Debain Squeeze - Iceweasel Release - Firefox Deb packages

v 0.3
Sep 2011

Whilst I love the Debian Stable concept, it does become limiting when you wish to use rapidly evolving software.  Certainly this is where the Debian Backports service came about, though I seriously need to get into it and see how I can use it for useful updates.

I the meantime, over the last few days I have stumbled on two up-to-date incarnations of Firefox that are packaged as debs for, or compatible with Squeeze.

• The first, up-to-date Iceweasel is available from http://mozilla.debian.net/ .  At time of writing it is Iceweasel 5.0.  Icedove is also available.
• The Second is GNU Icecat available from http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/ .  Deb packages for Ubuntu are available from https://launchpad.net/~gnuzilla-team/+archive/ppa .  Squeeze is compatible with the Lucid Lynx (or whatever it was) version of Ubuntu for this application.  Clicking the "View Package Details" link lets you view what is available.  Debs are there for both 32 bit and 64 bit.

Of course, as I have written about earlier, you can always download the Linux binary from the Firefox download yourself and simply install it manually.  I have come to regard "Opt" as the most convenient place to put it, as several other packages do also.


Later ...........

Update 9 Aug 11

I was disappointed to see the Debian access to the latest iceweasel is far less than before.  Tried installing the latest release and it failed due to library problems.  (see below ... my mistake )

On the positive side, I

1. downloaded the Firefox tarball from the Firefox site, and as root unpacked it in "/opt" .  
2. added firefox to the menu system with "alacarte" from a root terminal.

When I executed firefox, it worked fine - no other action needed, so I un-installed iceweasel using synaptic.  Very pleased with the result.

Also .... NOTE the version of Iceweasel that is included with Debian Squeeze is no longer supported by Google in their products.


Update 16 Sep 11

Had my faith in the Debian Mozilla team enlightened.

http://mozilla.debian.net/

Follow the directions.

If you use the command line like they say, it will work .. when I followed the directions rather than using synaptic it worked fine.  The trick is  the " -t" option in the command line.  Once you use it, updates will work fine.  You just have to get it working in the terminal.


Later ....

Debian Squeeze - VirtualBox Guest Additions

v 0.3

This post has a number of connections - it ties together a number of the posts I've made today and also my post on Bitcoin mining.  As I posted there, you can let the mining happen in a Windows environment and run a normal desktop, say Slackware or Debian under Virtualbox.  I noted that playing video clashes with Bitcoin mining, but not if you run it in a Virtual Machine.

Slackware already comes with all the required build tools to install Guest Additions and all it requires for that is to mount the Guest Additions ISO and run the script.  Debian needs a bit more.  You need to ensure the kernel headers and the build tools are installed - either by installing Module assistant and then using the command " m-a prepare " or downloading the headers and build tools as described in the previous NVidia driver post.  If you find you need an alternative compiler version, the refer to the post on that.

Finally, just mount the Guest Editions ISO (in its most basic form you can find it in the Virtualbox directory) and then run the appropriate install script on that ISO.  Very simple.


Later.....

Jan 2012

Upon re-reading this, it seems a little spartan - I've detailed the process a little better in my post today on installing Debian Wheezy in Virtualbox...

Rgds

Debian Squeeze - NVidia Video Drivers

v 0.3

I've always found installing video drivers in Debian the easiest if I just use the proprietary drivers.  Sorry to the Debian Purists (hangs his head in shame).  Most of my experience is with NVidia drivers, so I'll stick with that.  First, two page links that pretty well cover what I'm talking about.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/how-to-install-nvidia-video-card-drivers-in-debian-lenny/
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/upgrading-nvidia-drivers-in-debian-lenny/

The technique described to install the drivers is the pukka one, however you can also just use Module Assistant as "  m-a prepare " to ensure the appropriate kernel headers and the build environment are available.  If you get a message telling you that the available compiler is the wrong one, then you can download the correct one and use one of the two techniques in my previous post to fix the situation.

