HOWTO: Run 50 gridseed miners off a single Windows 7 x64 machine-w/ downloads

[zeetak]

I've been able to get my 48 miners powered by a single windows x64 machine. I was using anker 13 port powered hubs and I found that you can't daisy-chain them, as windows sees each block of 4 ports as a daisy-chained "hub."  

Basically, you need to plug each hub into the machine or, at the very least, daisy-chain off the first port. Here is my current setup, minus a few gridseeds.

When I initially plugged these units in, I couldn’t get windows 7 x64 to see the virtual com ports, and found I needed to install the virtual com driver that I found here: http://www.diffpair.com/lightningasic/LIGHTNINGASIC%20Gold%20miner%20USB%20driver.rar

I’m running separate instances of the custom-coded cpuminer with the BTC core shut off for scrypt-only mining. I was able to get that from here:  http://cryptomining-blog.com/1165-download-cpuminer-for-gridseed-5-chip-gc3355-asics-with-reduced-power-usage/


I have been able to get about 16 mh when mining with 49 of these units. I’ve been running them for 48 hours straight now with no disconnects, no reboots, and 100% stability. If you are having issues with the supplied controller, I suggest you ditch it and use a computer. If you’ve still got motherboards lying around from your GPU mining days, setup a quick install of windows/linux and run your gridseeds off that.

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[zeetak]

Then once you've gotten this done, you need to create a couple scripts that will help you run the cpuminer instances.

first, called mine.bat:

Code:

echo on
miner-start.bat stratum+tcp://us-east.multipool.us:7777

The next one, called miner-start.bat. Note--if you are running more than 10 COM ports, you'll need to slightly modify the COM designation in the script from COM12 to \\.\COM12.

Code:

start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=COM2 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=COM3 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=COM4 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=COM5 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=COM6 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=COM7 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=COM8 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=COM9 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=\\.\COM10 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 
start C:\Users\zeetak\Desktop\cpuminer-GC3355-win32-fixed\minerd.exe  --freq=850 --gc3355=\\.\COM11 --url=%1 --userpass=zeetak.1:x 

Now when you run mine.bat, you'll open up xx instances of minerd and will start hashing away. My next step is Windowskey-D to minimize everything, then maximize just the windows you need. As you can see, the amount of system resources it is using is hardly any, so it shouldn't be a problem to run 50 instances on your desktop:

[daddyfatsax]

Awesome. Fed-Ex just delivered my 20 pack, now I just have to try and sneak out of work for a few hours to get them going.

[zeetak]

Here are some things you’ll need if you just have the gridseeds but didn't get the kit:

wire to connect power:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZX8NX0/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

barrel connectors: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058RLD9C/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

power supplies: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D7CWSCG/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[joeventura]

VERY HELPFUL I forgot that batch file trick in passing the variable.

Also your hashrate looks a little slower that I had expected it to be, although I don't know whether you are running all 50 but 15Mh was what I would expect

[emoomjean]

Have you considered running it as a service?  Would certainly clean things up if you actually want to continue using that computer while mining! (not to mention you don't have to worry about when the computer crashes and/or reboots while you're away). 

[miner765]

Reserved.

[zeetak]

Have you considered running it as a service?  Would certainly clean things up if you actually want to continue using that computer while mining! (not to mention you don't have to worry about when the computer crashes and/or reboots while you're away). 

That's a good idea. I am not much of a windows guru, so I'll have to look up how to do that.  Will there be a way to monitor random miners here and there if it's running as a service?

[jelin1984]

Which have these at cheaper price where I can buy some?

[Ofenkaese]

many many thanks for your quick "how to".
I'm actually waiting for my LA6M and was afraid to have some faulty controller comming with it.
wouldn't it be possible to use a standard atx psu with those barrel connectors? 12v should be equal but i've no clue about the rest.

[crocko]

Hello !

