[ANN] Miner Control 1.6.1 - Auto profit switching miner controller

[kalen37]

Do you use any tools to overclock your graphic card like evga precision or msi afterburner? If yes, try to lower/disable overclock and try again.

If not, you can try to monitor temp of you graphic card with msi afterburner (without overcloaking) and see if temps is raising really fast when you try ccminer.

Else found this on google with purple screen on boot: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-system/windows-8-shows-a-blinking-purple-screen-after/0babde4b-c070-4976-a7c0-c073207ba194 http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-system/windows-8-shows-a-blinking-purple-screen-after/0babde4b-c070-4976-a7c0-c073207ba194  it's on windows 8, but user found that without avast problem was solved. Perhaps somethings you can try

If nothing work, a clean install of windows/reinstal of updated driver is the last solution ^^

Avast you say? I have avast on my PC.

[1714127546]

1714127546

[Travis9x]

************ccminer for nvidia GPUs by djm34************
then the usual stuff and donation address.
then
ccminer.exe: Heavycoin hash requires block reward vote parameter (see --vote)

will try and figure out how to do what you're requesting above,.

can you put here exactly what there is in your bat, when it exits with this kind of message it means, it didn't recognize the algo you entered (picking up the default heavycoin)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v9d54b9movp6axc/Screenshot%202014-10-15%2017.04.56.png?dl=0

bat file:
@echo off
ccminer.exe
pause


And where do you tell to ccminer where to mine and what to mine in your bat ?
line should be like this: ccminer.exe -r 3 -R 5 --algo=x11 -o stratum+tcp://eu.wafflepool.com:3331 -u yourlogin -p yourPassword

yes, ccminer cannot be run without any argument. You (or miner control I assume) need to append the argument so it knows what to do...
I hope you'll figure out rapidly how to copy and paste the line I (or Zels) gave you so we can move on... but my guess would be a problem related to miner control (or the operator   )

operator error it is. I'm a newb, so figures.
New problem. So I built the .bat correctly as per y'all instructions, hash rate between 1700 and 2100. After about 6 messages my whole system crashes. And I'm not saying it shutdown or rebooted. It crashed, I had to use system restore to get it back.
symptom: Computer bios boot runs, windows starts loading then goes to a kind of dark purple screen. Hard drive seems to think it's done. SO it sounds like something with the video card.
 Any idea's what I need to modify to keep it from kaboom? vid = GTX 760 with 4G ram.

That does sound like it may be overheating.  Use MSI Afteburner (or something similar, like GPU-Z) to monitor the heat and overall system health.  Even without overclocking, heat can be a big issue if your system isn't properly ventilated or cooled, because mining stresses your GPU to the limit (it's like running a burn-in test constantly, 24/7).  If it turns out your GPU is getting really hot (anything above 80 degrees C is not recommended), then you can do two things (doing both is a good idea): first, use MSI AB to set a "thermal limit".  This will tell the GPU to automatically throttle back, if needed, to keep itself under the temp limit you set.  Second, add more system fans, or replace old/worn ones.  You can also rearrange things as needed, to give your system more "breathing room".  Some people with dedicated mining rigs don't even use a case, and have their GPUs very open to the air, for maximum ventilation/cooling.  If you use your system for anything other than mining, this is usually not very practical. lol  But in any case, do try to maximize the amount of air your system gets, to keep it cool.

[kalen37]

************ccminer for nvidia GPUs by djm34************
then the usual stuff and donation address.
then
ccminer.exe: Heavycoin hash requires block reward vote parameter (see --vote)

will try and figure out how to do what you're requesting above,.

