretty easy peasy after that. Cloning is done in minutes also. But you will have edit /ect/hostname before you boot up the new cloned system so you don't conflict with the existing system.

Try /etc/rc.d also if you have it.

Unfortunately, I have zero experience with "user" based linux. All my experience is with root based linux via puppy linux.  The version I am using is Xenialpup 64.

Not sure if the link below will work but here goes:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=109476

It is based on Ubuntu Xenial 64 but "puppy trained" to load up as root. The iso is only 330 meg. If you want to compile any apps then you will need the 198 meg "Devx" sfs also. If you can't figure out how to start Ubuntu as root, maybe give it a whirl?

A few more details about the above instructions....

1. This presumes you *are* logging in as root
2. I just remembered I run my script *after* starting X-windows. If you do the same, then save StartStak.sh to your directory that that runs programs after loading X (for me it is /root/Startup)
3. If you want to run from the command prompt instead then replace the line:


with



in the StartStak.sh file.

4. Also, if you want to run from the command prompt instead and your linux does not have /etc/init, then it may have /etc/init.d or etc/rc.d they will also run scripts on startup as well.

I personally prefer the Puppy Linux way of doing things, automatically starting as root and loading X as it is similar to windows. So it allows me to automatically load my miner program after a reboot without me ever touching the keyboard. I am sure other linux's can setup the same way. I just found this as the path of least resistance for me.

HTH

Overdrive5

Hello ~

1st post on this forum. Have been a long time lurker and finally found a question I felt I could contribute and give back to the community.

Sundownz, copy,edit and save the example script below in /etc/init/ as something like StartStak.sh

After you saved it, chmod it to 755 . This will allow it to be executable.






PS. When you get a chance, check out puppy linux. It's a nice sub 1GB flashdrive loadable linux that I have been using for over 12 years. I have always liked their philosophy of compact speedy root linux's. They come in several tasty flavors such as Ubuntu, Slackware and many others.

Hope this is helpful....

OverDrive5