What you DO need to understand is that you need to have X .. NOT running.  For Squeeze, you will have to check which version of  "gdm" is running in the directory pointed to in the first post and adjust as necessary.  Why don't I give the exact instructions?  Well, first I'm being lazy right now, and second if you can't figure it out from the links and hints above, then maybe you shouldn't be playing with this.

Updating drivers in Debian Stable is not normally a problem, since it is just a repeat of the original installation instructions, however if you are playing with Debian Testing, then when a new kernel is installed, you will lose X as the wrong driver is pointed to in xorg.conf.  To fix this, just replace the proprietary driver name with " nv " or even " vesa " to get back to the Xorg driver and it will be ok for the moment.  Of course you COULD use the opportunity of being dumped into the command line to re-install the drivers and " startx " again, however ...

That's it for the moment.


Later ......

Update.
Squeeze uses " gdm3 " so in the instructions given in the link use that instead of " gdm "

ie to stop X ...  #  /etc/init.d/gdm3 stop

Debian Squeeze - Changing the Default Compiler

v 0.2

Once, when installing the proprietary NVidia drivers in Debian Lenny, I was stumped by the message that the available compiler was different than the one required.  I've seen several techniques to change the default compiler, but the two I've seen that are the most understandable involve changing the symlink or exporting a variable pointing to the required compiler.

Changing the Variable pointing to the Compiler:
 
# export CC=/usr/bin/gcc-4.1
# ./NVIDIA-installer-xxx-whatever


Changing the Symlink:

# ln -s -f /usr/bin/gcc-4.1 /usr/bin/gcc


http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/need-an-older-gcc-version-690246/


Later ...........

Debian Squeeze - Module Assistant

v 0.2

Often, in Debian, when you install a module from source, install proprietary Video Drivers (I'm looking at you Nvidia), or the Guest Additions in VirtualBox, you need some or all of the current Kernel Headers, the appropriate Compiler and the appropriate source code.  Module assistant can make it easy for you to do some or all of those things.  For example you can use it to download and prepare the kernel headers and make sure the build tools are available before you manually run another script, or you can use Module Assistant to prepare all available modules for you to choose which one to compile and install.  The Debian Wiki has an excellent run-down on using Module Assistant both in command line and interactive mode.  It also has a complete listing of available modules for the Debian kernel.

http://wiki.debian.org/ModuleAssistant

Each of the tasks I mentioned above is deserving of its own post, even if it is short so as to make it all easier to find, however they are all interwoven.  An additional post I'll make is how to change the default gcc compiler version, since sometimes this is needed - as it was with the installation of the Lenny NVidia drivers.


Later ...........

Debian Squeeze for My Parents - Useability - Pt4

v 0.2

Over the previous three posts on this subject, I've been describing how and why I set up my Parent's home computer with Debian as an alternative for their use.  I have to emphasise that at the moment, it is an alternative, since there is a lot they like to do on Windows that time just did not allow me to show them.  My main aim was to introduce the alternative and to show them how to use it for electronic banking.  I pointed out how their current setup had major weaknesses, particularly that the anti-virus had not been updated in months, and that even though the Gnome desktop may look a little different to Windows, it wasn't that different and did basically the same things.

It is always interesting when you introduce someone who has relatively limited experience with desktop computers, to a new system that, to myself, is just a variation, but to them is completely new.  Having said that, as the new system is used then familiarity helps.

• The first thing is to explain basic concepts - the internet "cloud" of machines where websites and banks exist, the computer, and the web browser.  I found these being confused and if someone doesn't have a vision of how the pieces fit together, it can be a very difficult experience.
• Operating systems is another problem people have.  I have been surprised how many people just cannot understand that Windows is not needed to run a computer.  I generally compare this to a large house needing a Butler to manage.  The Butler runs the house and employees, greets guests and generally makes sure everything is running well.  I explain different operating systems as different Butlers who each speak a different native language when running the house.  Some are bi-lingual, others not so.
• Web browsers caused some confusion earlier on, since not having Internet Explorer and "Favourites" made it initially seem that this would not work, however explaining that IE and Firefox/Iceweasel were just two products that did the same job helped.  And relating that "Favourites" and "Bookmarks" really did the same thing helped also.