can you put here exactly what there is in your bat, when it exits with this kind of message it means, it didn't recognize the algo you entered (picking up the default heavycoin)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v9d54b9movp6axc/Screenshot%202014-10-15%2017.04.56.png?dl=0

bat file:
@echo off
ccminer.exe
pause


And where do you tell to ccminer where to mine and what to mine in your bat ?
line should be like this: ccminer.exe -r 3 -R 5 --algo=x11 -o stratum+tcp://eu.wafflepool.com:3331 -u yourlogin -p yourPassword

yes, ccminer cannot be run without any argument. You (or miner control I assume) need to append the argument so it knows what to do...
I hope you'll figure out rapidly how to copy and paste the line I (or Zels) gave you so we can move on... but my guess would be a problem related to miner control (or the operator   )

operator error it is. I'm a newb, so figures.
New problem. So I built the .bat correctly as per y'all instructions, hash rate between 1700 and 2100. After about 6 messages my whole system crashes. And I'm not saying it shutdown or rebooted. It crashed, I had to use system restore to get it back.
symptom: Computer bios boot runs, windows starts loading then goes to a kind of dark purple screen. Hard drive seems to think it's done. SO it sounds like something with the video card.
 Any idea's what I need to modify to keep it from kaboom? vid = GTX 760 with 4G ram.

That does sound like it may be overheating.  Use MSI Afteburner (or something similar, like GPU-Z) to monitor the heat and overall system health.  Even without overclocking, heat can be a big issue if your system isn't properly ventilated or cooled, because mining stresses your GPU to the limit (it's like running a burn-in test constantly, 24/7).  If it turns out your GPU is getting really hot (anything above 80 degrees C is not recommended), then you can do two things (doing both is a good idea): first, use MSI AB to set a "thermal limit".  This will tell the GPU to automatically throttle back, if needed, to keep itself under the temp limit you set.  Second, add more system fans, or replace old/worn ones.  You can also rearrange things as needed, to give your system more "breathing room".  Some people with dedicated mining rigs don't even use a case, and have their GPUs very open to the air, for maximum ventilation/cooling.  If you use your system for anything other than mining, this is usually not very practical. lol  But in any case, do try to maximize the amount of air your system gets, to keep it cool.

I've got the latest version of precision on there. Went in and changed the priority to temp and set it to 80 degrees, will see if that fixes it. I have a fairly open case, the top has a 240 fan (I think it is) and the rest of the top is a steel screen, strong enough to support my cat but with plenty of spaces to let heat rise. And yes, I just recently blew out all the dust from all the nooks and crannies. A 120 fan on the side, front and rear of the case.
 This is actually my experiment to see if I want to put together a seperate mining machine. If I build a dedicated mining machine I've seen people suggest building it in a pair of old milk crates.

[kalen37]

OK, so last night I brought up precision. Made sure the priority was set to 80 degrees, that's well within EVGAs stated heat threshold.
Launched the batch file and watched it mine whle having precision right next to it to watch the temps. Precision got to about 61 degree's before system crashed to purple. Tried 4 times, system is still down.....grrrrr

[djm34]

OK, so last night I brought up precision. Made sure the priority was set to 80 degrees, that's well within EVGAs stated heat threshold.
Launched the batch file and watched it mine whle having precision right next to it to watch the temps. Precision got to about 61 degree's before system crashed to purple. Tried 4 times, system is still down.....grrrrr

Is you card plugged into the mobo or do you use risers ?
(I don't know much about purple crash... but bad riser will make your system crashes for sure...)
What are you mining by the way ?

[kalen37]

OK, so last night I brought up precision. Made sure the priority was set to 80 degrees, that's well within EVGAs stated heat threshold.
Launched the batch file and watched it mine whle having precision right next to it to watch the temps. Precision got to about 61 degree's before system crashed to purple. Tried 4 times, system is still down.....grrrrr

Is you card plugged into the mobo or do you use risers ?
(I don't know much about purple crash... but bad riser will make your system crashes for sure...)
What are you mining by the way ?

video card plugs directly into the PCIe slot
on the .bat file I'm just mining X11.

