ANTMINER U3 Discussion and Support Thread

[Mikestang]

Would be interested to see if anyone can get more than 2 to work together for more than a few hours.

Per my post two up (#630) my setup for a single U3 has been perfectly stable for like a week.  I've been running it slightly overclocked, 775v and 237.5freq and it's been performing like a champ at about 58-60gh.

I bought two more U3s, however, I cannot get more than one of my 3 to run at the same time (I have so far only tried to get 2 going at the same time).  I'm using cgminer 4.9.0 (4.9.1 won't see a U3 on my computer for some reason) with stock volt and freq while I try to get more than one going concurrently.  I've tried launching cgminer with 2 plugged in at the same time and I get constant LIBUSB from both devices.  If I unplug one the other runs just fine.  If I launch cgminer with just one running it hums along perfectly, then I'll hotplug the second one in and instantly the LIBUSB errors start.  I've tried with them both plugged into my powered USB 2.0 hub, and tried with one in the hub and the other in a separate USB port on my computer, but same results.

Is there something special that needs to be done to get multiple units running at the same time?  Any of the three work by themselves.  Thanks for suggestions.

Now running in a powered 2.0 hub, seems to be happy for ~24 hours (knock on wood).  Using a new power cable, too.  This one is a molex 4-pin to barrel plug and has thicker wires than the pci-e to barrel plug I was using (2.5mm vs ~2.1mm).

I have since purchased a Multi TT USB 2.0 hub, but still cannot get more than one miner running at the same time.  I hooked the USB hub up to my power supply, plugged in one U3 and it worked just fine.  Plugged in the second and ERROR.  Quit and restarted with them both plugged, more ERROR.  They both hash together at about 30gh each (down from 59 alone), but with constants errors as below.  So what else could it be?  (I unplugged one USB toward the bottom, I think that's what the last 3 lines are starting to show)


Bitmain must have anticipated more than one of these being run from the same computer, what could be a resolution to this issue?

[Phosphorous]

Did you clean the excess thermal paste and replace the USB cables?

I agree though, this is certainly not a product they anticipated for users to buy multiples of to run together.

[Mikestang]

I have not cleaned the thermal paste, yet.  I have some new AS ceramique2 ready to go, just haven't felt motivated enough to do it yet.

[TheRealSteve]

If you have two AntMiner U3's where they both work fine on their own, I cannot imagine how thermal management would have anything to do with them not working fine when both are plugged in - unless both were put into an enclosed box together significantly raising each other's temps.  Given the thermal mass involved, even that scenario seems unlikely to throw errors practically immediately.

The list of potential causes already mentioned in this thread seem more likely.  Given that the very first post practically advertises that multiple should work together*, perhaps a list of recommended power supply + recommended hub + recommended drivers + recommened cgminer build + getting started steps** should be included.

* which to me suggests they very much anticipated for users to buy multiples of to run together:

Scalable: Multiple U3 miners can be maintained by one controller running cgminer due to its USB port.
Hassle free: Setup consists of plugging in the USB and power cables and running Antminer CGMiner.

** Should they be connected in this order, or in this order or in a different order altogether?  Does it even matter?

[MyRig]

One common cause for the U3 to stop mining on your computer is SCREEN SAVER, or Auto POWER SAVER.  Please try to disable the screen saver and the power saver on the computer you are mining with U3 and the cgminer.

Also, some USB3 ports may have some unstable power.

If it still doesn't work...  Let us know.

[Mikestang]

One common cause for the U3 to stop mining on your computer is SCREEN SAVER, or Auto POWER SAVER.  Please try to disable the screen saver and the power saver on the computer you are mining with U3 and the cgminer.

Also, some USB3 ports may have some unstable power.

If it still doesn't work...  Let us know.

I do not use a screen saver, I do not use any power saving modes, my computer does not sleep, I've disabled Windows from shutting off power to my USB ports.  Believe me, I have done everything, above and beyond, to get two to work together, but it's not happening.  It must be some fault with the units themselves, some sort of identical identification so my computer thinks they're both the same device or something; any other suggestions are welcomed.

If you have two AntMiner U3's where they both work fine on their own, I cannot imagine how thermal management would have anything to do with them not working fine when both are plugged in - unless both were put into an enclosed box together significantly raising each other's temps.  Given the thermal mass involved, even that scenario seems unlikely to throw errors practically immediately.

The list of potential causes already mentioned in this thread seem more likely.

I agree, they're no hotter running together or by themselves.  I have exhausted the list of potential causes I believe, we need to come up with a new cause.

[MyRig]

Another that can think of would be try using the Externally powered USB hub.

Multiple U3 use, if you are powering up both together, you can unplug one then plug it back in to see if it gets recognized.

If none works, was this the new Cage Style or the Silver Metal cover version?  Also, when did you purchase it?

