FabulousPanda's MacMiner
Frequently Asked Questions
'Requires version X but X provides...'
The earlier versions of MacMiner (including the version for 10.6) need to be in the Applications folder to function properly.
What does accepted mean?
Accepted counts the number of shares that have been received, processed and accepted.
What is a share?
A share is like a lottery ticket, or a piece of work created and counted by a pool. Whether you solo mine or use a pool, you hash shares. Shares have no worth unless a pool is counting them to calculate your payout, or you find a 'lucky' share, and when that happens solo mining it means you've found a block.
cgminer vs bfgminer
What's the difference between bfgminer and cgminer? Both are very similar, but bfgminer officially supports Mac OS X, while cgminer conflicts with the native usb serial drivers on Mac OS 10.9 Mavericks. bfgminer usually gives better results on a Mac.
Can you mine Litecoin or other scrypt coins with ASICs?
Not with the same ASICs that are used to mine Bitcoin, and other SHA-256 coins, however dedicated hardware is being developed for scrypt coins.
How do you know whether your miner is working?
If MacMiner shows Accepted shares that's a good sign, but the best way to find out is on your pool website.
Help! "No device detected"
Please read Setting up FPGA/ASIC devices and make sure you're set up correctly. If bfgminer says it doesn't detect the device and the miner settings panel is set up to use it, try cgminer and vice versa. If all else fails, and a restart does no good, please ask on the forum
What coins are supported?
Any SHA-256 or Scrypt coin, including but not limited to Bitcoin, Litecoin, Namecoin, Feathercoin, Peercoin, Dogecoin
MacMiner also support many other coins and algorithms, rather than updating this page every time one is added please check in app or check the forum
Can I run multiple instances of MacMiner?
Yes, you can copy and rename MacMiner as many times as you like, and the bfgminer window can be run in conjunction with the FPGA/ASIC Miner window and the CPU Miner window.
Where do I get a Bitcoin Wallet or Address?
bitcoin.org has a list of wallets to choose from. If you have the space on your computer to run a full node I recommend using Bitcoin Core, but if you don't have over 150GB to spare you can run what's called a lightweight or spv wallet, such as Electrum. Both are linked from bitcoin.org
Where can I buy Bitcoin?
You can buy bitcoins anywhere in the world at localbitcoins.com. Unlike a regular exchange, local bitcoins allows you to trade with other buyers and sellers directly via a number of payment methods. It is one of the most trustworthy and longstanding places to buy bitcoin.
More conventional bitcoin exchanges are listed by location here on bitcoin.org. Many of these also support trading alt coins.
Please support FabulousPanda by checking out our latest creation:
Running bfgminer, cgminer and cpuminer at the command line
If you don't find what you're looking for here, please check the forum