[djm34]

OK, so last night I brought up precision. Made sure the priority was set to 80 degrees, that's well within EVGAs stated heat threshold.
Launched the batch file and watched it mine whle having precision right next to it to watch the temps. Precision got to about 61 degree's before system crashed to purple. Tried 4 times, system is still down.....grrrrr

Is you card plugged into the mobo or do you use risers ?
(I don't know much about purple crash... but bad riser will make your system crashes for sure...)
What are you mining by the way ?

video card plugs directly into the PCIe slot
on the .bat file I'm just mining X11.

that's strange in that case, because x11 is rather stable, may-be a problem with the card.
Does windows give a reason for the crash ?

[kalen37]

OK, so last night I brought up precision. Made sure the priority was set to 80 degrees, that's well within EVGAs stated heat threshold.
Launched the batch file and watched it mine whle having precision right next to it to watch the temps. Precision got to about 61 degree's before system crashed to purple. Tried 4 times, system is still down.....grrrrr

Is you card plugged into the mobo or do you use risers ?
(I don't know much about purple crash... but bad riser will make your system crashes for sure...)
What are you mining by the way ?

video card plugs directly into the PCIe slot
on the .bat file I'm just mining X11.

that's strange in that case, because x11 is rather stable, may-be a problem with the card.
Does windows give a reason for the crash ?

I wish
Computer crashes, when I reboot everything boots fine until you get to the desktop, it never appears. Just a purple screen. Unfortunately I'm not at that PC and was unable to revive it from the last crash. But I remember something about a failover occuring. I'll try again tonight and write it down.

[StuffOfInterest]

MinerControl 1.3.1 is now available for download.

This release adds activity logging for miner start and stop events.

[StuffOfInterest]

Released MinerControl 1.4.0.

Now has a console window which displays output from miners so that they don't have to run in a separate window anymore.  Config option is available to force the miner to a separate window if needed.

[ltc_bilic]

Released MinerControl 1.4.0.

Now has a console window which displays output from miners so that they don't have to run in a separate window anymore.  Config option is available to force the miner to a separate window if needed.

Now this is a very useful feature! If there's an config option, you should add to docs on top of the page and in example config, if someone needs to change it. I love it!

[StuffOfInterest]

Released MinerControl 1.4.0.

Now has a console window which displays output from miners so that they don't have to run in a separate window anymore.  Config option is available to force the miner to a separate window if needed.

Now this is a very useful feature! If there's an config option, you should add to docs on top of the page and in example config, if someone needs to change it. I love it!

Already done in the first post and in the sample config packaged with the binaries.

[Zels]

Released MinerControl 1.4.0.

Now has a console window which displays output from miners so that they don't have to run in a separate window anymore.  Config option is available to force the miner to a separate window if needed.

Now this is a very useful feature! If there's an config option, you should add to docs on top of the page and in example config, if someone needs to change it. I love it!

Already done in the first post and in the sample config packaged with the binaries.

Code:

"nicehash": {
        "account": "1KSTYGj25RRQ5i1GNVUGTjUsSyZr4uSPiz",
        "worker": "750ti",
        "param1": "-q -r 3 -R 5 -a",
        "param2": "stratum+tcp://stratum.nicehash.com",
	"usewindow": "false",
        "algos": [
            { "algo": "x11", "folder": "", "command": "nvminer.exe", "arguments": "_PARAM1_ x11 -o _PARAM2_:3336 -u _ACCOUNT_._WORKER_ -p d=0.08" },
            { "algo": "x13", "folder": "", "command": "nvminer.exe", "arguments": "_PARAM1_ x13 -o _PARAM2_:3337 -u _ACCOUNT_._WORKER_ -p d=0.08" },
            { "algo": "x15", "folder": "", "command": "nvminer.exe", "arguments": "_PARAM1_ x15 -o _PARAM2_:3339 -u _ACCOUNT_._WORKER_ -p d=0.08" },
            { "algo": "nist5", "folder": "", "command": "nvminer.exe", "arguments": "-q -r 3 -R 10 -a nist5 -o _PARAM2_:3340 -u _ACCOUNT_._WORKER_ -p d=0.08" }
        ]
    },

I tried "usewindow": "true", or "usewindow": true, and same with false, but nothing, only display in consol and not anymore the miner windows 

And don't see any reference to usewindow in the .conf as sample in archive

[StuffOfInterest]

'"usewindow": true' is all you should need, under the individual algo you want to launch.   Your entry should look something like this:

Code:

{ "algo": "nist5", "folder": "", "command": "nvminer.exe", "arguments": "-q -r 3 -R 10 -a nist5 -o _PARAM2_:3340 -u _ACCOUNT_._WORKER_ -p d=0.08", "usewindow": true }

Look at the sha256 entry under nicehash in the sample conf file bundled with the executable.

