CGWatcher 1.4.0, the GUI/monitor for CGMiner and BFGMiner to prevent downtime

[milone]

There have been no changes to donation mining in CGWatcher. It is still 100% completely optional and disabled by default.

The strings in CGRemote's INI file were the result of copying code from CGWatcher. CGRemote has never had donation mining... neither an option to enable it or even the code that would perform it. A user pointed out the strings in the INI file and thought donation mining was being included in CGRemote, so I've removed all code related to donation mining (which was code originally copied from CGWatcher) from CGRemote. It never occurred to me that some users may have seen it as evidence of donation mining in CGRemote, but looking back I should have been more careful about copying the code. I also did not hard-code anything in place of these INI file strings. They no longer exist anywhere in CGRemote because they were unused anyway.

[Ntrain2k]

this program is not very user friendly.
tried to make changes and trying to figure it out is such a pain.

Not to be harsh, but it is about the easiest mining/monitoring program I have ran across.

Maybe you should use gui miner or something.

[Mylo]

There have been no changes to donation mining in CGWatcher. It is still 100% completely optional and disabled by default.

The strings in CGRemote's INI file were the result of copying code from CGWatcher. CGRemote has never had donation mining... neither an option to enable it or even the code that would perform it. A user pointed out the strings in the INI file and thought donation mining was being included in CGRemote, so I've removed all code related to donation mining (which was code originally copied from CGWatcher) from CGRemote. It never occurred to me that some users may have seen it as evidence of donation mining in CGRemote, but looking back I should have been more careful about copying the code. I also did not hard-code anything in place of these INI file strings. They no longer exist anywhere in CGRemote because they were unused anyway.

Excuse my temper man, I was quite worried about my hash going the wrong way when profit is slashed in half these days already.

Nevertheless, LAST CGREMOTE UPDATE IS AWESOME!
Man, thank you so much for what you did for pool management so far, the way it handles workers, pools and actually modifiying a .conf file at each miner is fantastic.
And this whole "Pool management" step by step guide is a great addition which does exactly what we had a hunger for.

The CGWatcher and CGRemote bundle works now the most efficient way man and the whole coin switching process is a cakewalk, thanks to you/your company! Greatly appreciated.

[Hueristic]

This does not look like it is reporting correct. Or am I reading this wrong.

[milone]

Are you referring to the accepted and rejected share counts? If so, go to Settings -> Display tab and set "Display share count totals as" to "Diff1", and click Save Settings.

As for the hashrate, cgminer's API returns the hashrate in Mh/s, with only two decimal places. So CGWatcher will show a slightly rounded number because that is the number the miner is reporting via API.

[Hueristic]

Are you referring to the accepted and rejected share counts? If so, go to Settings -> Display tab and set "Display share count totals as" to "Diff1", and click Save Settings.

As for the hashrate, cgminer's API returns the hashrate in Mh/s, with only two decimal places. So CGWatcher will show a slightly rounded number because that is the number the miner is reporting via API.

YES! thx, could you tell me why the efficiency is so low? I seem to be getting good WU avg?

The reason I ask is because I have a system on the same pool getting a much higher reject rate yet the efficiency on that system is 151%

I don't get it?

[Luke-Jr]

Does CGWatcher hide the BFGMiner window? Would an informational notice annoy anyone?

[milone]

Does CGWatcher hide the BFGMiner window? Would an informational notice annoy anyone?

Hiding the miner window is optional and disabled by default in CGWatcher.

If this would display a message box, CGWatcher could close it immediately and automatically... but then again so could malware. The user may see a flash of the message box but it would disappear too quickly to read, and that could alarm miners unaware of what it is. If it's a command window prompt, it could still be handled automatically, albeit using less-than-ideal methods. Either way, it is something CGWatcher would have to bypass in order to preserve some of its core functionality - restarting miners, scheduled mining, etc.

I can appreciate the intent, but either way I think it would be circumvented fairly easily.

Edit: Just looked at the code. Yeah a message box can be closed by other software pretty easily, and probably quick enough that most users wouldn't notice it. I think malware creators would have no problem bypassing this... or would just use older versions or compile bfgminer without this prompt.

[Hueristic]

Can Noblecoin be added please. Or is there a way to manually add a coin?

