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NiceHash Miner

Introduction

NiceHash Miner is an easy to use CPU & GPU cryptocurrency miner for Windows. With a simple an intuitive graphical user interface it allows you to quickly turn your PC, workstation or server into money-making cryptocurrency mining machine. Why leave your computer idle, whereas it could earn you Bitcoins with just a few clicks?

Please follow us on Twitter @NiceHashMining for updates on new versions and other important information.

What are the benefits?

NiceHash Miner is essentially the only tool a miner needs. No need to go through tons of configuration files, various mining software versions, configuration tuning or cryptocurrency coins market analysis. Auto-tuning for best performance and efficiency, automatic selection and runtime automatic switching to most profitable cryptocurrency algorithm are all integrated into NiceHash Miner and will enable you seamless, joyful and profitable mining experience.

Features

  • Easy one-click CPU mining for CPUs that support at least SSE2 (only works on Windows x64).
  • Easy one-click GPU mining for NVIDIA GPUs using microarchitecture (compute capability) SM 2.1/3.x/5.x/6.x.
  • Easy one-click GPU mining for AMD GPUs using any AMD GPU devices that supports OpenCL.
  • Support for multiple CPUs on multiple NUMAs with affinity adjustments to maximize mining speed.
  • Integrated support for Simple Multi-Algorithm. Always mine most profitable algorithm.
  • Integrated benchmarking tool. Run it only once before you start mining and after every hardware/driver/software upgrade.
  • Optimized algorithms for AVX2 and AVX (CPU mining).
  • Watch-feature - automatically restart miner if crashed or hanged.
  • Display current rate and your balance in real time.
  • Auto update notifications.
  • Much more...

Requirements

  • Windows 7 or newer operating system (preferably 64-bit)
  • For CPU mining a modern CPU with SSE2 support
  • For AMD mining any AMD GPU with OpenCL support
  • For NVIDIA mining any NVIDIA GPU with Compute capability (SM) 2.1 or newer
  • up-to-date drivers for all GPUs
  • Reliable internet connectivity
  • Personal Bitcoin wallet: https://www.nicehash.com/index.jsp?p=faq#faqs15

How to get&run it?

All you have to do is download, extract and run the miner (no installation needed), choose the server location that is the closest to your location, run built-in benchmark and enter your Bitcoin wallet address where you want to get your coins sent at - and you are ready to start mining and maximizing your profit.

Note: .NET Framework 2.0 or higher and Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2013 is required. No additional installations should be needed if you use Windows 7 or later. However, if you encounter any issues when starting application (application would fail to start or errors/warnings about missing DLL files are displayed) you should download and install Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2013 (after installation a reboot might be required).

Detailed instructions:

WARNING: Due to specific requirements of the supporting back-end program "sgminer", you can not run NiceHash Miner through Windows RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) if you are using AMD GPUs. If you still wish to use remote access to your computer while running NiceHash Miner we suggest you to use TeamViewer: https://www.teamviewer.com.

Where is the profit coming from?

As a back-end NiceHash Miner relies on the NiceHash.com service. By running NiceHash Miner you're essentially selling the hashing power of your CPUs & GPUs to hashing power buyers. Those are using the hashing power to mine various cryptocurrency coins and support decentralized blockchain networks - similar to cloud computing - only that by running NiceHash Miner you're actually being a provider for the cryptocurrency mining hashing power. You are being part of a global compute power network, empowering decentralized digital currencies.

How to run NiceHash Miner only when profitability is high enough?

Profitability of mining can go up and down that may be unprofitable to mine especially places with high electricity cost. By using the "MinimumProfit" settings, NiceHashMiner will stop mining if the current profits are below the minimum amount (in USD). This will help you mine during "profitable" times only.

Additional options

Click 'Settings' button. NiceHash Miner will be relaunched with the ability to modify configs. Alternatively, you can manually modify config.json file (close NiceHash Miner first).