Being that each algo can be launched with a different miner the option is configured at that level.

[Travis9x]

Released MinerControl 1.4.0.

Now has a console window which displays output from miners so that they don't have to run in a separate window anymore.  Config option is available to force the miner to a separate window if needed.

Awesome feature!  I hadn't even thought of integrating a console into the app.  The only improvement I can think of in that area, is to also make it compatible with the SplitScreen utility (also made by the same guys as ccMiner).  SplitScreen makes it easier to read and keep track of the output from the miner, averages, metrics, etc (also more info about the GPUs, such as temp, etc), and is compatible with all versions of ccMiner, nvMiner, and cudaminer, and even some CPU miners.  The reason it can't really be used with Miner Control right now, is that the arguments when calling SplitScreen use quotes ("), which would conflict with Miner Control's .conf file syntax.  I'm not sure if this can be fixed on Miner Control's end, or if a change would have to be made in SplitScreen instead.
Check out details of SplitScreen for more info:  https://github.com/zelante/ccminer/releases  (also on the CUDAmining site)

[Travis9x]

Time for an error report!

Okay, so I was running the new version with the console, and loving it.  Then it went to automatically switch algo/miner, and I noticed something went wrong.  There was nothing obvious, it seemed to just kinda stall.  It was trying to switch from X11 to Scrypt, which of course required a miner change (from ccMiner to CUDAminer), but when it went to launch the new miner on Scrypt, it just stopped.  It seemed to get hung up on the launch attempt, and the console stopped updating with any further info.  The Prices window continued to run, as if a miner was running (time continued to tick up on the Scrypt pool), but the activity on my GPUs clearly showed that nothing was being run/mined.  So I clicked Stop, and went to check if something was wrong with my config settings for Scrypt.  I didn't find anything wrong, but I wanted to still test the Scrypt miner to make sure it was working, so I clicked Start on the Scrypt pool.  The console still showed no change, other than a repeat of the line indicating an attempt to launch the miner.  I clicked Stop again, and then tried to resume the Auto mining.  However, even though another algo/pool was now more profitable, it continued to try to mine the old Scrypt pool (time continued to tick up on that one, instead of the now more profitable one), and the Console still only showed a repeat of the line indicating an attempt to launch the Scrypt miner.  So I tried to close Miner Control altogether, but it didn't respond.  The window didn't gray out or anything, clicking the red X simply didn't do anything.  I ended up having to use Task Manager to kill it.
I then went to the error logs, and wow…the file had grown in magnitudes since the last time I'd looked at it.  I scanned down near the most recent logs, and looked for timestamps near when I first noticed the problem with the miner switch.  I found some interesting errors, so here they are.

When it first tried to switch miners, this error began appearing in the log, repeating every second until I told Miner Control to stop mining:  

Code:

2014/10/18 22:46:23
----------------------------------------------
Type: InvalidOperationException
Message: No process is associated with this object.
Stack trace:    at System.Diagnostics.Process.EnsureState(State state)
   at System.Diagnostics.Process.get_HasExited()
   at MinerControl.MiningEngine.RunBestAlgo(Boolean isMinimizedToTray)

Then, when I clicked Stop, this error was logged:  

Code:

2014/10/18 22:46:24
----------------------------------------------
Type: InvalidOperationException
Message: No process is associated with this object.
Stack trace:    at System.Diagnostics.Process.EnsureState(State state)
   at System.Diagnostics.Process.get_HasExited()
   at MinerControl.MiningEngine.StopMiner()
   at MinerControl.MiningEngine.RequestStop()
   at MinerControl.MainWindow.btnStop_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnClick(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mevent)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ButtonBase.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