Fortunately as far as linux useability goes, the desktop metaphor is easily adapted to no matter which one. 

This post, I wanted to write about a few of the things I observed with useability, something we don't normally get to see with people trying to work at new concepts and understand things that are simple to the younger of us, but not to the elderly.



Later ..............

Debian Squeeze - HDMI Audio

v 0.2.1

I was having an email discussion with a colleague who was getting into Debian.  He had installed Squeeze on his machine and then became stumped because there was no Audio being transmitted from the NVidia GTX460 Video card.  Ultimately, his solution involved a visit to Debian Backports and the installation of the proprietary NVidia driver.

Here is his email to me:

"I have everything up and working.:-)) yay!

It turns out that the gtx460 graphics card's GPU only recognized certain codecs that became valid after the 2.6.35 kernel or something like that. This page
 http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=159346 
has a good article on alas hdmi troubleshooting for nvidia.

I back ported the 2.6.38 kernel and the sound outputs magically appeared, however the nvidia graphics driver done the "debian way" didn't want to play, so I installed the proprietary drivers straight from nvidia. In hindsight, I think it may have had something to do with the nouveau graphics drivers the new version of debian comes with as I needed to blacklist them in the mod probe.d directory.

Anyway, it's working as advertised with all the bells and whistles, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction..."

Posted in the hope someone will benefit.

Later ......

Debian Squeeze for My Parents - Config Issues - Pt3

v 0.3

Grub2

Once I'd finished installing Squeeze on my Parent's Computer, I had a dual-boot machine that booted by default into Debian. Initial installation failed to include the Windows XP selection on the bootloader menu, however I wanted it to boot into Windows as the default operating system.

Debian uses the Grub2 bootloader.  Of course, a Windows selection SHOULD appear but didn't.  Instead, the default display had two selection lines, the first being for the normal Debian Squeeze kernel, and the second for a Rescue Mode boot into Debian.  How to organise Grub the way we want it?

The Debian Wiki, of course!  First search the wiki for the bootloader Grub2.  The first challenge we have is to have it recognise the Windows installation.  The clue is in the wiki.  Open a root terminal and:

update-grub

There is now a third line on the Grub menu, pointing to the Windows XP partition.

Next, we are told "To configure grub "v2", you should edit /etc/default/grub, then run update-grub."  Opening this file (as root) shows us the first two uncommented lines as:

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT=5

The first line tells us that the default boot entry is on Line 0 (zero), the top one and that there will be a 5 second delay before the boot continues.  I changed the entries to:

GRUB_DEFAULT=2
GRUB_TIMEOUT=20

I now had the default boot line as line 2 (the third line down) and the default timeout at 20 seconds (to give adequate time to change the selection - don't forget pressing "Enter" will continue the boot process straight away).

update-grub

All fixed!


Tip - Edit file as Root

Open a root terminal window, change to the directory where the file you want to edit is located and:

gedit

gedit opens as root and can edit and save the file as root.

Tip - Open Nautilus File Manager as Root

As above but:

nautilus

and the Gnome file manager starts so you can copy files as root.

Adobe Flash

Whilst there is a package that purports to load Adobe Flash, it didn't work for me.  HowtoForge tells you how to disable the Gnash Flash plugin in "Iceweasel/Firefox", which is a good idea.

To enable flash the manual way, download the tarball for linux from Adobe and extract as root the "libflashplayer.so" file (I think it is called).  Copy it to " /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins " and it will show up nicely in Iceweasel and play Youtube videos for you.

ntfs

Use synaptic to ensure the " ntfs-3g " package is installed.

Assuming Windows is on /dev/hda1, create a directory under either /mnt or /media, say /mnt/windows .

Edit fstab (save the current one as a backup) and add a line such as this on the last line.