[milone]

If a coin is not listed on your selected data provider (CoinChoose.com or CoinWarz.com), you can it manually in the Coin Manager window. Go to the Settings tab and click Other Tools... button at the bottom. In the popup menu, select Manage Coins. You can also change your data provider in this window, but keep in mind that using CoinWarz requires an API key, which may cost money depending on how many API calls you use.

[ApC_IcE]

Hi all.

I'm a bit new to cgwatcher but I'm reading logs I don't understand.

I'm mining PAWN in the multipool on x11 with sph SGminer
I installed CGwatcher  1.3.8
I can't select PAWN/X11 or SGminer by the way.

I get these in my last 50 log entries:

Code:

[27-5-2014 16:10:16]     [d] Web.DownloadData exception: The remote name could not be resolved: 'cgwatcher.cryptocoined.com' The data from http://cgwatcher.cryptocoined.com/data/ad/ad.txt was not downloaded successfully.
[27-5-2014 16:10:17]     [d] Coins data for 63 coin(s) updated from CoinChoose.
[27-5-2014 16:25:16]     [d] Coins data for 63 coin(s) updated from CoinChoose.
[27-5-2014 16:40:17]     [d] Coins data for 63 coin(s) updated from CoinChoose.
[27-5-2014 16:55:17]     [d] Coins data for 63 coin(s) updated from CoinChoose.
[27-5-2014 17:10:16]     [d] Web.DownloadData exception: The remote name could not be resolved: 'cgwatcher.cryptocoined.com' The data from http://cgwatcher.cryptocoined.com/data/ad/ad.txt was not downloaded successfully.
[27-5-2014 17:10:17]     [d] Coins data for 63 coin(s) updated from CoinChoose.

What is this?

[milone]

What is this?

By default, CGWatcher uses http://coinchoose.com to get a list of coins as well as coin data and profitability values. You can view this data by going to the Settings tab and clicking the Profitability button. By knowing this data, you can then set CGWatcher to mine whichever of your profiles is most profitable automatically if you wish. That is why it says "Coins data for 63 coins updated" every 15 minutes. You can disable or change this in Coin Manager (go to Settings -> Other Tools... -> Manage Coins).

The errors related to ad.txt can be ignored. A user had setup a subdomain for me to use on a hosting account that was he had paid for and no longer needed, therefore going unused (at http://cgwatcher.cryptocoined.com) and after a year or so his hosting account recently expired. There are backup locations for when this occurs, and the ad.txt information isn't necessary for the program to operate correctly. It's actually just a list of ads - one is displayed for 30 seconds every hour (and can be closed immediately) - which, by the way, I've made no money on. I mention that because recently there were some misconceptions that I'm rolling in money from this. I initially create it to promote CGRemote, and I've also shown ads for projects and services I support. I did plan to offer advertising for a nominal fee, but it was quickly buried by other priorities. The next update will remove this web location as it is no longer active, but until then that debug log entry will be created every so often. It can safely be ignored.

As far as not being able to select PAWN, you can add coins manually in the Coin Manager window. You can also set it to use http://coinwarz.com as the data provider if you find it has a better list of coins, but it requires an API key (you have to pay for API calls once your initial free ones are used). This API key is required by the coinwarz site operator and I do not make anything from it. I added coinwarz support at the request of many users. We're currently working on creating our own comprehensive list of coins for our software to use instead of depending on these outside operators (though I think they're both great sites).

As for not being able to select the miner, what is the filename of the miner you're using? It's getting tough to keep up with all of these miners. When editing a profile, you can change the filter to "All Files" to select a miner that is not known to CGWatcher. You can also rename the miner's filename to one that CGWatcher does know about - cgminer.exe, bfgminer.exe, sgminer.exe, vertminer.exe. There is some support for new or unknown miners, but I'm sure it can be better. It's mostly cosmetic anyway... all that matters is that their APIs work the same.

[Glizlack]

Is there a way to add x11 or x13 coins to your list? It would make the setup a bit more easy to use and keeping track of my mining options a bit simpler.  Also is there a way to run add a stratum option kind of like multiminer has?

Steve

[Ninetoe]

is there any way i can make cgwatcher not parse my config file ?

im trying to use a miner that uses options cgwatcher doesnt support, and it cant handle it at all, throwing all kinds of errors.

