Can I use ASICMiner Block Erupter on Mac?

[an outright nihilist]

I own a MacBook Pro, capable of nearly everything, including dual-booting two OSes, namely Mac OS X 10.8.4 and Windows 8.

I use Mac 80% of the time and Windows for gaming only. Since I spend so much time on my Mac, can I use the Block Erupters on Mac OS X?

I read all about the Net as to how to get it to work in Windows' CGMiner. I have it installed in Mac OS X via homebrew, Terminal.

If I can't use them on Mac, can anyone post some instructions as to how to get them up and working on Windows 8?

P.S. I never liked CGMiner on both OSes. I use DiabloMiner on Windows and BFGMiner on Mac, so can I keep these two miners and still use them or must I use CGMiner?

[1715266900]

1715266900

[Philj6970]

I have used block erupters on my Mac Pro, but only with Bitminter software (Java based), they worked fine.

I have had lots of problems with other software, but got most stuff working eventually, using a PC version AMD 5770 card for GPU mining.

I havent tried any other software with my erupters (they are running on a Raspberry Pi to save electric costs) but I believe they would work ok on the Mac with the latest version of CGminer.

Phil.

edit:  You need to install a USB driver, the link is here on Bitcointalk somewhere (its a Silabs UART driver?)

[DopeLabs]

http://blog.nwoolls.com/2013/07/01/bitcoin-mining-on-mac-os-x-asics/


im using bfgminer with my USB's with no problems =]

[an outright nihilist]

http://blog.nwoolls.com/2013/07/01/bitcoin-mining-on-mac-os-x-asics/


im using bfgminer with my USB's with no problems =]

Lovely. Thanks! I was starting to wonder whether they would work on Mac... I noted that mining on Mac with CGMiner was faster than mining on Win8 with CGMiner. It may have to do with the OS's method of handling processes, which Mac has time and again proven that it was superior at.

That's why I chose Mac over Windows for nearly everything I do (which includes music making/editing, picture editing etc.)

[jimsonunique]

I own a MacBook Pro, capable of nearly everything, including dual-booting two OSes, namely Mac OS X 10.8.4 and Windows 8.

I use Mac 80% of the time and Windows for gaming only. Since I spend so much time on my Mac, can I use the Block Erupters on Mac OS X?

I read all about the Net as to how to get it to work in Windows' CGMiner. I have it installed in Mac OS X via homebrew, Terminal.

If I can't use them on Mac, can anyone post some instructions as to how to get them up and working on Windows 8?

P.S. I never liked CGMiner on both OSes. I use DiabloMiner on Windows and BFGMiner on Mac, so can I keep these two miners and still use them or must I use CGMiner?

macminer

[Philj6970]

I have not managed to get Macminer or Asteroid working on my MacPro, it maybe because I am running 10.7.4, or I dont have the correct libraries etc.

I have spent a lot of time trying, and finally gave up.

Cgminer works well, also Diablo and Bfgminer.

I must agree with the statements about the Mac being a nicer/faster OS to use, I have been a PC/MAC tech for many many years, didnt like the Mac much until the processors changed over to Intel.  I was always a fan of Linux/RISC OS due to being a network administrator on RS mini's (showing my age now).

The Mac is like a breath of fresh air compared to the pc.

They both have their advantages, but you can't run your PC as a Mac when you need to 

Phil

[dell123]

As others mentioned it can be a little bit of trial and error but there's no reason why you can't use your macbook for mining. Personally I don't like the way mac OS has changed over the years. It's like there is a child lock on the OS it limits everything you can do to the point it's not actually easier, it's just more difficult. Having said that, it still exceeds windows in terms of progression.

[jedimstr]

I've I used MacMiner and straight commandline BFGMiner via Homebrew but you can get pre-compiled versions of the latest BFGMiner and CGMiner from here: https://github.com/nwoolls/xgminer-osx/releases

You can also check out my video showing me setup my USB Block Erupters on my MacPro: http://youtu.be/hGYwCDXLrdQ

[an outright nihilist]

I have not managed to get Macminer or Asteroid working on my MacPro, it maybe because I am running 10.7.4, or I dont have the correct libraries etc.

I have spent a lot of time trying, and finally gave up.