/dev/hda1     /mnt/windows     ntfs-3g     defaults

That should do it - you can now read and write to the windows partition.


That's it for the moment, however I still had to configure the router for SSH access - next part.


Later ......

Debian Squeeze for My Parents - Installation - Pt2

v 0.2.5

Now for the installation. ( refer also to my previous posts, particularly on Debian Iso's )

First item on the agenda was to defrag the WinXP partition.  This was not a very difficult operation, using the standard defrag tool in Windows.  Most of the files were at the front of the disk anyway, with only two insisting on remaining half-way down the partition.  Not a problem as I didn't plan on invading that part of the disk anyway.

Next, my favourite partitioning distro/tool - Parted Magic.  Whilst the Debian Installer partitions non-destructively, I like preparing the target partitions before-hand and then just assigning them during the installation.

Partitioning:

• For this installation, I used a very simple scheme - one 30 gig partition for the Filesystem and a 2 gig partition for Swap.  
• Ordinarily, I assign a partition for " /home ", which lets me re-install without destroying my data (it also lets you have multiple Linux installations for the same home partition).
• A further refinement is to assign separate partitions for " /tmp " and " /var " which provides both a safetynet in case, say, /var fills the disk and stops the system, and a security one, however I'll leave that to those more knowledgeable.

The Debian Installer is, I have found, extremely reliable.  Often I decide to try another distro and just end up returning to Debian for a reliable installation experience.  One thing to note - if you get lost or confused or whatever else, you just start again and you have lost nothing.  In fact, you have learnt something and that is a plus.

For those who don't know, Debian installs by default a Gnome desktop.  If you are really keen on KDE, XFCE or LXDE,  then you can install one of these as an alternative - there is an approapriate installation ISO available.

As pointed to in a previous post, I used a net-install iso with all non-free firmware included.  A very painless, straightforward installation.  After that, remove the installation media and boot into the Debian Squeeze desktop.  What can I say?  It really is a non-event.  Personally I dislike the default wallpaper, which is easily replaced in Gnome with a right-click to the desktop background.

If you follow through the "howtoforge" installation sequence, you will end up with a full and balanced array of software.  Two things stand out to me from all this though.  The installation of Google Chrome may not appear in the menu system - and may well need manually adding to the menu structure, or the addition of a launcher to the panel or desktop.  Also, the adobe-flash plugin does not download and install as advertised.

Configuration glitches in the next Post .

Later ....

Debian Squeeze for My Parents - Strategy - Pt1

v 0.2

My Parents are getting on in years, and with me living on the other side of the country to them, I don't get to visit perhaps as often as we all think we should.  So, since I had a couple of weeks free recently, I jumped on an aircraft and paid a visit for a week.

One of the items on my "list of things to do" was to see what I could do to improve their computing experience - particularly in the areas of security and to make their use of the machine as a communication device a more pleasant experience.  What I would have liked to have done is to just buy them an iMac, however I knew they would have regarded that as an extravagance and would have resisted because it was "different".  My Brother-in-law had been helping them as he could, however he was "time-poor" and couldn't devote all the time that was probably needed to teach them what they needed to know, and I certainly didn't want to get in his way since he was there and I wasn't.

I remember the desktop as being an early Pentium 4 machine with not much memory, and I'd been told that there had been a bit more memory put in, so I thought I'd just take stock of what was there.  When I fired the machine up, my first thought was .. this is rather snappy!  It was a newer machine than I'd remembered and quite nice for what it was:

• 15inch LCD Screen
• Pentium 4 3.2 gig
• 1 gig memory
• DVD RW
• FDD
• 80 gig HDD
• Windows XP Home

Internet access was using Internet Explorer through a router, and I found that the virus protection hadn't been updated in a few months.  For me, the only good thing here was that the machine was behind a router.  My personal, biased opinion is that you have to be nuts to use IE on a regular basis, however on a more rational level, Windows XP is rapidly becoming outdated, is inherently less secure than current systems, and can not run the latest Internet Explorer browser.  Outdated virus protection certainly didn't help.