[dogie]

I have exhausted the list of potential causes I believe, we need to come up with a new cause.

You can also try them on a different computer, there are a lot of variables included in each computer which aren't easy to identify externally.

[diverino]

I have a similar erro, with a Raspberry Pi with Minera 0.4.1 and a Antimer U3 with the original PSU.

The error say:

[2015-03-15 22:15:50] Accepted 0ea14cda Diff 4.48K/256 AU3 0 pool 2
 [2015-03-15 22:16:27] Accepted 90b4ee50 Diff 453/256 AU3 0 pool 2
 [2015-03-15 22:16:42] AU3 0: No valid hashes for over 1 secs, attempting to reset
 [2015-03-15 22:16:42] AU3 0 attempted reset got err:(0) LIBUSB_SUCCESS
 [2015-03-15 22:16:49] AU3 0: No valid hashes for over 1 secs, attempting to reset
 [2015-03-15 22:16:49] AU3 0 attempted reset got err:(0) LIBUSB_SUCCESS
 [2015-03-15 22:16:58] AU3 0: No valid hashes for over 1 secs, attempting to reset
 [2015-03-15 22:16:58] AU3 0 attempted reset got err:(0) LIBUSB_SUCCESS
 [2015-03-15 22:16:59] AU3 0 SendWork usb write err:(-9) LIBUSB_ERROR_PIPE
 [2015-03-15 22:16:59] AU3 0 attempted reset got err:(-5) LIBUSB_ERROR_NOT_FOUND
 [2015-03-15 22:16:59] AU3 0: Comms error (werr=-5 amt=32)
 [2015-03-15 22:16:59] AU3 0 failure, disabling!
 [2015-03-15 22:17:13] Hotplug: Icarus added AU3 1
 [2015-03-15 22:17:24] Accepted 56d7767f Diff 755/256 AU3 1 pool 2
 [2015-03-15 22:17:47] Accepted 97bdd8d7 Diff 432/256

  My provisonal solution is unplug and plug the USB conector of Antminer.

I need help !!

[MyRig]

does unplug the USB cable and plug back in work?

or can you try with a windows computer or a linux based computer or other Rpi?

[Mikestang]

I have exhausted the list of potential causes I believe, we need to come up with a new cause.

You can also try them on a different computer, there are a lot of variables included in each computer which aren't easy to identify externally.

Yes, I have a lap top here as well, and have mirrored everything on it with the same non-results.  I do not know what else to try.

[MyRig]

It could be a defective one.  Please check with the seller for the warranty period.  Is it a wire cage looking version or the metal case?

[Mikestang]

It could be a defective one.  Please check with the seller for the warranty period.  Is it a wire cage looking version or the metal case?

Please use quotes so we know who you are talking to.  If you were talking to me, none of mine are defective, they all work perfectly when solo.  It's only if you plug more than one into the same computer that they stop working.

[Phosphorous]

If you have two AntMiner U3's where they both work fine on their own, I cannot imagine how thermal management would have anything to do with them not working fine when both are plugged in - unless both were put into an enclosed box together significantly raising each other's temps.  Given the thermal mass involved, even that scenario seems unlikely to throw errors practically immediately.

It's not a "thermal management" issue. There are dielectric effects of having excess paste covering CCA components that should not be covered. I didn't believe it either but the results are real.

[Mikestang]

If you have two AntMiner U3's where they both work fine on their own, I cannot imagine how thermal management would have anything to do with them not working fine when both are plugged in - unless both were put into an enclosed box together significantly raising each other's temps.  Given the thermal mass involved, even that scenario seems unlikely to throw errors practically immediately.

It's not a "thermal management" issue. There are dielectric effects of having excess paste covering CCA components that should not be covered. I didn't believe it either but the results are real.

What results do you speak of?  Did you have more than one U3 that wouldn't run together, then you cleaned up the paste, then they ran together just fine?  If they work just fine by themselves, how could excess thermal paste cause any issue when they're running together?   There are a few people who posted that they were able to run more than one U3 at a time, that was right after ck updated cgminer.  Maybe I need to try an older 4.8.x version?  Or maybe it's just my computers don't agree with more than one U3?  I don't know why it would work for some, but not for me.

[Phosphorous]

If you have two AntMiner U3's where they both work fine on their own, I cannot imagine how thermal management would have anything to do with them not working fine when both are plugged in - unless both were put into an enclosed box together significantly raising each other's temps.  Given the thermal mass involved, even that scenario seems unlikely to throw errors practically immediately.

It's not a "thermal management" issue. There are dielectric effects of having excess paste covering CCA components that should not be covered. I didn't believe it either but the results are real.

