[OS] nvOC easy-to-use Linux Nvidia Mining

[IAmNotAJeep]

Have you set cpu mining to off ?

yep, for sure

looks like 3main select only one GPU for a reason I don't know

this is due to a problem with the 3main implementation wi$em@n found; but I haven't fixed yet.  You can do this manually for now by finding this area in 3main:

Code:

if [ $COIN == "XMR" ]
then
HCD='/home/m1/xmr/stakGPU/bin/xmr-stak-nvidia'
ADDR="$XMR_ADDRESS.$XMR_WORKER"

cat <<EOF >/home/m1/xmr/stakGPU/bin/config.txt

"gpu_threads_conf" : [
  { "index" : 0,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
],

"use_tls" : false,
"tls_secure_algo" : true,
"tls_fingerprint" : "",

"pool_address" : "$XMR_POOL",
"wallet_address" : "$ADDR",
"pool_password" : "x",

"call_timeout" : 10,
"retry_time" : 10,
"giveup_limit" : 0,

"verbose_level" : 4,

"h_print_time" : 60,

"output_file" : "",

"httpd_port" : 0,

"prefer_ipv4" : true
EOF

cd /home/m1/xmr/stakGPU/bin

screen -dmS miner $HCD

if [ $LOCALorREMOTE == "LOCAL" ]
then
screen -r miner
fi

and adding an additional:

gpu_threads_conf" : [
  { "index" : 0,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
  { "index" : 1,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
  { "index" : 2,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
  { "index" : 3,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
],

index block per GPU to the "gpu_threads_conf"

as the above would be for 4x gpus.

thanks a lot Fullzero

I'm now able to use my 7x GPU with your modification

unfortunately watchdog is not working anymore as it saying that GPU utilisation is to low

not a big deal

thanks

I will look into a watchdog conflict with multiple gpus while using xmr-stak.

I noticed that xmr-stack takes a while to load up all the gpu's with work - on 13 card systems this can take up to 3-4 minutes (it also depends on the thread/block count in xmr-stak config.txt - the settings from fullzero load under 2G of data, but you can tweak those numbers higher getting, resulting higher hash rates, but also increasing the initialization time).
Once stak loads all the cards, and assuming your OC settings are stable - it will behave itself for days. I meant to modify watchdog to recognize stak is running and increase the initialization time appropriately, but I still need to migrate to v0019. for now if you want to run watchdog, change the initial timeout to 360 seconds it should do the trick.
Once all the cards are loaded stak will spit out a bunch of submits to the pool in one shot.

I've seen issue with WATCHDOG while using keccak algo (for MAX COIN) on MPH; the GPU utilization for this coin is algo is always around 90 and WATCHDOG always restarts the mining eventually the whole RIG based on that usage!

I remember one of the user complained about keccak; asked about how to disable it (thinking its probably because of this utilization low issue).

Yes I remember seeing a post like that, I think someone also answered that this can be remedied by lowering the threshold in watchdog which should work.

[1713984480]

1713984480

[1713984480]

1713984480

[ivoldemar]

Hello!

Put a new farm on P106 Gigabyte and here's the story:

http://prntscr.com/gjsvn4

(I'm the one who tipped the image from the production farm on P106)

Tried to write a clean image, there is also an error with Nvidia.

The monitor did not connect, risers and cards changed - it did not help.

[damNmad]

Have you set cpu mining to off ?

yep, for sure

looks like 3main select only one GPU for a reason I don't know

this is due to a problem with the 3main implementation wi$em@n found; but I haven't fixed yet.  You can do this manually for now by finding this area in 3main:

Code:

if [ $COIN == "XMR" ]
then
HCD='/home/m1/xmr/stakGPU/bin/xmr-stak-nvidia'
ADDR="$XMR_ADDRESS.$XMR_WORKER"

cat <<EOF >/home/m1/xmr/stakGPU/bin/config.txt

"gpu_threads_conf" : [
  { "index" : 0,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
],