Aha! I thought, there may be a zero-cost way to improve things here.  Importantly though, in installing a new system on the machine, it is important that Windows still boots up by default.  Forcing them into this "new fangled system" just gets the ire up and works against what you want to achieve.

After thinking about it all, I decided to use the last 30 gig of the HDD for Debian, and setting it up so that the system defaulted to Windows.

Next, the installation.


Later ..........

Debian Squeeze - ISO Installation Images

v 0.3.1

http://www.debian.org/

With version 6.0 of Debian, the default installation CD/DVD now removes all "non-free" licenced driver software from the kernel.  I have seen many postings and opinions on the Net expressing dismay in that now it will make it really hard to install a Debian System.

.................. well, not really .......

If you insist on using the "old" style installation with proprietary drivers included for you ( yes, I'm lazy and use this ) then you can download a "netinstall" CD image that will do the installation just like before.

Debian Install CD including all firmware

A netinstall requires an internet connection, as it first installs a basic system, asks you to choose a Debian repository and then downloads and installs the main system packages.

Debian Manuals
Debian Wiki

Now, if you use the standard installation CD images, all is not lost.  Read the installation guide and it shows how to load all "non-free" firmware onto a USB stick such that the installation procedure will access and install the required modules as it finds it needs them.

Finally, an EXCELLENT installation guide on "HowToForge".  The author contributes some wonderful stuff.

Perfect Desktop Debian Squeeze on HowtoForge.

And here is another installation guide that includes preparing the installation media on a USB memory stick.

So installing the new Debian "Stable" is not so scary after all.


Later ..

Bitcoin as an Electronic Currency

v 0.3.5

Since I started posting about Bitcoin, the traffic through this Blog as increased substantially.  Obviously this reflects the interest in Bitcoin, but I can't help thinking it is there for the wrong reasons.  I could almost compare it to what I've read of people's reactions to Gold Rush Fever, as it were.

Now, a Gold Rush is famous for making people rich, however all too often those being made rich were the merchants, rather than the prospectors, and it is looking the same today.  My most popular page, by far, is the description I wrote as to how to set up solo mining on Windows 7 and an ATI 6970 video card.  Yes, you will make a couple of hundred bitcoins a year with a medium setup, but that will not make you rich.  I'd classify it more as an entertaining distraction.

Another thing that concerns me is the rapid rise in the value of a bitcoin.  That has all the hallmarks of a bubble, and people are going to get burnt.  Hoarding the bitcoins for speculation CAN work, but can also burn you seriously.  If bitcoins become common as a currency then yes, over time they will inevitably rise in value, however once people start hoarding them, the "Bitcoin Landscape" becomes distorted and the instability starts again.  This instability is the opposite of what people are looking for in a currency.

Now, where does Bitcoin fit in to the money definitions?  If you read on Wikipedia as they talk of "Fiat Money" and "Comodity Money", then Bitcoin has characteristics of both.  It seems to be closest to a Banknote in definition, which then means that the stability of the Bitcoin network and encryption are the make or break characteristics.

Now, I readily admit I know little about the Bitcoin setup and I don't have a finance background, however it seems to me that Bitcoin, whilst a good concept, and apparently well thought out for the moment, still has a way to go before it can be considered a success.  It is essential that its network integrity is maintained, and it is readily apparent that its encryption needs to keep pace with the times.  What is unbreakable today is not tomorrow.  It needs continual work to stay secure and trustworthy.

So to those who think this is the magic bullet that will solve their money worries - no it is not.  You can make a substantial amount of money from Bitcoin, but only by working at the business like any other.  Yes, speculation MIGHT make you money, but more probably it will lose your money.

So there you have it, Bitcoin MIGHT work but it is early days yet and lots of holes to jump over ....


Later ..