What results do you speak of?  Did you have more than one U3 that wouldn't run together, then you cleaned up the paste, then they ran together just fine?  I have not seen any evidence of this in this thread.  In fact, I haven't even seen evidence of more than one U3 running together on the same machine without issue.

You haven't read my posts then. I had 3 units at one time and none of them ran together. After cleaning up the paste performance improved but I still had problems. I've since sold 1 unit, but since replacing the USB cable I successfully run 2 U3's and 1 Rockminer R-Box together. Every 4 days or so I do have to cycle power on the U3's and unplug/replug the USBs, but that is acceptable to me.

[Mikestang]

You haven't read my posts then. I had 3 units at one time and none of them ran together. After cleaning up the paste performance improved but I still had problems. I've since sold 1 unit, but since replacing the USB cable I successfully run 2 U3's and 1 Rockminer R-Box together. Every 4 days or so I do have to cycle power on the U3's and unplug/replug the USBs, but that is acceptable to me.

Just edited my post as I read through this thread again, searching for answers.  If I understand you, you had 3 and they wouldn't run together, you cleaned up thermal paste, and then they ran together?  You say "performance improved", but what does that mean exactly?  If the only change you made to get them to run together was cleaning thermal paste I'll give it a shot.

What happens every 4 days that you need to cycle them?  Performance drops?  Errors?  Zombie?

[Phosphorous]

You haven't read my posts then. I had 3 units at one time and none of them ran together. After cleaning up the paste performance improved but I still had problems. I've since sold 1 unit, but since replacing the USB cable I successfully run 2 U3's and 1 Rockminer R-Box together. Every 4 days or so I do have to cycle power on the U3's and unplug/replug the USBs, but that is acceptable to me.

Just edited my post as I read through this thread again, searching for answers.  If I understand you, you had 3 and they wouldn't run together, you cleaned up thermal paste, and then they ran together?  You say "performance improved", but what does that mean exactly?  If the only change you made to get them to run together was cleaning thermal paste I'll give it a shot.

What happens every 4 days that you need to cycle them?  Performance drops?  Errors?  Zombie?

Performance undeniably improved after cleaning the thermal paste. By this I mean the units lasted longer but still Zombie'd. Replacing the USB cables then let me get to where I am at today. It might be worth just changing the USB cables without doing the paste to see if that would have been enough as cleaning the paste is a pain and is not for everyone.
I never got 3 to run together because I sold one before I got the new USB cables.
Now after running for a few days one of the units will Zombie. Unplugging/replugging gets it to work again but only for a short while. Cycling power and USB plug/replug gets it to work for another 4 days or so.
Hope this helps.

[Mikestang]

Performance undeniably improved after cleaning the thermal paste. By this I mean the units lasted longer but still Zombie'd. Replacing the USB cables then let me get to where I am at today. It might be worth just changing the USB cables without doing the paste to see if that would have been enough as cleaning the paste is a pain and is not for everyone.
I never got 3 to run together because I sold one before I got the new USB cables.
Now after running for a few days one of the units will Zombie. Unplugging/replugging gets it to work again but only for a short while. Cycling power and USB plug/replug gets it to work for another 4 days or so.
Hope this helps.

I have used my own USB cables since day 1, my first U3 would not run at all with the factory cable.  My second U3 I threw the factory USB cable in the trash right away.

Were you able to run two U3s together before you cleaned the thermal paste is I guess what I'm getting at.  I haven't applied paste since I build my computer years ago, I know it's a pain, which is why I'm putting it off, but I just may have to try it to say I've tried everything.

Other than that maybe my computers have USB issues, I read through this thread again and noted at least 5 different people who were able to run 2 at once.  I wonder why it works for them but not for me.

[Phosphorous]

Performance undeniably improved after cleaning the thermal paste. By this I mean the units lasted longer but still Zombie'd. Replacing the USB cables then let me get to where I am at today. It might be worth just changing the USB cables without doing the paste to see if that would have been enough as cleaning the paste is a pain and is not for everyone.
I never got 3 to run together because I sold one before I got the new USB cables.
Now after running for a few days one of the units will Zombie. Unplugging/replugging gets it to work again but only for a short while. Cycling power and USB plug/replug gets it to work for another 4 days or so.
Hope this helps.

I have used my own USB cables since day 1, my first U3 would not run at all with the factory cable.  My second U3 I threw the factory USB cable in the trash right away.

Were you able to run two U3s together before you cleaned the thermal paste is I guess what I'm getting at.  I haven't applied paste since I build my computer years ago, I know it's a pain, which is why I'm putting it off, but I just may have to try it to say I've tried everything.

Other than that maybe my computers have USB issues, I read through this thread again and noted at least 5 different people who were able to run 2 at once.  I wonder why it works for them but not for me.

No, I was unable to run multiple units for more than a few minutes before cleaning the paste.