Parameter Range Description
ConfigFileVersion Version This is to identify which version of NiceHashMiner did the config file is made from.
Language number Language selection for NiceHashMiner GUI.
DebugConsole true or false When set to true, it displays debug console.
DisplayCurrency valid 3 letter code Converts to selected currency via http://fixer.io valid options are any supported via fixer.
BitcoinAddress valid BTC address The address that NiceHashMiner will mine to.
WorkerName text To identify the computer on NiceHash web UI.
Location number Used to select the location of the mining server.
AutoStartMining true or false When set to true, NiceHashMiner will automatically start mining when launched.
HideMiningWindows true or false When set to true, sgminer, ccminer and cpuminer console windows will be hidden.
MinimizeToTray true or false When set to true, NiceHashMiner will minimize to the system tray.
LessThreads 0 .. 64 Reduce number of threads used on each CPU by LessThreads.
ForceCPUExtension 0, 1, 2 or 3 Force certain CPU extension miner. 0 is automatic, 1 for SSE2, 2 for AVX and 3 for AVX2.
SwitchMinSecondsFixed number Fixed part of minimal time (in seconds) before miner switches algorithm. Total time is SwitchMinSecondsFixed + SwitchMinSecondsDynamic.
SwitchMinSecondsDynamic number Random part of minimal time (in seconds) before miner switches algorithm. Total time is SwitchMinSecondsFixed + SwitchMinSecondsDynamic. Random part is used to prevent all world-wide NiceHash Miner users to have the exact same switching pattern.
SwitchMinSecondsAMD number Fixed part of minimal time (in seconds) before miner switches algorithm (additional time for AMD GPUs). Total time is SwitchMinSecondsFixed + SwitchMinSecondsAMD + SwitchMinSecondsDynamic.
MinerAPIQueryInterval number Amount of time between each API call to get the latest stats from miner.
MinerRestartDelayMS number Amount of time to delay before trying to restart the miner.
MinerAPIGraceSeconds number This is to give time for the miner's API to start up properly.
BenchmarkTimeLimitsCPU numbers List of benchmarking time (in seconds). The first one is for "Quick benchmark", second one is for "Standard benchmark" and third one is for "Precise benchmark".
BenchmarkTimeLimitsNVIDIA numbers List of benchmarking time (in seconds). The first one is for "Quick benchmark", second one is for "Standard benchmark" and third one is for "Precise benchmark".
BenchmarkTimeLimitsAMD numbers List of benchmarking time (in seconds). The first one is for "Quick benchmark", second one is for "Standard benchmark" and third one is for "Precise benchmark".
DisableDetectionNVidia5X true or false Set it to true if you would like to skip the detection of NVidia5.X GPUs.
DisableDetectionNVidia3X true or false Set it to true if you would like to skip the detection of NVidia3.X GPUs.
DisableDetectionNVidia2X true or false Set it to true if you would like to skip the detection of NVidia2.X GPUs.
DisableDetectionAMD true or false Set it to true if you would like to skip the detection of AMD GPUs.
DisableAMDTempControl true or false Set it to true if you would like to disable the built-in temperature control for AMD GPUs.
AutoScaleBTCValues true or false Set it to true if you wish to see the BTC values autoscale to the appropriate scale.
StartMiningWhenIdle true or false Automatically start mining when computer is idle and stop mining when computer is being used.
MinIdleSeconds number When StartMiningWhenIdle is set to true, MinIdleSeconds tells how many seconds computer has to be idle before mining starts.
LogToFile true or false Set it to true if you would like NiceHashMiner to log to a file.
LogMaxFileSize number The maximum size (in bytes) of the log file before roll over.
ShowDriverVersionWarning true or false Set to true if you would like to get a warning if less than ideal driver for mining is detected.
DisableWindowsErrorReporting true or false Set it to true if you would like to disable windows error reporting. This will allow NiceHashMiner to restart the miner in the case of the miner crashes.
UseNewSettingsPage true or false Set to true if you would like to use the new Settings form.
NVIDIAP0State true or false When set to true, NiceHashMiner would change all supported NVidia GPUs to P0 state. This will increase some performance on certain algorithms.
ethminerAPIPortNvidia number Ethminer API port that will be used to get the status of the miner.
ethminerAPIPortAMD number Ethminer API port that will be used to get the status of the miner.
ethminerDefaultBlockHeight number A fallback number that will be used if API call fails. This is only used for benchmarking.
Groups\Name text Used for identification purposes in the config file
Groups\APIBindPort number API port that will be used by this group.
Groups\ExtraLaunchParameters text Additional launch parameters when launching miner.
Groups\UsePassword text or null Use this password when launching miner. If null, default password 'x' is used.
Groups\MinimumProfit number If set to any value more than 0 (USD), NiceHashMiner will stop mining if the calculated profit falls below the set amount.
Groups\DaggerHashimotoGenerateDevice number Choose which GPU that will create the on GPU DAG file. As a rule of thumb, choose the fastest GPU that is available.
Groups\DisabledDevices numbers List of GPUs that will be disabled and will not be used for benchmarking and mining by NiceHashMiner.
Groups\Algorithms\Name text Used for identification purposes in the config file.
Groups\Algorithms\ExtraLaunchParameters text Additional launch parameters when launching miner and this algorithm.
Groups\Algorithms\UsePassword text or null Use this password when launching miner and this algorithm. If null, Groups\UsePassword is used.
Groups\Algorithms\BenchmarkSpeed number Fine tune algorithm ratios by manually setting benchmark speeds for each algorithm.
Groups\Algorithms\Skip true or false Set to true if you would like to skip & disable a particular algorithm. Benchmarking as well as actual mining will be disabled for this particular algorithm. That said, auto-switching will skip this algorithm when mining will be running.
Groups\Algorithms\DisabledDevices numbers List of GPUs that will be disabled and will not be used for benchmarking and mining by NiceHashMiner for this algorithm only.

