The UNOFFICIAL [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ι⛏ο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] guide to "mining" Gridcoin!! Pool style!!
#gridcoin on Twitter
This guide assumes you have downloaded and installed your Gridcoin Research wallet with NO settings of any kind made.
It's just so much easier to start with a fresh install. AND you do not need to set ANYTHING in the wallet to mine in a pool anyway.
So, here we go:
How to Change Over to GRC pool (https://www.grcpool.com)
(search for #grcpool on Twitter too)
Before we begin, understand that NO settings of ANY kind are required to be setup in your GridcoinResearch wallet if you only BOINC in a pool. You only need one of your wallet addresses so the pool knows where to pay you.
Have both BOINC and Gridcoin Wallet installed and RUNNING on the same computer and connected to the internet. When pool mining having both on the same computer is not a requirement but for the purpose of this guide it is easier on both of us. (thanks @tomasbrod)
Put BOINC Manager in "advanced mode". (from menu: View --> Advanced View...)
From the Tools menu stop using any account managers you might currently be using. (Tools --> Stop using account manager "this manager") as www.grcpool.com is your new account manager from now on.
"remove" all projects (the tasks will leave with them) in Boinc/Boinc Manager that you might have added yourself. Preferably suspend and reset them before removing.
go to https://www.grcpool.com and make account if you have not already. "sign up" in the top right corner of page. (Any of the pools, does not matter which)
under Tools --> "use account manager" in Boinc Manager add account manager "https://www.grcpool.com/" (do not forget that trailing slash) and give it the password for your GRCpool.com account.
then ONLY use the webpages AT grcpool.com to add/remove projects for each host(computer).
Login to grcpool.com and you can click on "Hosts" and click the "Host Name" of a computer to add/remove/change projects.
Simply choose a project(s) from the drop down list and click "Add" then scroll down and check off the boxes for GPU or CPU you want or do not want to use.
AFTER you add a project you must "synchronize with grcpool.com" from the Tools menu in Boinc Manager TWICE after BOINC Manager has downloaded some files from the NEW project!! This applies only to newly added projects and not projects already listed for that host computer.
7a. Do this:
Boinc Manager -->Tools-->Synchronize with grcpool.com
7b. Then do this:
grcpool.com page-->Host-->Host Name-->scroll to bottom and click the "Save Project Settings" button then see if the "This project may not be attached correctly or needs to be synchronized from your client." message goes away. If not wait a minute or 2, use "Boinc Manager -->Tools-->Synchronize with grcpool.com" and "Save Project Settings" again.
Then the message that one of your projects need to be synced goes away. It can also go away on it's own after your host computer automatically syncs with grcpool.com, which happens a couple times a day.
Break Time!
Breath deeply, take a break and go get a drink, you are setup to run tasks.
When you get back from break start setting up your grcpool settings.
Do not forget to browse the rest of your account and set the other things up:
- Your GridcoinResearch wallet address so you get paid
- The minimum "GRC owed" before grcpool pays it to your wallet (happens once per day)
- A separate password for grcpool.com if you prefer, not required. (yes it will let you keep the boinc one just for boinc)
- Setup 2 Factor Authentication using most often your phone (security is very important!)
- What percentage of your earnings in GRC are donated back to the pool (if any, not required)
Then, forgive me but I need you to pay close ATTENTION!:
The following is TRUE (and expected)if you join a pool INSTEAD of going Solo:
You do NOT require a CPID
You will not need a "beacon" as they are for "solo" accounts
Your wallet will not have a CPID shown, it will show INVESTOR
Your wallet will not show a Project, it will show INVESTOR
Your wallet will not show a continuous status, it's only shows some text if it is doing something
You CAN stake and WILL stake if you wallet is "unlocked for staking", however unless you have 1,000 GRC or more it's not so likely you will stake more than once per six months. 3,000 around ~21 days and 5,000 around ~12 days.