[kidyubyub]

Proper config to have CGWatcher monitor my Block Erupter Cube?

What additional info do you need, if any?

Thanks in advance.

[cryptomole]

Hi All
I am trying to get Cgwatcher to work with bfgminer (this is a fork of bfg with zeus miner drivers)
I have no problems with cgminer

bfgminer works fine if started independently of cgwatcher

But whenever I start it through cgwatcher it starts and then the miner closes after a couple of seconds
The API default port is 4028 so should be fine

Any ideas?
Thanks very much

[Ntrain2k]

Hi All
I am trying to get Cgwatcher to work with bfgminer (this is a fork of bfg with zeus miner drivers)
I have no problems with cgminer

bfgminer works fine if started independently of cgwatcher

But whenever I start it through cgwatcher it starts and then the miner closes after a couple of seconds
The API default port is 4028 so should be fine

Any ideas?
Thanks very much

Ditto!

When trying to use it with the zeus version of bfgminer it just opens the window for a few seconds, closes it and then repeats.

Base thread about this version here:

https://litecointalk.org/index.php?topic=20477.0

I also got this question from the developer:

regarding cgwatch: not at all, might be a API call what is required I am not providing. So maybe cgwatch also have a "debug" to turn additional output on? Maybe you can past it here...

[milone]

Glizlack: The latest version better supports new algorithms, and you can add coins manually in Coin Manager (Settings->Other Tools...->Manage Coins). Otherwise, coin data is loaded from your selected provider - CoinChoose or CoinWarz. So you'd need to get in touch with those developers about adding new coins to their data. I tried to write it so that if coins with new algorithms are added, CGWatcher can handle them without requiring a software update. Even without knowing what words they'll both use for new algorithms, once I find them out I should be able to update the website where CGWatcher gets its algorithm data from and CGWatcher will pick this data up about every hour.

Regarding your stratum question, I'm not sure what you're referring to. CGWatcher doesn't limit anything you can do with the miner, so anything that the miner supports you should be able to do with CGWatcher.


Ninetoe: In version 1.4.0 (available now), there are a few new settings (Settings->Miner). The first is to disable using a temporary config file. The reason CGWatcher uses a temporary config file is because some users share config files between miners, then use arguments or variables to customize settings for each miner. Using a temporary file ensures one miner doesn't affect another. Using a temporary config file also allows arguments to override config file settings because CGWatcher applies the arguments to the temporary config file before launching the miner. Otherwise if the same setting is defined in both arguments and a config file, the config file value is used.

The downside to using a temporary config file is that if there are significant changes to config file format (e.g. new pool property settings in SGMiner 4.2.1), it requires a software update. (CGWatcher can handle unknown settings, but currently not unknown pool settings).

If you disable the use of temporary config file, CGWatcher may then need to modify your original config file before launching the miner (and then restore it after the miner is launched). The reason it may need to modify the original config file is to a) enable the API if it is not properly enabled, and b) replace variable names with values if you're using variables. The way it enables the API here is different than when using a temporary config file, in that it just inserts text if needed so if your config file has settings unknown to it (including pool settings), they won't be touched.

If you disable using a temporary config file, there is then a second setting "Do not modify original config file to enable API during miner start". Enabling this will prevent CGWatcher from inserting the API-enabling settings, essentially leaving your config file untouched. The only reason it will make changes now is if you're using variables, in which case it will restore the original config file contents once the miner has started. If this setting is enabled, it requires the user to make sure the API is properly enabled.

So hopefully these two settings will make it easier to use CGWatcher with new config file settings without worrying that CGWatcher doesn't know what those settings are and doesn't use them in the temporary config file.


kidyubyub: I don't have any experience with a Block Erupter Cube. If it runs mining software on the device itself, it is probably better suited for CGRemote. You may be able to use bfgminer as a proxy similar to how it can be done with Block Erupter Blades. In that case, you would run bfgminer on a Windows PC with CGWatcher, and the device would show up in bfgminer. You can find more information in bfgminer's README.ASIC document.


cryptomole/Ntrain2k: Can you send me the config file or arguments you use to start bfgminer outside of CGWatcher? I'd also suggest disabling the use of temporary config file (Settings->Miner->Disable temporary config file creation during miner start). That way if there is anything unique about the config file that CGWatcher is having a hard time with, it is less likely to modify it. Your config file/arguments should tell me if there is a new specific setting CGWatcher needs to know about, and if that's the case I'll get an update released today with the changes.

