I don't know how to mine!

[jaredk]

I have my own personal wallet and a wallet online. I have also recently downloaded GUIMiner (you know the miner that is supposed to be easier for the beginner), and I can not start mining with it. I know there has to be something that I am doing wrong. I have tried several times to join Slush's pool as well as DeepBit and bestbitcoinminingpool. All of these pools will say that they are connecting, only to never change status.  I am sorry if this is an easy fix but this is the last thing holding me back from mining and I need guidance.
xJared

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[Auspician]

It is possible that you have a firewall/antivirus in place that is blocking your ability to mine.  It is also possible that you are simply not inputting the correct information.  I'd be happy to help you get up and running, but I'll need a couple of screenshots to see what is going on.  At minimum what is needed is a GUIminer screenshot, and screenshots of your pool accounts. 

Additionally, it would be helpful to know what GFX cards you're using, what drivers you're using, and what version of Stream SDK that you're using.  If the previous sentence seems foreign to you, it is possible that you might simply not have all the needed software installed that you need to mine.

I'll do what I can to help after you provide a bit more information on your setup. 

[jaredk]

Okay, here's the information you wanted:

www.photobucket.com/jaredcomputer

[Auspician]

It appears that you don't have OpenCL driver's installed.  From the screenshots it appears that you might be trying to mine on an integrated graphics card.  If that's the case, you won't make much progress even if your card supports OpenCL.  

Based purely upon your last screenshot, there appears to be a checkbox for OpenCL in your GPU tab of 'Geeks3d...'  Have you tried checking this box before opening GUIminer?  

If you could pull up your Device Manager from the control panel and tell me exactly what it says under Display Adapters that could also prove to be helpful.

Edit: It also says 'No GPU support for OpenCL' in gray text.  Which leads me to believe that either you're trying to mine on an integrated GFX card or you don't have any OpenCL driver's installed.

[jaredk]

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee421/jaredmaxwell1585/device.png

[Auspician]

Yup, looks like you're working with an integrated GFX card.  That won't work for mining.  If you're running on a desktop, go grab a PCIe GFX card (I'd recommend something in the ATI 5000 and 6000 series) and install that.  If you're running a notebook, well . . . I don't know what to tell you.  Buy a desktop. 

Sorry for the bad news, but at least we've identified the problem.

[jaredk]

well, sadly I am running a laptop. Perhaps you could help me in building a mining rig?

I've read over this article: http://bitminer.info/
The person who wrote that suggests certain graphics cards that he claims will pay themselves off over time. He also states that some graphic cards can never replace their own value.

Also, I only have 125 - 150 to spend. is this at all possible?

xJared



NOTE! -- If not, could you teach me how to CPU mine in a pool? I understand that it is slow, but it is something to get me going until GPU mining is set-up

[Auspician]

To build a desktop for mining you're going to be looking at a minimum of $350 or so.  As far as CPU mining goes, I'll be the first to admit that is outside my knowledge, so maybe it would be worthwhile posting a new thread to ask about that.  TBH you'll probably burn more electricity running your CPU hot than you could possibly hope to make in Bitcoins, so an alternative is always buying a few coins on an exchange.

[rnd0000]

Its still possible to mine for namecoins with the CPU to at least "get the feeling of it".

While its less profitable (20% less, last time I've checked), it may give you some namecoins which you can convert to
bitcoins.

http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/2011/05/12/namecoin-a-dns-alternative-based-on-bitcoin.html

Usign, eg bitparking.com as a pool.

You will need some kind of CPU miner for that (google will find it for you.)

[jaredk]

Its still possible to mine for namecoins with the CPU to at least "get the feeling of it".

While its less profitable (20% less, last time I've checked), it may give you some namecoins which you can convert to
bitcoins.

http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/2011/05/12/namecoin-a-dns-alternative-based-on-bitcoin.html

Usign, eg bitparking.com as a pool.

You will need some kind of CPU miner for that (google will find it for you.)

Thanks for the tip!
I am currently running www.bitcoinplus.com's online CPU miner. However, the payout is very low, right now it is 0.00003102. I get about four of those an hour. Do you know if the namecoins are better?
xJared

[rnd0000]

Its still possible to mine for namecoins with the CPU to at least "get the feeling of it".

While its less profitable (20% less, last time I've checked), it may give you some namecoins which you can convert to
bitcoins.

Thanks for the tip!
I am currently running www.bitcoinplus.com's online CPU miner. However, the payout is very low, right now it is 0.00003102. I get about four of those an hour. Do you know if the namecoins are better?
xJared

You will get 10 times more namecoins at the same time. But I do not know if they are "better". Namecoins has a special purpose
(independent domain name system). You will need 14 namecoin to pay for the domain.

Namecoins may be better (one zero less in your payout, if my calculations are correct)
for the human miner's psychology, but "better" needs better definition 

[jaredk]

Its still possible to mine for namecoins with the CPU to at least "get the feeling of it".

While its less profitable (20% less, last time I've checked), it may give you some namecoins which you can convert to
bitcoins.

Thanks for the tip!
I am currently running www.bitcoinplus.com's online CPU miner. However, the payout is very low, right now it is 0.00003102. I get about four of those an hour. Do you know if the namecoins are better?
xJared

You will get 10 times more namecoins at the same time. But I do not know if they are "better". Namecoins has a special purpose
(independent domain name system). You will need 14 namecoin to pay for the domain.

Namecoins may be better (one zero less in your payout, if my calculations are correct)
for the human miner's psychology, but "better" needs better definition 

Within the last twenty-four hours, I have learned everything that I possibly could about BitCoins (Yep, I said 24 hours, I haven't slept at all, and no i'm not tired). My two favorite things about BTC is that it can be transfered instantly and that you can mine it online without the use of software. Do you know of a program online that lets you CPU mine for namecoins, or am I completely lost on namecoins?
xJared

[rnd0000]

Oh. No. I have no idea of such online program...