"use_tls" : false,
"tls_secure_algo" : true,
"tls_fingerprint" : "",

"pool_address" : "$XMR_POOL",
"wallet_address" : "$ADDR",
"pool_password" : "x",

"call_timeout" : 10,
"retry_time" : 10,
"giveup_limit" : 0,

"verbose_level" : 4,

"h_print_time" : 60,

"output_file" : "",

"httpd_port" : 0,

"prefer_ipv4" : true
EOF

cd /home/m1/xmr/stakGPU/bin

screen -dmS miner $HCD

if [ $LOCALorREMOTE == "LOCAL" ]
then
screen -r miner
fi

and adding an additional:

gpu_threads_conf" : [
  { "index" : 0,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
  { "index" : 1,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
  { "index" : 2,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
  { "index" : 3,
    "threads" : 32, "blocks" : 18,
    "bfactor" : 8, "bsleep" :  10,
    "affine_to_cpu" : false,
  },
],

index block per GPU to the "gpu_threads_conf"

as the above would be for 4x gpus.

thanks a lot Fullzero

I'm now able to use my 7x GPU with your modification

unfortunately watchdog is not working anymore as it saying that GPU utilisation is to low

not a big deal

thanks

I will look into a watchdog conflict with multiple gpus while using xmr-stak.

I noticed that xmr-stack takes a while to load up all the gpu's with work - on 13 card systems this can take up to 3-4 minutes (it also depends on the thread/block count in xmr-stak config.txt - the settings from fullzero load under 2G of data, but you can tweak those numbers higher getting, resulting higher hash rates, but also increasing the initialization time).
Once stak loads all the cards, and assuming your OC settings are stable - it will behave itself for days. I meant to modify watchdog to recognize stak is running and increase the initialization time appropriately, but I still need to migrate to v0019. for now if you want to run watchdog, change the initial timeout to 360 seconds it should do the trick.
Once all the cards are loaded stak will spit out a bunch of submits to the pool in one shot.

I've seen issue with WATCHDOG while using keccak algo (for MAX COIN) on MPH; the GPU utilization for this coin is algo is always around 90 and WATCHDOG always restarts the mining eventually the whole RIG based on that usage!

I remember one of the user complained about keccak; asked about how to disable it (thinking its probably because of this utilization low issue).

Yes I remember seeing a post like that, I think someone also answered that this can be remedied by lowering the threshold in watchdog which should work.

Ah! My bad, don't remember seeing the solution, will try to lower the threshold and see how it goes.

I would also like to thank you so much for your amazing work. It inspires a lot for people like me

[Doftorul]

Hi guys, can someone give some hints or explain what is wrong with my rigs since only the gpu0 can have can receive/execute the fan speed as being set ? Below is the error i see all the time when any other than gpu0 fan gets set:

ERROR: Error assigning value 50 to attribute
       'GPUTargetFanSpeed' (m1-desktop:0[fan:1])
       as specified in assignment
       '[fan:1]/GPUTargetFanSpeed=50' (Unknown
       Error).

I am currently using rigs with 3 x 1080 Ti and 3 x 1070's and having the first release of v019 installed on SSD.
Tried manually to do:

nvidia-xconfig --enable-all-gpus
nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=4
nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/GPUFanControlState=1
nvidia-settings -a [fan:1]/GPUTargetFanSpeed=50

but the error is the same.
Other than being unable to set the fan speeds, the rigs are chugging along, however, the speed of the fans for the cards other than gpu0 is the factory default as neither the minimum fan speed set in 1bash gets applied, with or without the automated fan control feature.

Edit: in the nvidia x server settings i can see the Enable fan control feature for the gpu0 but it is missing for the other gpu's.

Does the error happens if you set speed to higher values like 60-65 too ?
I think I had the same problem on low values

Thank you for your answer !

Yes, the problem persists even if i set higher fan values or 100%...

In the Thermal Settings in the nvidia x settings utility only gpu0 has fan control option enabled, the other gpu's are missing this feature.