[Ntrain2k]

cryptomole/Ntrain2k: Can you send me the config file or arguments you use to start bfgminer outside of CGWatcher? I'd also suggest disabling the use of temporary config file (Settings->Miner->Disable temporary config file creation during miner start). That way if there is anything unique about the config file that CGWatcher is having a hard time with, it is less likely to modify it. Your config file/arguments should tell me if there is a new specific setting CGWatcher needs to know about, and if that's the case I'll get an update released today with the changes.

bfgminer.exe --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://SERVER:PORT -u WORKER.NAME -p WORKER.PASSWORD --zeus-cc 6 --zeus-clk 340 -S zeus:\\.\COM4 -S zeus:\\.\COM5 --no-submit-stale

Thanks!

[Ntrain2k]

cryptomole/Ntrain2k: Can you send me the config file or arguments you use to start bfgminer outside of CGWatcher? I'd also suggest disabling the use of temporary config file (Settings->Miner->Disable temporary config file creation during miner start). That way if there is anything unique about the config file that CGWatcher is having a hard time with, it is less likely to modify it. Your config file/arguments should tell me if there is a new specific setting CGWatcher needs to know about, and if that's the case I'll get an update released today with the changes.

I selected the disable temporary config file and it still does it. Here is what pops up in the cgwatcher log:

Code:

[6/30/2014 6:40:29 PM]       Ensure miner is running check skipped because miner is set to start or is being restarted by another option.
[6/30/2014 6:40:33 PM]       User clicked Start Mining button. Attempting to start miner...
[6/30/2014 6:40:33 PM]   [d] Miner.StartMining called. [Profile=Default;MinerFile=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\MP.bat;MinerFileUsed=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\temp_MP.bat;MinerExecutable=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\bfgminer.exe;Config=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\CGWatcher-1.3.5\temp.conf ();Arguments=/c;Anticipated Port=4028;Used Port=4028;IsBatCmd=True;BatCmdPath=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\temp_MP.bat (C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\MP.bat);LastKnownInstanceCount=0/1]
[6/30/2014 6:40:34 PM]   [d] BAT successfully launched BFGMiner executable process using ProcessID 916.
[6/30/2014 6:40:34 PM]   [d] Miner.IsProcessAlive(916) returns True. [First try, process is alive.] (CPID916/CMPID=916/CBPID=3552)
[6/30/2014 6:40:34 PM]   [d] Waiting for BFGMiner to initialize API. Process 916 alive=True, minerid=916, bat id=3552.
[6/30/2014 6:40:35 PM]       No pools set in config file or arguments! If I need to restart the miner it will be stuck at prompt until you manually enter this information. Putting this into the config file or arguments is highly recommended to ensure continuous mining.
[6/30/2014 6:40:35 PM]   [d] Watch for miner, expected process is 916 (alive).
[6/30/2014 6:40:35 PM]   [d] BFGMiner process is running using ProcessID 916, expecting port 4028.
[6/30/2014 6:40:36 PM]   [d] BFGMiner running but without API access... waiting to check again.
[6/30/2014 6:40:41 PM]   [d] BFGMiner running and API initialized on port 4028, process matched to profile Default.
[6/30/2014 6:40:41 PM]   [d] Finish wait for miner to start, process is 916 (alive).
[6/30/2014 6:40:41 PM]       BFGMiner started successfully.
[6/30/2014 6:40:41 PM]   [d] Miner.StartMining.DeleteTemporaryBatchFile 'C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\temp_MP.bat' deleted successfully.
[6/30/2014 6:40:41 PM]       Current pool is stratum+tcp://pool1.us.multipool.us:7777
[6/30/2014 6:40:43 PM]       BFGMiner process closed outside of CGWatcher!
[6/30/2014 6:40:43 PM]   [d] 1 miner instances found, 1 ignored.
[6/30/2014 6:40:43 PM]   [d] Miner.IsProcessAlive(3552) returns False. [First try, test process is nothing.  ex: Process with an Id of 3552 is not running.] (CPID0/CMPID=0/CBPID=3552)
[6/30/2014 6:40:44 PM]   [d] Monitor.EnsureMinerRunning found miner stopped; I will wait at least 15 seconds to ensure miner is running...
[6/30/2014 6:40:44 PM]       The miner is closed outside of CGWatcher and you've requested for me to ensure it stays running. Attempting to start...
[6/30/2014 6:40:44 PM]   [d] Miner.StartMining called. [Profile=Default;MinerFile=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\MP.bat;MinerFileUsed=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\temp_MP.bat;MinerExecutable=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\bfgminer.exe;Config=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\CGWatcher-1.3.5\temp.conf ();Arguments=/c;Anticipated Port=4028;Used Port=4028;IsBatCmd=True;BatCmdPath=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\temp_MP.bat (C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\MP.bat);LastKnownInstanceCount=0/1]
[6/30/2014 6:40:45 PM]   [d] BAT successfully launched BFGMiner executable process using ProcessID 2668.
[6/30/2014 6:40:45 PM]   [d] Miner.IsProcessAlive(2668) returns True. [First try, process is alive.] (CPID2668/CMPID=2668/CBPID=4336)
[6/30/2014 6:40:45 PM]   [d] Waiting for BFGMiner to initialize API. Process 2668 alive=True, minerid=2668, bat id=4336.
[6/30/2014 6:40:46 PM]       No pools set in config file or arguments! If I need to restart the miner it will be stuck at prompt until you manually enter this information. Putting this into the config file or arguments is highly recommended to ensure continuous mining.
[6/30/2014 6:40:46 PM]   [d] Watch for miner, expected process is 2668 (alive).
[6/30/2014 6:40:46 PM]   [d] BFGMiner process is running using ProcessID 2668, expecting port 4028.
[6/30/2014 6:40:47 PM]   [d] BFGMiner running but without API access... waiting to check again.
[6/30/2014 6:40:52 PM]   [d] BFGMiner running and API initialized on port 4028, process matched to profile Default.
[6/30/2014 6:40:52 PM]   [d] Finish wait for miner to start, process is 2668 (alive).
[6/30/2014 6:40:52 PM]       BFGMiner started successfully.
[6/30/2014 6:40:52 PM]   [d] Miner.StartMining.DeleteTemporaryBatchFile 'C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\temp_MP.bat' deleted successfully.
[6/30/2014 6:40:52 PM]       Current pool is stratum+tcp://pool1.us.multipool.us:7777
[6/30/2014 6:40:59 PM]       BFGMiner process closed outside of CGWatcher!
[6/30/2014 6:40:59 PM]   [d] 1 miner instances found, 1 ignored.
[6/30/2014 6:40:59 PM]   [d] Miner.IsProcessAlive(2588) returns True. [First try, process is alive.] (CPID0/CMPID=0/CBPID=4336)
[6/30/2014 6:40:59 PM]   [d] Monitor.EnsureMinerRunning found miner stopped; I will wait at least 15 seconds to ensure miner is running...
[6/30/2014 6:40:59 PM]       The miner is closed outside of CGWatcher and you've requested for me to ensure it stays running. Attempting to start...
[6/30/2014 6:41:00 PM]   [d] Miner.StartMining called. [Profile=Default;MinerFile=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\MP.bat;MinerFileUsed=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\temp_MP.bat;MinerExecutable=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\bfgminer.exe;Config=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\CGWatcher-1.3.5\temp.conf ();Arguments=/c;Anticipated Port=4028;Used Port=4028;IsBatCmd=True;BatCmdPath=C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\temp_MP.bat (C:\Users\Mine\Desktop\BFGminerZ\MP.bat);LastKnownInstanceCount=0/1]
[6/30/2014 6:41:00 PM]   [d] BAT successfully launched BFGMiner executable process using ProcessID 3816.
[6/30/2014 6:41:00 PM]   [d] Miner.IsProcessAlive(3816) returns True. [First try, process is alive.] (CPID3816/CMPID=3816/CBPID=2600)
[6/30/2014 6:41:00 PM]   [d] Waiting for BFGMiner to initialize API. Process 3816 alive=True, minerid=3816, bat id=2600.