I know that Gridseed can mine only for scrypt based coins at the full speed.
Which particular coin worth to mine with Gridseed ? I mean to have at least ROI.

[bobby35ny]

I wonder if windows 8 would see things different?
Have you tried win 8?
-bobby

[IchibahnSLC]

What is the exact part number of the usb hub you are using?

[daddyfatsax]

What is the exact part number of the usb hub you are using?

It looks like the hub that is supplied with accessories pack. I cannot find a pic of right now, I know it was in one of the support threads.

Edit- found it
https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FHO9YcRV.jpg&t=537&c=j84g9vD2q7EbGQ

[IchibahnSLC]

What is the exact part number of the usb hub you are using?

It looks like the hub that is supplied with accessories pack. I cannot find a pic of right now, I know it was in one of the support threads.

Edit- found it
https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FHO9YcRV.jpg&t=537&c=j84g9vD2q7EbGQ

He said they were anker hubs.  If you look at the picture it looks like all the plugs are in a line.

[asiabtc]

I've been able to get my 48 miners powered by a single windows x64 machine. I was using anker 13 port powered hubs and I found that you can't daisy-chain them, as windows sees each block of 4 ports as a daisy-chained "hub." 

Basically, you need to plug each hub into the machine or, at the very least, daisy-chain off the first port. Here is my current setup, minus a few gridseeds.

When I initially plugged these units in, I couldn’t get windows 7 x64 to see the virtual com ports, and found I needed to install the virtual com driver that I found here: http://www.diffpair.com/lightningasic/LIGHTNINGASIC%20Gold%20miner%20USB%20driver.rar

I’m running separate instances of the custom-coded cpuminer with the BTC core shut off for scrypt-only mining. I was able to get that from here:  http://cryptomining-blog.com/1165-download-cpuminer-for-gridseed-5-chip-gc3355-asics-with-reduced-power-usage/


I have been able to get about 12.8-13.4 mh when mining with 48 of these units. I’ve been running them for 24 hours straight now with no disconnects, no reboots, and 100% stability. If you are having issues with the supplied controller, I suggest you ditch it and use a computer. If you’ve still got motherboards lying around from your GPU mining days, setup a quick install of windows/linux and run your gridseeds off that.

PICS:

great works.
only one problem.lost hash rate. it should be 350Khs per usb miner.

[zeetak]

many many thanks for your quick "how to".
I'm actually waiting for my LA6M and was afraid to have some faulty controller comming with it.
wouldn't it be possible to use a standard atx psu with those barrel connectors? 12v should be equal but i've no clue about the rest.

I know that some people have contacted the user "cablez" to make them pci-e 6-pin adapters for barrel connectors.

[zeetak]

What is the exact part number of the usb hub you are using?

The exact one I bought is here: http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Aluminum-13-Port-Charging-VL812-B2/dp/B00GSLMTQ8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1394057871&sr=1-1&keywords=anker+13+port+hub

There are probably other good hubs out there, but I've always had good luck with Anker products.

[zeetak]

great works.
only one problem.lost hash rate. it should be 350Khs per usb miner.

You are right. I had a few units that weren't hashing, thanks for mentioning that! I looked and they were connected to bad cables. Now i'm running 49 units at 16,148 KH.  Is there any way to overclock these? Mine are running at 850mhz, and I heard that when people pushed them up to 900, the hashrate dropped. Perhaps a new firmware?

After a day of these units running I got sick of the noise of 49 small fans, so I disconnected the individual fans and pointed a box fan at them. Now they are running silently and are only slightly warm to the touch.  The only sound is the power supply fans kicking on every once in a while.

[zeetak]

Also--it looks like somebody has gotten cgminer to work in LTC mode with BTC disabled so you don't need to run cpuminer. Here's the comment:

If you don't want to run a bunch of cpuminers, I have posted modified cgminer sources to allow LTC-only mode: https://github.com/dtbartle/cgminer-gc3355. I have this running on a Raspberry Pi with 10 devices.