Then may be some things wrong with the image/OS
Some times starting from scratch is easier than trying to solve the problem.

P.S. is GPU Power Mizer Mode set in 1bash?

Code:

GPUPowerMizerMode_Adjust="YES"

The PowerMizer setting makes no difference.
However, i think there is something odd here. When i run manually
m1@m1-desktop:~$ lspci |grep VGA
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)
20:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)
30:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)

Then in the xorg.conf generated in an attempt to debug the issue i have:

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:32:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device2"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:48:0:0"
EndSection


Shouldn't there be some sort of relation between what the lspci command lists and the Xorg.conf device id ?

[elsystem]

Is it possible to cpu mine Zcoin and gpu mine simultaneously on nvoc?

anyone has an answer to this?

fullzero, assuming it's not currently possible to cpu mine Zcoin, can you please add it as a feature in the next version?

[Hostels]

Guys on P106 Maxximus007_AUTO_TEMPERATURE_CONTROL dont work. When temp reach target_temp and go above script do nothing((((
If anyone have to work it on P106. Plz write how.

[papampi]

Hi guys, can someone give some hints or explain what is wrong with my rigs since only the gpu0 can have can receive/execute the fan speed as being set ? Below is the error i see all the time when any other than gpu0 fan gets set:

ERROR: Error assigning value 50 to attribute
       'GPUTargetFanSpeed' (m1-desktop:0[fan:1])
       as specified in assignment
       '[fan:1]/GPUTargetFanSpeed=50' (Unknown
       Error).

I am currently using rigs with 3 x 1080 Ti and 3 x 1070's and having the first release of v019 installed on SSD.
Tried manually to do:

nvidia-xconfig --enable-all-gpus
nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=4
nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/GPUFanControlState=1
nvidia-settings -a [fan:1]/GPUTargetFanSpeed=50

but the error is the same.
Other than being unable to set the fan speeds, the rigs are chugging along, however, the speed of the fans for the cards other than gpu0 is the factory default as neither the minimum fan speed set in 1bash gets applied, with or without the automated fan control feature.

Edit: in the nvidia x server settings i can see the Enable fan control feature for the gpu0 but it is missing for the other gpu's.

Does the error happens if you set speed to higher values like 60-65 too ?
I think I had the same problem on low values

Thank you for your answer !

Yes, the problem persists even if i set higher fan values or 100%...

In the Thermal Settings in the nvidia x settings utility only gpu0 has fan control option enabled, the other gpu's are missing this feature.

Then may be some things wrong with the image/OS
Some times starting from scratch is easier than trying to solve the problem.

P.S. is GPU Power Mizer Mode set in 1bash?

Code:

GPUPowerMizerMode_Adjust="YES"

The PowerMizer setting makes no difference.
However, i think there is something odd here. When i run manually
m1@m1-desktop:~$ lspci |grep VGA
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)
20:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)
30:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)

Then in the xorg.conf generated in an attempt to debug the issue i have:

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:32:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device2"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:48:0:0"
EndSection


Shouldn't there be some sort of relation between what the lspci command lists and the Xorg.conf device id ?

I think its better not to waste your time on finding the solution to the problem, as it should be none
start from scratch.

Set your bios, connect one gpu, boot,copy your 1bash (there is a bug that wont copy it from temp partition), reboot, check if every thing is ok.
shutdown, connect rest of the gpu, restart, while first one is still connected, it may reboot with xorg error.
After restart all should be ok.

[papampi]

Guys on P106 Maxximus007_AUTO_TEMPERATURE_CONTROL dont work. When temp reach target_temp and go above script do nothing((((
If anyone have to work it on P106. Plz write how.

What is your target temp and minimum fan speed ?
What are the individual temp limits? (even if its set to no)
Manual fan = No ?
maxximus auto temp = yes ?

[damNmad]

Is it possible to cpu mine Zcoin and gpu mine simultaneously on nvoc?

anyone has an answer to this?

fullzero, assuming it's not currently possible to cpu mine Zcoin, can you please add it as a feature in the next version?

