Clearing computers used by an ex-Bitcoin miner

[Jet Cash]

I've just had an interesting phone call. I used to have a recycling business, and I've just had a phone call from one of my old customers. He is a gardener, and he has been asked to clear a garden for a guy who used to be a Bitcoin miner. The computers have been outside for a week or so, but I've decided that I'm going to collect them, and have a look to see what is there. They gardener says that there are a lot of fans there, and I wonder if those are old asic miners.

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[jackg]

I'm guessing it's rained there though so if you do find any miners you will probably have to take out the hash boards and leave them to dry for a bit.

[Jet Cash]

That's not really a guess - it's a certainty. It's a shame that the guy didn't put a tarp over them, but he just wants them dumped. At worst there will be some scrap metal there, and that will include some gold edge connectors.  I'll need to sort out somewhere secure to store the stuff for a week or so. It's a great incentive to clear out a garage.

[jackg]

If you get any gpus can I have one or two? My one on its own can't run my compiler very well... Takes it about 5 minutes .

I didn't think mining in the UK was ever profitible?

[JSRAW]

Not a technical guy, so don't know how tough or easy to take back up in this scenario but can wish you luck. if by any 0.0001% chance you get lucky then share some of your new wealth with gardener too and free beer for all of us 

[Jet Cash]

I didn't think mining in the UK was ever profitible?

It probably was in the beginning. The guy might have been doing it for his own education though, and to find out about asics ( if there are any ).

It's raining quite heavily at the moment, but the forecast for tomorrow is sunny, so I put off collection until then.

I know who the owner is, so if there are any wallets with coins in them, the moving the coins will be theft. I'll just tell him about them. It's probably a non-starter anyway, as he always destroys the hard drives before junking the computers. I'm hoping that I'll find some extra RAM for my notebook, and a miner that I can run a McD. If I do, then I can write an article about it.

[jackg]

You can take 10% legally if you so wish. It's an old law designed to give people an incentive not to steal and return things back to where they came from...

Train companies like to use that law to make even more money. I wouldn't be surprised if they sold everything back to you... "you left this bag sir, we believe its worth £20 so give us 2 and you can have it back"

[Jet Cash]

If the rain continues, then I can apply some of the shipwreck laws.

[ovcijisir]

I'm hoping that I'll find some extra RAM for my notebook, and a miner that I can run a McD. If I do, then I can write an article about it.

You plan to set up a miner in McDonalds? That would be interesting if that is correct

[Jet Cash]

You plan to set up a miner in McDonalds? That would be interesting if that is correct

It's for my off grid and roaming WiFi project. I won't join a mining pool, ad I have no expectation of profit, but it will be interesting to see if it can be done. I'll try solo mining, and in the unlikely even that I did manage to create a block, I suspect that the McDonalds WiFi would fall over, and it misses the chain updates.

It may be that there are no asic miners in the pile. I'm just going on the comment by the gardener that there are a number of large computer fans there, and that the guy used to mine Bitcoin. I'm probably going to need some help as well, but not until I've managed to dry out the hardware. Anyway, it will probably be fun to play with some of the stuff. I think the only way I will get a Lambo out of it is if I sell the lot for scrap, and buy a model car.

[ovcijisir]

You plan to set up a miner in McDonalds? That would be interesting if that is correct

It may be that there are no asic miners in the pile. I'm just going on the comment by the gardener that there are a number of large computer fans there, and that the guy used to mine Bitcoin. I'm probably going to need some help as well, but not until I've managed to dry out the hardware. Anyway, it will probably be fun to play with some of the stuff. I think the only way I will get a Lambo out of it is if I sell the lot for scrap, and buy a model car.

At first I thought that miner will be placed in McDonalds I would be funny to watch the reaction of the staff

It may be that there are no asic miners in the pile. I'm just going on the comment by the gardener that there are a number of large computer fans there, and that the guy used to mine Bitcoin. I'm probably going to need some help as well, but not until I've managed to dry out the hardware. Anyway, it will probably be fun to play with some of the stuff. I think the only way I will get a Lambo out of it is if I sell the lot for scrap, and buy a model car.

Sounds like there is good chance of finding some useful equipment, even if there are no ASICs. Good luck with sales

[Jet Cash]

At first I thought that miner will be placed in McDonalds I would be funny to watch the reaction of the staff

They need to create a burger that looks like a Bitcoin, and run an ad campaign with a bite taken out of it.

Can you imagine the publicity that would get.

[Jet Cash]

Well I made thr collection, and it wasn't as much as I expected. There weren't any ASICs, the things that I thought might be were UPS. Still handy to strip for the batteries though. The guy seems to have stripped a number of computers, so there are some mother boards, HDDS, memory and other stuff. I'll buy a 12volt psu, and see if I can make a "desktop" for the van. There is a neat HP small computer, and I believe that is working. It has Vista installed, so it won't be that special. Lots of other useful stuff such as powered USB hubs are there, and a dustbin full of cables, cards, fans and psus. I'll check through things, and see what I can use for a project.

One of the boards is Intel Atom based, and I could use that to make a small computer for the van.
Another one is an ASUS M2N-MX SE PLUS motherboard, and that has an AMD processor. I'll wait until it is dry before I check on speed.
Both of them allow a max of 4Gb of RAM, so I'm not sure how useful they will be.

There is also a very small HP desktop computer, and I'm told that that one is complete and working. As it is so small, I might try to use that as some sort of server.

[jackg]

The name server always confuses me... What type?

A server on its own could mean anything...
Are the ups(es) as a complete unit not worth more dependent on how much battery life is left of course...

[Jet Cash]

Are the ups(es) as a complete unit not worth more dependent on how much battery life is left of course...

I used to sell them when I had a computer shop, and it is usually the battery unit that fails. It was better to sell a later ( and improved) model than to buy replacement batteries. That business was mad. It was cheaper to buy a complete computer case, than it was to buy a replacement power supply ( about half the price ). So I would buy a pallet of cases, take out the power supplies, and sell the rest for scrap. I'm trying to back away from selling second hand computer stuff, because I don't want to get involved in any warranty claims. With scrap items, you just weigh off the load and walk away from it. The money is in your bank the next day, and that is the end f the matter.

I'm interested in that small HP box. I'd like to install Kali, and explore penetration testing. It would also be useful for packet sniffing. I want to run it without a screen, but it doesn't look easy to install Kali without a screen and keyboard. Maybe I'll do the installation in the conventional way, and then run it remotely from a notebook.

A couple of the motherboards look as if they might have potential for mining alts, but they are all a few years old, so the profits wouldn't be life changing. It could be useful to help with the blockchain for Assured Coin - the tokenised security chain  As that chain will be centralised, it wouldn't need 24/7 or lots of hash to maintain it.

[Jet Cash]

Well this has turned into a very interesting find. There is an early ASIC miner in the pile, and it uses a 12 volt power supply. Obviously that is ideal for a camper van. I'd be very interested in parking on the beach and chatting to the bikinis, and know that a mining rig was pulling power from a solar panel, and earning enough to pay for the ice creams.