Hello everyone! Welcome to getting started with Gridcoin.
As a recent contributor to crunching with Gridcoin I know that it may seem difficult at first. I've seen a lot of topics recently asking for help getting started or asking for coins so you can stake.
The truth is, it's much simpler than that!
Getting Started Mining
Misconception #1 You need GRC to start mining. No you don't!
The most easy way to get started is with a Gridcoin Pool. You don't need to invest anything to get started and you can begin mining right away with your computers or even your phones. All you need to do is follow these simple steps.
Step 1: Head to GRCpool.com and sign up for an account.
Step 2: Create a gridcoin wallet. You can download the official wallet here Gridcoin Wallet and install it on your system. Windows link provided.
Step 3: Download Boinc on your PC/Systems. You can download the Boinc client from the official website and install it on your system. The default settings are fine.
Step 4: Configure Boinc. There are a few things to do in this step.
- When you start Boinc it will ask you to join a project. Just cancel that and follow the below instructions instead.
- Click on "view" and switch to advanced view
- Click on "Tools" and press "Use account manager"
- Down the bottom where it says "URL" enter the GRC pool URL www.grcpool.com and press next
- Enter the username and password you made on GRCpool and press next. It will verify the username and password are correct then you are done!
Step 5: Now it's time to add a project so you can start doing science!
- Head back to the GRCpool website and on the top right press your username.
- Click on the blue arrow under "Hosts".
- You will see your PC name listed, click on it.
- You will now see a drop down menu of projects. Select one that interests you. Say... SETI because who doesn't want to talk to aliens, then press "add".
- Down the bottom press "Save Project Settings".
- Head back over to your Boinc client, press "Tools" again and then press "Synchronize with GRCpool.com". Boinc will download any additional files needed so it may take some time but after that you will start doing science!
Step 6: Add your wallet to GRCpool.
- Open GridcoinResearch.exe on your PC.
- Click on "Receive" you will see a wallet address listed there. Select it and press "Copy" down the bottom.
- Head back over to the GRCpool website. Click on your username again.
- Click on where it says "GRC Address" under earnings. Copy in your address and enter your password again. Then press "set GRC address"
- Let the GridcoinResearch Client run in the background of your PC so it can sync up. This can take a while so don't be concerned. Also if you are paid out from GRCpool and your wallet is not sysnced don't worry as the coins will still transfer and you will see them once you are synced up.
You're done!
The basic set up of Boinc and Gridcoin is now complete. You will begin mining and should see some earnings within 24 hours or so on GRCpool.com
There are other things you can do, such as changing the computing preferences or selecting different projects. I also recommend backing up your wallet so you don't lose your gridcoin in-case there is a problem with your PC.
If I made a mistake or missed anything in this guide let me know as I was going off memory from when I set it up.