If its not currently possible to CPU mine ZCOIN, what is the point of adding it??

[elsystem]

Is it possible to cpu mine Zcoin and gpu mine simultaneously on nvoc?

anyone has an answer to this?

fullzero, assuming it's not currently possible to cpu mine Zcoin, can you please add it as a feature in the next version?

If its not currently possible to CPU mine ZCOIN, what is the point of adding it??

It is possible to CPU mine Zcoin. that's the whole point. i don't think nvoc is configured to cpu mine Zcoin and gpu mine on other coins. that's the reason i asked fullzero if he can add it...

[Doftorul]

Hi guys, can someone give some hints or explain what is wrong with my rigs since only the gpu0 can have can receive/execute the fan speed as being set ? Below is the error i see all the time when any other than gpu0 fan gets set:

ERROR: Error assigning value 50 to attribute
       'GPUTargetFanSpeed' (m1-desktop:0[fan:1])
       as specified in assignment
       '[fan:1]/GPUTargetFanSpeed=50' (Unknown
       Error).

I am currently using rigs with 3 x 1080 Ti and 3 x 1070's and having the first release of v019 installed on SSD.
Tried manually to do:

nvidia-xconfig --enable-all-gpus
nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=4
nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/GPUFanControlState=1
nvidia-settings -a [fan:1]/GPUTargetFanSpeed=50

but the error is the same.
Other than being unable to set the fan speeds, the rigs are chugging along, however, the speed of the fans for the cards other than gpu0 is the factory default as neither the minimum fan speed set in 1bash gets applied, with or without the automated fan control feature.

Edit: in the nvidia x server settings i can see the Enable fan control feature for the gpu0 but it is missing for the other gpu's.

Does the error happens if you set speed to higher values like 60-65 too ?
I think I had the same problem on low values

Thank you for your answer !

Yes, the problem persists even if i set higher fan values or 100%...

In the Thermal Settings in the nvidia x settings utility only gpu0 has fan control option enabled, the other gpu's are missing this feature.

Then may be some things wrong with the image/OS
Some times starting from scratch is easier than trying to solve the problem.

P.S. is GPU Power Mizer Mode set in 1bash?

Code:

GPUPowerMizerMode_Adjust="YES"

The PowerMizer setting makes no difference.
However, i think there is something odd here. When i run manually
m1@m1-desktop:~$ lspci |grep VGA
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)
20:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)
30:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b81 (rev a1)

Then in the xorg.conf generated in an attempt to debug the issue i have:

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:32:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device2"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1070"
    BusID          "PCI:48:0:0"
EndSection


Shouldn't there be some sort of relation between what the lspci command lists and the Xorg.conf device id ?

I think its better not to waste your time on finding the solution to the problem, as it should be none
start from scratch.

Set your bios, connect one gpu, boot,copy your 1bash (there is a bug that wont copy it from temp partition), reboot, check if every thing is ok.
shutdown, connect rest of the gpu, restart, while first one is still connected, it may reboot with xorg error.
After restart all should be ok.

Well... i can build a complete rig for less than usd50 using older hp compaq business pc's like dc7800 or dc7900, everything works ok with dc7900, this issue seems to be related to the dc7800.
The dc7800 has 3 pciex slots as its biger sibling dc7900, the only difference being the chipset: dc7900 has a q45 chipset while dc7800 has a q35 chipset.
I'll try tomorrow with a dc7900 using the same gpu cards to see if it works.

These older motherboards might have glitches with the latest ubuntu...

EDIT: SOLUTION:

In the /etc/X11/xorg.conf in the Devices section there should be a
Screen         0
added right before the EndSection. That fixes it. Apparently if the busId of the VGA is >16 nvOc doesn't attach the screen to the cards and hence there is no power nor fan control enabled for the cards.
Tested the fix with old motherboards using Q35 and Q45 chipsets.