Update:
Here is a discussion on Slashdot about Bitcoin, including just what I was concerned about above .. "the Bubble".  It appears that there was perhaps a bit of manipulation of the value over the last couple of weeks ..
Slashdot on Bitcoin

Update 2:
Bitcoin Price Crashes (Slashdot)

Bitcoin - the Wallet

v 0.3

The Bitcoin client / server is your connection to the Bitcoin network.  It keeps a record of your bitcoins and transactions in the "wallet".  Not a good idea to lose it.  When you consider making a backup of the wallet, realise that it is no good backing it up, then conducting transactions and then trying to restore.  The contents of the backup wallet will be out of sync with the network, and you risk losing any remaining bitcoins you may have in the restore.

So remember, the backup is only good as a backup of the current state of the wallet.

And while we are at it, keeping a backup of your bitcoin address is a really good idea as well.

So, where is the Bitcoin Wallet?  Speaking for Windows 7:

  C:/Users/AppData/Bitcoin/wallet.dat

Of course, there is the configuration file there as well, so backing up the entire directory might be worthwhile.



Later ............

Update 1:

Reading about Wallet security has been sending me round in circles.  I've finally been able to understand (accurately I hope) a few things I was struggling with.  Every time I came to work out HOW to do something, the basic bits were missing.

The Bitcoin application can only deal with one wallet.  It cannot swap easily between two different wallets.  To create two wallets for the same Bitcoin instance, shut down the application, and rename the directory " C:/Users/AppData/Bitcoin/ ".  Restart and a new wallet and directory will be created.

To transfer coins between these two wallets, if I understand the process accurately, you would send coins from your "checkbook" wallet to the address of your "savings" wallet.  Shutdown, and then restart with your "savings" wallet.  You would rely on the network to have recorded the transaction, and so when you started with the "savings" wallet, the coins would be transferred to that wallet.

Another approach I like (and prefer) is to have a second Bitcoin application on another computer - a netbook with Linux is the most attractive.  Use this as your "bank" wallet and only connect when you wish to transfer coins to / from the wallet.

Bitcoin - Solo Mining - Windows 7 - ATI HD 6970

v 0.7

Before you do anything with Bitcoin, you need to be running the Bitcoin software.  Of course, you will have visited the Bitcoin website and read everything there.  The software is on the front page of the website.

Bitcoin Website.

I ran the software for a couple of days before I realised that I was only using the Intel processor, not my video card's GPU to generate bitcoins.  Some research and I downloaded Guiminer and tried that, however whilst this provided part of the puzzle, it failed to get things working and I ended up doing the gruntwork with the command line "poclbm".  Of course, since the command line programs are supplied with Guiminer, then no extra download for that is needed.

The final piece of the puzzle is getting "OpenCL" working.  Guiminer does NOT recognise the latest AMD incarnation, only the previous one.  I ended up installing both, so had to choose when I started the command line up, as you will see when I get to the startup command line instructions.

Software
Guiminer
https://github.com/Kiv/poclbm
Download button on the upper right lets you download the latest .. here is a direct link to the latest at time of writing:  https://github.com/downloads/Kiv/poclbm/guiminer-20110521.exe

Stream opencl
http://developer.amd.com/Downloads/ati-stream-sdk-v2.3-vista-win7-32.exe
http://developer.amd.com/Downloads/ati-stream-sdk-v2.3-vista-win7-64.exe
http://developer.amd.com/Downloads/ati-stream-sdk-v2.3-xp32.exe
http://developer.amd.com/Downloads/ati-stream-sdk-v2.3-xp64.exe

or

AMD SDK
amd-app-sdk-v2.4-windows-64.exe    from
http://developer.amd.com/sdks/amdappsdk/downloads/pages/default.aspx


Here is a guide for guiminer which helped me to get started, however I had to work out the end details:  http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=10438

Procedure

Install and run Bitcoin.  For mining with your GPU, you will need to run bitcoin as a server, but for the moment, we can look at the interface.  There is your bitcoin wallet address, and on the bottom right, your connection status and downloaded blocks.  If you want to generate coins with your CPU, then click "settings" and "generate coins".  Don't expect much.