Do not change any 'Name' parameters - changing them will not have any effect. 'Name' parameters are there only for easier config management.

Examples:

If your CPU has 8 virtual cores and you would like to mine only with 7:

Set LessThreads to 1.

If you would like to set lower starting difficulty for ScryptJaneNf16 algorithm because your CPU is slow:

Set UsePassword to "d=0.1" under Algorithms item that has Name "scryptjanenf16" for all groups with Name "CPUx".

If you would like to manually configure intensity parameters for your three NVIDIA video cards (Quark algorithm):

Set ExtraLaunchParameters to "-i 19,19,19" under Algorithms item that has Name "quark" for group with Name "NVIDIA5.x" or "NVIDIA3.x".

Troubleshooting

My NVIDIA video card(s) is/are not detected.

Make sure to install latest official NVIDIA drivers from here: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx Also check whether your card has Compute capability (version) 2.1, 3.x or 5.x, check here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUDA#Supported_GPUs

My AMD video card(s) is/are not detected.

Make sure to install latest official AMD drivers from here: http://support.amd.com/en-us/download Also check whether your card supports OpenCL, check "OpenCL" column here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units

I am having issues with my AMD GPU drivers.

We recommend you to use 15.7.1 version of AMD GPU display drivers. The latest Crimson drivers are also supported, but optimal speed for the majority of algorithms can be achieved by using 15.7.1 version. This version can be downloaded here. When uninstalling or reinstalling display drivers we suggest you to use Guru 3D Display Driver Uninstaller. This utility will make sure you get a clean driver state. You can download it here. If you are using Windows 10, the AMD installer utility is sometimes unable to install drivers, therefore you have to install them manually. Download and run diver installer, let it extract the archive and then cancel it when prompted to execute actual install. After this go to Control Panel / System / Device Manager, Right click on your GPU, choose to Update driver manually and point to c:\AMD[driver version] folder to finish the manual driver installation.

I'm getting "Always ask before opening this file" when running NiceHash Miner

Make sure you un-check the checkbox "Always ask before opening this file" when NiceHash Miner is starting cpuminer, ccminer or sgminer back-end programs. This is needed because back-end programs will be executed several times while NiceHash Miner is running (auto-switching according to profitability and in case programs hangs) and you have to make sure these programs will be to executed automatically without your intervention.

My anti-virus is blocking the application

Some anti-virus software might block NiceHash Miner as well as supporting back-end programs (cpuminer, ccminer, sgminer) due to false-positive matches. All software, included into NiceHash Miner has been verified and checked by our team and is absolutely virus/trojan free. Our service is well established and trusted among users, therefore you can fully trust software releases that are downloaded from our GitHub repository: https://github.com/nicehash/NiceHashMiner/releases. However, make sure you never download and run any files from other unknown sources! If you downloaded the software package from our GitHub repository you can simply resolve the issues with false-positives by adding the files sgminer.exe, ccminer_sp.exe, ccminer_tpruvot.exe, cpuminer_x64_AVX.exe, cpuminer_x64_AVX2.exe and cpuminer_x64_SSE2.exe to anti-virus exception list.

I'm getting "Enqueueing kernel" errors on AMD GPUs

If you have very low amount of system memory (RAM), especially if lower than 4 GB, than you might encounter this kind of errors:

Error -4: Enqueueing kernel onto command queue. (clEnqueueNDRangeKernel)
GPU 0 failure, disabling!

This is because the sgminer mining application, which is used for AMD GPU mining, requires a particular amount of free system memory (RAM) to be able to run successfully. We suggest you to upgrade your system with more RAM.

My benchmarking results are not accurate

Any kind of automation can only be done up to a particular level. We've spent significant effort to make benchmarking as good as possible, but it can't be made ideal. First of all, make sure to run Precise benchmark if Standard benchmark is not giving you satisfactory results. If you still see a deviation of actual mining speed from the one, calculated from benchmark, then you should manually enter these observed speed numbers from actual mining into config.json file or set them via the "Settings" button.

Benchmarks on particular algorithms keep getting terminated on AMD GPUs

In some particular combinations of Windows version + AMD Driver version benchmarks on some algorithms keep getting terminated. If the particular algorithm that is being terminated is shown on pause on the front page of NiceHash.com (No orders - mining unavailable), then this is normal expected behaviour. However, if benchmark is also terminated for active algorithms, then you have to apply workaround solution. The solution is to copy all .cl files from the [..\bin\sgminer-5-3-0-general\kernel] folder into [c:\Users[your_username_here]\appdata\local\temp] folder and then re-run the benchmark for the algorithms that are terminated during benchmark.

How to report bugs and issues?

To report bugs and issues please use the GitHub issue reporting tool: https://github.com/nicehash/NiceHashMiner/issues. Any bugs and issues reports are very much appreciated since it helps us to improve NiceHash Miner. Thank you.

References