[damNmad]

Is it possible to cpu mine Zcoin and gpu mine simultaneously on nvoc?

anyone has an answer to this?

fullzero, assuming it's not currently possible to cpu mine Zcoin, can you please add it as a feature in the next version?

If its not currently possible to CPU mine ZCOIN, what is the point of adding it??

It is possible to CPU mine Zcoin. that's the whole point. i don't think nvoc is configured to cpu mine Zcoin and gpu mine on other coins. that's the reason i asked fullzero if he can add it...

Sorry for misunderstanding, ZCOIN CPU Mining isn't profitable at all (from my understanding). XMR used to be a little profitable; but it has changed in last 3 weeks; lets wait for fullzero's opinion.

[damNmad]

Any one having issue with MPH_SWITCHER ??

It was working fine, but stopped suddenly; can't see any error trace!!

[Hostels]

Guys on P106 Maxximus007_AUTO_TEMPERATURE_CONTROL dont work. When temp reach target_temp and go above script do nothing((((
If anyone have to work it on P106. Plz write how.

What is your target temp and minimum fan speed ?
What are the individual temp limits? (even if its set to no)
Manual fan = No ?
maxximus auto temp = yes ?

Maxximus007_AUTO_TEMPERATURE_CONTROL="YES"

MANUAL_FAN="NO"

# Maxximus007_AUTO_TEMPERATURE_CONTROL

TARGET_TEMP=65

__FAN_ADJUST=5      # Adjustment size in percent

POWER_ADJUST=0     # Adjustment size in watts (i dont want to down PL, but i try to use any (1,2,3,4,5) and nothning happen)

# Difference in actual temperature allowed before action:  Works only if current is BELOW target temp

ALLOWED_TEMP_DIFF=3

# Restore original power limit if fan speed is lower than this percentage

RESTORE_POWER_LIMIT=99

# lowest fan speed that will be used

MINIMAL_FAN_SPEED=60

INDIVIDUAL_TARGET_TEMPS="NO" 

[VoskCoin]

How can I edit nvOC and then use that as my nvOC baseline --- so I can flash it onto X hard drives and all I have to change is the worker name ?

[dbolivar]

How can I edit nvOC and then use that as my nvOC baseline --- so I can flash it onto X hard drives and all I have to change is the worker name ?

After setting up the baseline nvOC installation, you could simply create a new image of the partitions (or entire disk), and use it to flash new disks. For that, you would need to boot from a different drive, as the disk you're going to image shouldn't be mounted. I personally like GParted Live and PartedMagic, as they are loaded with several utilities for that, but you could just use the "dd" utility that comes with every modern Linux basic installation.

So: boot GParted Live from USB stick; have the disk you are going to create the image from ready; have a disk where to save the image file ready; use a partition/disk cloning utility (or "dd") to create the image; use that image to flash new disks. Note that depending on your hard drive sizes, ideally you should create images with only the used space (some utilities allow that), as it doesn't make much sense to create a (say) 250 GB image with only 10 GB used.

Finally, I don't think you'd need to change anything on the newly-flashed nvOC disks, as it automatically adjusts the worker name based on the IP address (but of course you can), and the Xorg reconfiguration should be done automatically too.

[VoskCoin]

How can I edit nvOC and then use that as my nvOC baseline --- so I can flash it onto X hard drives and all I have to change is the worker name ?

After setting up the baseline nvOC installation, you could simply create a new image of the partitions (or entire disk), and use it to flash new disks. For that, you would need to boot from a different drive, as the disk you're going to image shouldn't be mounted. I personally like GParted Live and PartedMagic, as they are loaded with several utilities for that, but you could just use the "dd" utility that comes with every modern Linux basic installation.

So: boot GParted Live from USB stick; have the disk you are going to create the image from ready; have a disk where to save the image file ready; use a partition/disk cloning utility (or "dd") to create the image; use that image to flash new disks. Note that depending on your hard drive sizes, ideally you should create images with only the used space (some utilities allow that), as it doesn't make much sense to create a (say) 250 GB image with only 10 GB used.