Make sure you have un-installed any conflicting video drivers and installed the latest ATI drivers for the 6970.  I also ran a registry cleaner to make sure there were no confusing pointers, then rebooted.

If I had to do it over again, I would only load the "ati-stream-sdk-v2.3".  Guiminer recognises it and it saves an extra flag in the command line.  Reboot.

Install and run "guiminer".  Have it in a convenient directory that is easy to refer to on the command line.  We will be using the "poclbm" program it comes with later.  What you get out of running the command line is that you can set up the configuration files.  IF you have installed the stream sdk properly, then everything will work when it starts up and you will see it has found your video card in the "Device" drop down, otherwise it will complain that it can't find an "opencl" device.

• Select "solo" miner.
• Under solo utilities, enter the username and password you wish to use to log into the bitcoin server.
• Enter any extra flags you want to use for the device (see the hardware comparison from the previous post).
• Save the configuration.

There are two configuration files:

First
\User\AppData\Roaming\bitcoin\bitcoin.conf
Within that file, should be two lines set from guiminer.
        rpcuser=username
        rpcpassword=password

Next
\User\\AppData\Roaming\poclbm\poclbm.ini
Inside this is the solo miner configuration.

{
    "profiles": [
        {
            "username": "user",
            "balance_auth_token": "",
            "name": "Default",
            "hostname": "localhost",
            "external_path": "",
            "flags": "-f60 -v -w128",
            "autostart": false,
            "device": 0,
            "password": "password",
            "port": "8332"
        },
    ],
    "bitcoin_executable": "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Bitcoin\\bitcoin.exe",
    "show_opencl_warning": true,
    "show_summary": true,
    "show_console": false
}

The Command Line

Open the command line.

       start /D"C:\Program Files (x86)\Bitcoin" bitcoin.exe -server

This line starts the bitcoin program as a server.  The bitcoin window will open as a separate process. The directory switch means you can run the command from anywhere.
Wait till a connection has been made.

start /DC:\pro\guiminer poclbm.exe --platform=1 --device=0 --user=username --pass=password

Enter the above command line (altered for your machine of course).  Note the directory switch nominates the directory - there is a space between the directory and the program executable name.  Also note the --platform switch.  I use 1 because I have two possible libraries as I have both the AMD and the ATI Stream libraries loaded - ATI Stream is the second one (1) that the system recognised first, so I'm staying with that.  I follow it with the device switch which is the video card, and then the username and password that you set in the configuration file.

It took me a while to get it sorted, but then my Video card sprang to life and the fan went wild and you could almost feel the load.  Instead of 3 M/hash per second, I was getting 350 M/hash per second.

Best of luck and I hope it works as advertised.



Later ...

Update:
I included a flag "-f60" in the poclbm.ini file.  I found without that flag, the default of "-f30" made the priority of the poclbm process too high.  I would find that after an hour or so, with the computer churning away, if I came back and wanted to do some work on the machine, it would apparently "lock" up on me and I'd have to reboot.

Update 2:
The "-f60" flag has definitely improved stability with no noticeable loss of processing.  The only problems I've had is when trying to play a Youtube video, when the system locks up.

Update 3:
The lock-up remains no matter what "f" flag I use.  It would appear that Flash video and bitcoin mining are mutually exclusive.

Update 4:
The solution I use (for the machine lockup with video playback) is to use a virtual machine for much of my work.  I have Debian 64 set up as a virtual machine using Virtualbox, and I also have instructions for a Slackware VM elsewhere in this blog.  Video playback works fine in the VM and it all works seemlessly.  My normal use of the machine barely touches its capabilities and I can run the mining on Windows.

Update 5:
Yesterday I found I had "rcp connection problems".  Solutions presented on the net didn't work for me.  Then I had a look at the bitcoin version I had (21) .... I updated to the latest (23) and the problems went away.  I also discovered that once you start the bitcoin server, you can then start the poclbm miner.  It will complain about no connection etc but as soon as there is one it starts churning away.

