
If you use a CD, you’ll need to temporarily hook up a CD-ROM drive to your mining rig for the installation (make sure you temporarily enable your SATA controller if you disabled it in step 1!). You’ll need to either burn the installation image onto a CD, or write the image to a second USB stick.Download the Xubuntu Desktop 圆4 v12.10 installation image.Most other distros should work just fine, but be aware that the GPU drivers require the presence of Xorg, which means server distros that don’t have a GUI will not work properly. Xubuntu is a lightweight version of Ubuntu, a popular Linux distribution.
CGMINER 3.1.1 INSTALL
Step 2: Install Xubuntu Desktop to your USB stick
CGMINER 3.1.1 SERIAL
For me, that meant disabling onboard audio, the SATA controller, the USB 3.0 ports (I only had a 2.0 USB stick), the Firewire port, and the serial port. This will save a little bit of power, and since your miner will likely be running 24/7, it’ll add up.

If you missed the hardware portion of our guide, make sure to check it out first.


Best of all, Linux is free! However, be aware that if you’d like to undervolt your GPUs to save power, Windows might be a better choice for you (update 10/2013: no longer true!). Linux has a few advantages over Windows, including the ability to install to a USB stick (which means you don’t need a harddrive), lesser hardware requirements (you can get by just fine with less than 4GB of RAM), and simpler remote administration capabilities. Don’t be dissuaded if you’ve never used Linux before-our step-by-step guide makes it easy.
CGMINER 3.1.1 HOW TO
In the second installment of our DIY litecoin mining guide, we’ll look at how to install and configure Linux to properly mine with your GPUs at optimal settings.