Finally, I don't think you'd need to change anything on the newly-flashed nvOC disks, as it automatically adjusts the worker name based on the IP address (but of course you can), and the Xorg reconfiguration should be done automatically too.

previously the worker name did not work properly for me when it was set on the auto adjust setting, did anyone else have that problem and could that have been a conflict with my router/switch?

thank you for the quick reply, is it possible to do this on windows?

Is there any benefit to periodically putting a freshly flashed USB in as opposed to one thats been mining for months?

[dbolivar]

How can I edit nvOC and then use that as my nvOC baseline --- so I can flash it onto X hard drives and all I have to change is the worker name ?

After setting up the baseline nvOC installation, you could simply create a new image of the partitions (or entire disk), and use it to flash new disks. For that, you would need to boot from a different drive, as the disk you're going to image shouldn't be mounted. I personally like GParted Live and PartedMagic, as they are loaded with several utilities for that, but you could just use the "dd" utility that comes with every modern Linux basic installation.

So: boot GParted Live from USB stick; have the disk you are going to create the image from ready; have a disk where to save the image file ready; use a partition/disk cloning utility (or "dd") to create the image; use that image to flash new disks. Note that depending on your hard drive sizes, ideally you should create images with only the used space (some utilities allow that), as it doesn't make much sense to create a (say) 250 GB image with only 10 GB used.

Finally, I don't think you'd need to change anything on the newly-flashed nvOC disks, as it automatically adjusts the worker name based on the IP address (but of course you can), and the Xorg reconfiguration should be done automatically too.

previously the worker name did not work properly for me when it was set on the auto adjust setting, did anyone else have that problem and could that have been a conflict with my router/switch?

thank you for the quick reply, is it possible to do this on windows?

Is there any benefit to periodically putting a freshly flashed USB in as opposed to one thats been mining for months?

For Windows the process would be similar: let's say you have your notebook with Win10. Plug the source drive in one USB port, the destination drive in another USB port, and run a disk cloning utility. That same disk cloning utility should allow you to create an image file to save on your notebook itself, to flash future drives. Check this website for some disk cloning utilities for Windows:

http://lifehacker.com/5839753/the-best-disk-cloning-app-for-windows

Now for your other questions:

1) Never had this kind of problem. My setup uses DHCP but with static IP assignments configured in my router, so there's a consistent hostname.

2) You PMed me with this question, but I'll reply here for others: if I understood, you wanted to know if it's possible to clone the nvOC installation before booting it at least once. I don't think it's a good idea, as there's that process to copy 1bash between partitions, adjusting them etc. (not sure if it still applies to v019). So just to be sure, boot it once, make sure it's mining correctly, then shutdown, and clone this installation.

3) I don't think you need to replace your USB drives unless they are giving read/write errors. After flashing and setting up everything, there aren't many disk writes that could wear out the drive, as far as I know.

[VoskCoin]

How can I edit nvOC and then use that as my nvOC baseline --- so I can flash it onto X hard drives and all I have to change is the worker name ?

After setting up the baseline nvOC installation, you could simply create a new image of the partitions (or entire disk), and use it to flash new disks. For that, you would need to boot from a different drive, as the disk you're going to image shouldn't be mounted. I personally like GParted Live and PartedMagic, as they are loaded with several utilities for that, but you could just use the "dd" utility that comes with every modern Linux basic installation.

So: boot GParted Live from USB stick; have the disk you are going to create the image from ready; have a disk where to save the image file ready; use a partition/disk cloning utility (or "dd") to create the image; use that image to flash new disks. Note that depending on your hard drive sizes, ideally you should create images with only the used space (some utilities allow that), as it doesn't make much sense to create a (say) 250 GB image with only 10 GB used.

Finally, I don't think you'd need to change anything on the newly-flashed nvOC disks, as it automatically adjusts the worker name based on the IP address (but of course you can), and the Xorg reconfiguration should be done automatically too.

previously the worker name did not work properly for me when it was set on the auto adjust setting, did anyone else have that problem and could that have been a conflict with my router/switch?

thank you for the quick reply, is it possible to do this on windows?