Update 6:
There was an update to my Catalyst Control Center from AMD tonight.  It broke the miner I had sorted.  That's the bad news - it gets better from here.  In the article above, I talk of downloading the ATI stream SDK 2.3 ... well, that is broke and we must move on.  Install the AMD 2.4 SDK and all will be fine.  In my setup, I had both - the 2.4 was platform 0 and the 2.3 was platform 1 (as reported to me).  I simply changed the "platform=1" switch to "platform=0" and all was again well.

Bitcoin - Solo Mining Considerations

v 0.3

I had intended this to be posted in a day or two, however within minutes of me posting my last piece about Bitcoin, I had several visitors to my blog about just this subject.  Having been through the frustration of trying to get the software to work for solo mining, I can understand people eager to find what they are missing.  Before I get into my setup though, a bit more about what is involved.

First, be very clear that solo mining will produce returns very few and far between.  The payoff is a block of 50 bitcoins, and since these arrive in one go, and with the current return, you can expect a payoff only once or maybe twice a year.  To get that, you will have to use the GPU on your video card to achieve that.  As an example, I have an AMD HD 6970 video card with an Intel 8400 quad core processor.  Mining with the CPU is only 1% as effective as the GPU.

Bitcoin Hardware comparison.
Bitcoin Mining Calculator

Next, what sort of Video Card.  ATI / AMD are the only way to go.  As an example, the HD 6970 is almost half the price and more than twice as productive as an NVidia GTX 580.  The best description of why, that I've seen, is that you can consider the ATI/AMD cards to use a large number of dumb calculators to get things done, whereas the NVidia cards use a small number of very smart calculators.  Brute force wins in this case.

Next post ... how I got my setup working ..


Later .........


Update 1:
Whilst I'm really happy to have so many hits on my bitcoin posts, I'm also concerned that people look at this as an instant wealth exercise.

I'd encourage you to look at ALL my bitcoin posts.

Please.

Bitcoin - Some Thoughts

v 0.2

A couple of weeks ago, I chanced on a reference to "Bitcoin", perhaps in a Slashdot article.  I remembered that I'd seen something about it a few months ago and started to read some more.  Whilst it took me some time to "get my head around it" what developed was an interesting comparison with conventional money concepts.

Gold is next to indestructible and whilst you can find some, there is still a finite supply and it cannot be counterfeited.  Gold is gold.  By itself, gold is worthless - just metal - though useful for some industrial applications.  Gold's value comes from our collective decision to have faith that someone will provide us with trade for it.  It has developed into a universal currency because we have decided that it is reliable as a medium of exchange.

Bitcoin is the digital equivalent of gold. It is run by an open-source peer-to-peer network.  It can be transferred by email and that transfer registered with the network.  It has finite supply and can be manufactured (or mined) in accordance with the rules set by the network, and as a reward for taking part in the network.  As time goes on, and the supply approaches the pre-determined limit of 21 million bitcoins, then it becomes harder to manufacture a bitcoin, and reward for participating in the network will move to transfer fees.

Is Bitcoin destined to become the defacto currency?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  Whilst it has no intrinsic value, it is certainly secure and a convenient way to transfer funds over the internet.  As more people accept bitcoins, I can see that its use could easily develop such that people simply use bitcoins as normal currency and never bother to convert back to conventional currency.  Certainly over the last six months, the value of a bitcoin has rocketed from a few US cents, to nearly US $10.  Now, this rise in its value is almost certainly driven largely by speculation, and we've all seen what wreckage a "bubble" leaves behind.  HOWEVER, as a medium of exchange, a bitcoin has value and in the short term, I see people buying some bitcoins, sending them as payment and the merchant cashing them in.  As confidence builds, then people other than speculators will have more confidence to keep their bitcoins in their digital wallets for spending.

Time will tell.


Next post, I'll talk about my experimentation taking part in the network and setting up a mining test.



Later ........