When I clicked to start the Scrypt miner again, then this error was logged:  

Code:

2014/10/18 22:48:18
----------------------------------------------
Type: Win32Exception
Message: The system cannot find the file specified
Stack trace:    at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithCreateProcess(ProcessStartInfo startInfo)
   at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start()
   at MinerControl.MiningEngine.StartMiner(PriceEntryBase entry, Boolean isMinimizedToTray)
   at MinerControl.MiningEngine.RequestStart(Int32 id, Boolean isMinimizedToTray)
   at MinerControl.MainWindow.dgPrices_CellContentClick(Object sender, DataGridViewCellEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView.OnCellContentClick(DataGridViewCellEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView.OnCommonCellContentClick(Int32 columnIndex, Int32 rowIndex, Boolean doubleClick)
   at System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewCell.OnMouseUpInternal(DataGridViewCellMouseEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView.OnCellMouseUp(DataGridViewCellMouseEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

It then repeated the error for clicking Stop, and then when I clicked Auto to resume normal mining, it began repeating the first error every second again.  I then saw more repeats of the Stop errors and the Auto mining errors as it was stuck trying to mine Scrypt, but then I noticed a new error from when I tried to close the application:  

Code:

2014/10/18 22:49:08
----------------------------------------------
Type: InvalidOperationException
Message: No process is associated with this object.
Stack trace:    at System.Diagnostics.Process.EnsureState(State state)
   at System.Diagnostics.Process.get_HasExited()
   at MinerControl.MiningEngine.StopMiner()
   at MinerControl.MiningEngine.Cleanup()
   at MinerControl.MainWindow.MainWindow_FormClosing(Object sender, FormClosingEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnFormClosing(FormClosingEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WmClose(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

These errors repeated in different sequence a few more times while I was wrestling with the application, but the pattern of which errors were recorded as I tried different things continued to follow logically.  From what I can deduce, it seems that it's having trouble with closing the miner and starting a new one when they're running in the console.  This then causes the error of trying to close the application, since it thinks a miner it still running, but tries to close the non-existent miner before exiting.
I haven't yet tested whether these errors still occur when the miners are being launched/run in a separate window, but it seems fairly obvious that the change to the console is the most likely cause.

[StuffOfInterest]

I won't even ask why you were trying to mine scrypt with a GPU in this day.  

OK, there is definitely something up with cudaminer under the internal console.  I was able to reproduce the problem (which is a good thing) so I'll see what I can find out.  In the mean time, if you use the "usewindow" option it does appear to behave.  I'm really bothered about why things lock up so that will be my first target.  Something is getting into a really bad state internally.  Thanks for the error captures, those will help.

As for splitscreen, that isn't going to happen.  The console intercepts STDOUT and STDERROR from the miner program to display.  Any direct console manipulation (such as repositioning the cursor or changing colors) is not caught and could cause errors.  I knew some things would not work under the internal console which is why the option to use an external window is there.

[StuffOfInterest]

OK, launch issue for cudaminer is fixed with version 1.4.1.

There was some other odd behaviors from the errors listed above I want to dig into but this was the root cause for the problems.

[StuffOfInterest]

And another quick dot release.

Just released version 1.4.2 with support for the LTCRabbit pool.

This pool is a little different in that it pays out in LTC but I decided to go ahead and include it because 1) they asked and 2) they have a good API which provides all the information necessary (including LTC/BTC exchange rate) for calculating all the needed values.

[DemosMirak]

And another quick dot release.

Just released version 1.4.2 with support for the LTCRabbit pool.

This pool is a little different in that it pays out in LTC but I decided to go ahead and include it because 1) they asked and 2) they have a good API which provides all the information necessary (including LTC/BTC exchange rate) for calculating all the needed values.

Seems I will need to dust off my old LTC wallet, then.