Cgminer works well, also Diablo and Bfgminer.

I must agree with the statements about the Mac being a nicer/faster OS to use, I have been a PC/MAC tech for many many years, didnt like the Mac much until the processors changed over to Intel.  I was always a fan of Linux/RISC OS due to being a network administrator on RS mini's (showing my age now).

The Mac is like a breath of fresh air compared to the pc.

They both have their advantages, but you can't run your PC as a Mac when you need to 

Phil

Actually, you can. It's called a Hackintosh, or a hacked PC that can run Mac OS X. Search it up .

As others mentioned it can be a little bit of trial and error but there's no reason why you can't use your macbook for mining. Personally I don't like the way mac OS has changed over the years. It's like there is a child lock on the OS it limits everything you can do to the point it's not actually easier, it's just more difficult. Having said that, it still exceeds windows in terms of progression.

Child lock? Seriously... You don't own the Mac you are talking about do you? I am perfectly fine with my Mac, but that's me. In fact, after I transitioned to Mac from Windows, which took barely an hour, I never went back except to play games. In fact, I can barely remember all I that I learned about Windows. I still remember basics like how to install and run programs, but coding just vanished...

I've I used MacMiner and straight commandline BFGMiner via Homebrew but you can get pre-compiled versions of the latest BFGMiner and CGMiner from here: https://github.com/nwoolls/xgminer-osx/releases

You can also check out my video showing me setup my USB Block Erupters on my MacPro: http://youtu.be/hGYwCDXLrdQ

Thanks. Rather interesting...

[an outright nihilist]

http://blog.nwoolls.com/2013/07/01/bitcoin-mining-on-mac-os-x-asics/


im using bfgminer with my USB's with no problems =]

Well, I need some help. My BlockErupters have came and I have installed all the drivers and required stuff. The problem I have is that BFGMiner does not recognize my USB Miners. Also, for some weird reason, I cannot go to /dev to check on the miners, whether they have been recognized or not. Finder keeps telling me that I have no /dev folder at all O_o.

[jedimstr]

http://blog.nwoolls.com/2013/07/01/bitcoin-mining-on-mac-os-x-asics/


im using bfgminer with my USB's with no problems =]

Well, I need some help. My BlockErupters have came and I have installed all the drivers and required stuff. The problem I have is that BFGMiner does not recognize my USB Miners. Also, for some weird reason, I cannot go to /dev to check on the miners, whether they have been recognized or not. Finder keeps telling me that I have no /dev folder at all O_o.

Your /dev folder is hidden (as are most *nix based system directories).  Use the terminal to verify your drivers are working.  From the terminal command-line:
ls /dev/cu.*  

You should see items with names that have UART in them... those are your Block Erupters.  You may also see 2 BlueTooth related items, ignore those.

If you're seeing all your block erupters, you can startup BFGMiner with the right parameters to initialize/find them.

For BFGMiner versions 3.1.3 or lower:
-S all --icarus-options 115200:1:1 --icarus-timing 3.0=100

For the lastest BFGMiner versions 3.1.4 or higher:
-S erupter:all

 

[an outright nihilist]

Ah, fixed the bloody problem. It appears that nothing was wrong, just that BFGMiner did not automatically detect my miners. I had to manually enter the whole string of miner ID numbers just to get them to work... Anyone knows of a more automated way?

[an outright nihilist]

Bloody hell, again. Jumped ship to CGMiner, which worked instantly.

[an outright nihilist]

Another question: Can I increase the intensity of mining on ASICs? I know you can on GPUs, but on ASICs?

[jedimstr]

Ah, fixed the bloody problem. It appears that nothing was wrong, just that BFGMiner did not automatically detect my miners. I had to manually enter the whole string of miner ID numbers just to get them to work... Anyone knows of a more automated way?

Um....look at my post one message up from the one I'm quoting.. it has the automated parameters needed for BFGMiner to enable any Erupters it finds... no need to list them all separately

[an outright nihilist]

Ah, fixed the bloody problem. It appears that nothing was wrong, just that BFGMiner did not automatically detect my miners. I had to manually enter the whole string of miner ID numbers just to get them to work... Anyone knows of a more automated way?