Is there any benefit to periodically putting a freshly flashed USB in as opposed to one thats been mining for months?

For Windows the process would be similar: let's say you have your notebook with Win10. Plug the source drive in one USB port, the destination drive in another USB port, and run a disk cloning utility. That same disk cloning utility should allow you to create an image file to save on your notebook itself, to flash future drives. Check this website for some disk cloning utilities for Windows:

http://lifehacker.com/5839753/the-best-disk-cloning-app-for-windows

Now for your other questions:

1) Never had this kind of problem. My setup uses DHCP but with static IP assignments configured in my router, so there's a consistent hostname.

2) You PMed me with this question, but I'll reply here for others: if I understood, you wanted to know if it's possible to clone the nvOC installation before booting it at least once. I don't think it's a good idea, as there's that process to copy 1bash between partitions, adjusting them etc. (not sure if it still applies to v019). So just to be sure, boot it once, make sure it's mining correctly, then shutdown, and clone this installation.

3) I don't think you need to replace your USB drives unless they are giving read/write errors. After flashing and setting up everything, there aren't many disk writes that could wear out the drive, as far as I know.

thanks for the informative replies, will give this a shot tomorrow morning

[dbolivar]

How can I edit nvOC and then use that as my nvOC baseline --- so I can flash it onto X hard drives and all I have to change is the worker name ?

After setting up the baseline nvOC installation, you could simply create a new image of the partitions (or entire disk), and use it to flash new disks. For that, you would need to boot from a different drive, as the disk you're going to image shouldn't be mounted. I personally like GParted Live and PartedMagic, as they are loaded with several utilities for that, but you could just use the "dd" utility that comes with every modern Linux basic installation.

So: boot GParted Live from USB stick; have the disk you are going to create the image from ready; have a disk where to save the image file ready; use a partition/disk cloning utility (or "dd") to create the image; use that image to flash new disks. Note that depending on your hard drive sizes, ideally you should create images with only the used space (some utilities allow that), as it doesn't make much sense to create a (say) 250 GB image with only 10 GB used.

Finally, I don't think you'd need to change anything on the newly-flashed nvOC disks, as it automatically adjusts the worker name based on the IP address (but of course you can), and the Xorg reconfiguration should be done automatically too.

previously the worker name did not work properly for me when it was set on the auto adjust setting, did anyone else have that problem and could that have been a conflict with my router/switch?

thank you for the quick reply, is it possible to do this on windows?

Is there any benefit to periodically putting a freshly flashed USB in as opposed to one thats been mining for months?

For Windows the process would be similar: let's say you have your notebook with Win10. Plug the source drive in one USB port, the destination drive in another USB port, and run a disk cloning utility. That same disk cloning utility should allow you to create an image file to save on your notebook itself, to flash future drives. Check this website for some disk cloning utilities for Windows:

http://lifehacker.com/5839753/the-best-disk-cloning-app-for-windows

Now for your other questions:

1) Never had this kind of problem. My setup uses DHCP but with static IP assignments configured in my router, so there's a consistent hostname.

2) You PMed me with this question, but I'll reply here for others: if I understood, you wanted to know if it's possible to clone the nvOC installation before booting it at least once. I don't think it's a good idea, as there's that process to copy 1bash between partitions, adjusting them etc. (not sure if it still applies to v019). So just to be sure, boot it once, make sure it's mining correctly, then shutdown, and clone this installation.

3) I don't think you need to replace your USB drives unless they are giving read/write errors. After flashing and setting up everything, there aren't many disk writes that could wear out the drive, as far as I know.

Or... just occured me: if you are sure your 1bash settings are correct and you don't need to change anything else, simply copy this file over to your next installations. You will need to flash the nvOC img file anyways, would take about the same amount of time as cloning.

This whole process I mentioned is worth it only if you customize other things after booting nvOC, not just 1bash.