How to Install, Setup and Mine Gridcoins in Tandem with BOINC [Windows]

This guide is for Windows users. Guides for Linux and MAC coming soon

This is a guide for installing, setting up and mining Gridcoins in tandem with BOINC. This guide will be updated as necessary. if you see information that is missing or that you would like to have added, please let me know.

Setup/Installation:
Step 1: Download and install BOINC (http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php) to the default install directory, if you install somewhere besides the default directory you will need to add these lines to your gridcoin.conf otherwise you may continue to step 2 (replace the file paths with the correct location of where you chose to install):

Code:

boincappfolder=C:\Program Files\Boinc\
boincdatafolder=C:\ProgramData\Boinc\

Step 2: Download and install Gridcoin (http://gridcoin.us/download/gridcoin.msi)
Step 3: Right-click the gridcoin-qt shortcut, go to compatibility and select "launch as administrator", save, start Gridcoin and allow it to sync
Step 4: Close Gridcoin and create a file called gridcoin.conf
Step 5: Add the following lines to your gridcoin.conf (be sure to edit "rpcuser", "rpcpassword" and "rpcport" with your own choice values):

Code:

rpcuser=RPCUser
rpcpassword=RPCPassword
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
rpcport=####
server=1
addnode=137.116.167.42
addnode=137.116.167.52
addnode=191.238.60.17
addnode=191.238.51.28
addnode=191.235.137.239
addnode=191.235.138.12
addnode=23.97.147.78
addnode=23.97.148.49
addnode=138.91.246.228
addnode=138.91.247.22
addnode=www.pgp.mx
addnode=98.114.181.178
addnode=76.187.184.27
addnode=66.187.94.194
addnode=76.74.177.224
addnode=84.125.196.167
addnode=71.233.139.62
addnode=72.92.48.105
addnode=72.208.65.226
addnode=77.64.220.124
addnode=50.152.78.46
addnode=207.229.136.136

Here are some additional flags which may be used used in gridcoin.conf:
Code:

Code:

poolmining=

Values:

Code:

true

Code:

false

- use to join the integrated pool

Code:

Code:

closeconhost=

Values:

Code:

true

Code:

false

- Allow/deny Gridcoin to close command prompt windows

Code:

Code:

cpumining=

Values:

Code:

true

Code:

false

- Enable/disable BOINC cpumining

Code:

Code:

boincappfolder=

Value:

Code:

c:\path\to\BOINC\installation\directory

- Use if you change BOINC's defualt install directory.

Code:

Code:

restartwallet=

Value:

Code:

# of minutes

- Use to restart your wallet every "#" minutes.

Code:

Code:

closemineronexit=

Values:

Code:

true

Code:

false

- Use with restartwallet= to keep your miner mining

Setup Cont...
Step 6: Save gridcoin.conf and place in %appdata\roaming\Gridcoin
Step 7: Start BOINC
Step 8: Start Gridcoin and wait for it to fully load/sync

Pool Mining:
IMPORTANT: For pool mining with Gridcoin, you won't be mining at a lower difficulty, but you will receive a small piece of every block found.

The only requirement is that you must find a block first to begin receiving payouts from the pool and you must find at least one block during every look-back period.

The look-back period is dynamic and is adjusted based on the difficulty/hashing power of the network. Basically, once you have found a block as long as you don't disable pool mining you should have no problem finding one block during each look-back period.

Since gridcoin has it's own internal pool, pool mining is VERY easy:

Step 1: Add the following line to your gridcoin.conf file:

Code:

poolmining=true

Step 2: Start Gridcoin

At this point if you have a preferred external miner you may begin mining the same way you would with any other coin (Yes, you pool mine Gridcoins using your own client and your own solo mining IP). If you do not have a preferred external miner and would like to use the packaged cgminer, advance to next section.

Solo Mining:
Step 1: In Gridcoin, go to Mining>Mining Console
Step 2: Click "Configuration" at the top of the mining console
Step 3: Select your GPU in "Device ID", check "load defaults for" to see if your GPU is listed there. If not, then please refer to this page for your card's settings: https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison
Step 4: Make sure the "enabled" box is checked, click "save" and then click "create cgminer instance".
Step 5: Exit the configuration screen and on the mining console page click "Restart Miner" and allow a few seconds for cgminer to compile the kernel
Step 6: Click "Show cgminer" if you'd like to see the cgminer console

CPUMining:
cpumining is not currently enabled but should be enabled soon. When you are ready to cpumine, please refer to this guide: https://cryptocointalk.com/topic/1922-cpu-mining-tutorialtopic/

Troubleshooting:
If you have an issue where your BOINC utilization is not displaying properly, be sure that you are launching Gridcoin as admin. If this does not work, try deleting "c:\programdata\boinc\gridcoin.dat" and restarting gridcoin.

If Gridcoin crashes on startup, verify that BOINC is installed in the default location, if you installed BOINC somewhere besides the default location, you will need to add these lines to your gridcoin.conf (replace the file paths with the correct location of where you chose to install):

Code:

boincappfolder=C:\Program Files\Boinc\
boincdatafolder=C:\ProgramData\Boinc\

This concludes this guide. Once again, if you see anything missing from this guide or have any information you would like added, please contact me and let me know, thanks!

Happy mining!

***1/7/2014 EDIT***
Updated the guide to reflect that Gridcoin should ALWAYS be launched as admin.
Updated the guide with a troubleshooting section.
Added instructions for pool mining.
Added instructions for installing BOINC in places besides the default directory.

***1/9/2014 EDIT***
Updated the guide to correct information about the pool mining look-back period.

***1/26/2014 EDIT***
Updated with guide with additional flags for gridcoin.conf

***2/21/2014 EDIT***
Made the guide easier to read

***4/11/2014 EDIT***
Updated addnodes for .conf