Um....look at my post one message up from the one I'm quoting.. it has the automated parameters needed for BFGMiner to enable any Erupters it finds... no need to list them all separately

NVM. As said, CGMiner works for me. That's good enough, unless BFG gets me a faster hash rate?

[jedimstr]

Both work

Ah, fixed the bloody problem. It appears that nothing was wrong, just that BFGMiner did not automatically detect my miners. I had to manually enter the whole string of miner ID numbers just to get them to work... Anyone knows of a more automated way?

Um....look at my post one message up from the one I'm quoting.. it has the automated parameters needed for BFGMiner to enable any Erupters it finds... no need to list them all separately

NVM. As said, CGMiner works for me. That's good enough, unless BFG gets me a faster hash rate?

Both work, but the latest BFGMiner uses Erupter specific drivers instead of using the old Icarus chip support so some say it has better hashrates/fewer HW... but haven't compared myself.

Another thread talking about this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=268605.msg2876703#msg2876703

[-ck]

Block erupters use the icarus protocol for communication. There is no other way to talk to them. cgminer specifically detects erupters and treats them differently to other icarus devices. Older software versions did not know what an erupter was but worked with the regular icarus driver - however you had to add timing information for it to work optimally.

There is no such thing as an "erupter specific driver". Erupters use a serial usb interface chip between you and the device and your choice is to talk to that via a serial interface driver emulating the old serial communication port (invented 30 years ago) or directly via usb communications. The former approach (non-cgminer) requires an external 3rd party driver whereas the latter approach requires an driver to talk directly to usb (WinUSB) which is a Microsoft developed driver to use USB - no driver at all is needed on Linux or OSX to talk directly to USB.

Software changes will not get you a faster hashrate with these unless they're not working properly with one type of software.

[jedimstr]

Block erupters use the icarus protocol for communication. There is no other way to talk to them. cgminer specifically detects erupters and treats them differently to other icarus devices. Older software versions did not know what an erupter was but worked with the regular icarus driver - however you had to add timing information for it to work optimally.

There is no such thing as an "erupter specific driver". Erupters use a serial usb interface chip between you and the device and your choice is to talk to that via a serial interface driver emulating the old serial communication port (invented 30 years ago) or directly via usb communications. The former approach (non-cgminer) requires an external 3rd party driver whereas the latter approach requires an driver to talk directly to usb (WinUSB) which is a Microsoft developed driver to use USB - no driver at all is needed on Linux or OSX to talk directly to USB.

Software changes will not get you a faster hashrate with these unless they're not working properly with one type of software.

I stand corrected... that's what I get for listening to the random crap being thrown about in the forum

[chorchonga]

Oops, forgot to update cgminer!

But, now, I'm getting this:

[2013-11-08 14:05:37] Started cgminer 3.7.2
 [2013-11-08 14:05:38] Icarus detect (4:2) failed to initialise (incorrect devic
e?)
 [2013-11-08 14:05:39] No devices detected!
 [2013-11-08 14:05:39] Waiting for USB hotplug devices or press q to quit
 [2013-11-08 14:05:39] Need to specify at least one pool server.

**************************


Old thread, but relevant to my issue.

I just got a couple of Block Erupters for fun, and they are showing in the dev folder as /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART, but cgminer isn't recognizing them.  

output of cgminer --ndevs:
 [2013-11-08 13:50:06] CL Platform 0 vendor: Apple                    
 [2013-11-08 13:50:06] CL Platform 0 name: Apple                    
 [2013-11-08 13:50:06] CL Platform 0 version: OpenCL 1.2 (Aug 24 2013 21:03:27)                    
 [2013-11-08 13:50:06] Platform 0 devices: 1                    
 [2013-11-08 13:50:06]    0   GeForce 320M                    
 [2013-11-08 13:50:06] 1 GPU devices max detected

Any ideas? Thanks!

[nwoolls]

I just got a couple of Block Erupters for fun, and they are showing in the dev folder as /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART, but cgminer isn't recognizing them.  

Check out the tutorial at http://asics.xgminer.com. You are mixing up your drivers and mining software. You need to either install the USB to UART driver and use bfgminer, or uninstall the USB to UART driver and use cgminer.