You WILL gain interest on your GRC in wallet even if it is offline, it's independent of the pool. However you will need to put it online once in a while to collect that interest (at current rate of 1.5% per year)
You SHOULD try to run your wallet 24/7 on the internet if you can. You are helping the whole Gridcoin community AND yourself by running the wallet 24/7.
The more wallets online, the greater the security of the blockchain.
You SHOULD google "crypto currency cold storage" to learn to store large amounts OFFLINE
Currently amounts greater than 5,000 GRC are not required if you are happy getting paid every ~14 to ~18 days.
For POOL and INVESTOR methods this means you get INTEREST payments.
For SOLO method this means you get both INTEREST and GRC owed from doing BOINC projects.
** One final note: Any other Hosts/Computers you wish to add to your pool account do not need wallets. Simply add GRCpool as the account manager, manage them from the GRCpool page and all GRC earned will go to the wallet address you set. (Thank you @hotbit)
And now you are DONE! :) Relax, check your pool pages now and then and read up on some more Gridcoin news and tips.
Happy Gridcoining!! (and many thanks to @Rampager for the use of his art [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ι⛏ο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] )
Next topic: The UNOFFICIAL [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ι⛏ο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] guide to "mining" Gridcoin!! Solo style!!
I love my coffee. Buy me a coffee?
- Gridcoin (GRC) SCxtdBK4xm2goAavRrm519rKEpd9H7csRc
- ZCash (ZEC) t1etHdqtHFtoXdEwW41Aywn9dKcfz3nY4iv
- Ethereum (ETH) 0x90F260efbdD4b4a26097B0FA25557914Aa70c9E7
- ZClassic (ZCL) t1HxkbkoTUCZZXR9e4D9RE35uBbRtYJzqSY
- Hush (HUSH) t1SWTo6K1wWeVoBMZGnGD2tdAZNHvWg2tai
You DO NOT need to have Gridcoin Wallet RUNNING on the same computer as boinc if pool mining.
In the point 4.: One should not be removing (Aborting) any tasks, as boinc will auto-download more tasks as you do this. It is easier to just remove PROJECTS. (Some projects prefer you to first set No New Tasks, then Abort all, then Update the project and then Detach, but this procedure is too complicated)
To third bullet after point 7.: You do not have to Synchronize twice. Hitting the Synchronize ONCE after finishing adjustments on grcpool is more than enough. In fact, if you have a remote computer, you do not have to click sync at all, it will sync automatically after few hours.
To the point 7b: The red triangle and warning message is purely cosmetic. The red exclamation mark will stay there until you get some credit from the project and the Pool software executes it's internal project synchronization.
I suggest users to take a BREAK at this point and THEN check on the warning again.
Also you are earning interest even when your wallet is offline. You are just not getting it written to your account (thus no compounding. To get the accrued interest, you must go online/unlocked at some point stake.
Anyway, Good guide.
Thank you. I will edit and make adjustments. Unfortunately people panic when warnings and things displayed in red do not go away. So I adjusted it to "new projects only".
If solo mining one also does not need the wallet to be running on the same computer as BOINC. As long as the BOINC mining computers are connected to the same CPID you are still able to get credit.
@donkeykong9000 How so? It is my experience that a solo wallet needs access to a local boinc client. Although the boinc client does not need to know about the Gridcoin wallet and the boinc manager is not required.
When I shutdown the local boinc-client my CPID and stats for solo disappear and wallet shows INVESTOR.
I mean you could have multiple computers running BOINC, only one is required to have a running wallet. As long as the other computers are associated with the same CPID you will still get credit for tasks.
Yes, that is my experience. I thought that was what you meant :) but was not really sure until now.
This is because you have just one boinc client, isn't it?
Yes, the setup guide is inferring only one BOINC client. Once you have this setup finished any of your other BOINC clients need only attach to your GRCpool account manager. All the GRC they earn goes into the one wallet address you set in GRCpool Earnings section. Thanks for the reminder, I will up date the guide.