How to mine ZCash (ZEC) - Part 1

This Zcash Mining Guide is geared towards the absolute beginner that wants to begin mining Zcash but has no experience in Linux. If you are a Linux Guru then you can simply head on over Github and follow the Zcash Sprout 1.0 guide

The first thing you need to know is that Zcash is only programmed to run on Linux. If you are anything like I was you have only worked with Windows or Apple devices your entire life and that name Linux invokes images of dreadful hard-to-understand coding and old command line interfaces. This is only somewhat true, you will have to dive into a bit of code but for the most part Ubuntu is pretty easy to use. I’m going to share with you tips and tricks I learned using Linux to make your life easier and you will see that Linux only takes a little getting used to and if you have the time and are willing to do a little homework you too can be mining Zcash in a few hours.

I have broken this guide into three parts:

• Part 1 Installing Linux
• Part 2 Basic Linux Guide
• Part 3 Installing/Mining Zcash
  So let’s get started!

If you have a Windows or Apple machine the first step is for you to install a VM (Virtual Machine) on your computer. A VM will allow you to run Linux on your computer with minimal effort and will allow you to play around with Zcash mining with no risk to your computers operating system. The beauty of VM’s is that if you mess something up, no biggie, you can just delete the entire VM and start over. The downside of mining Zcash in a VM is that it will never be able to dedicate 100% of your computer’s hardware to mine since your Windows or OSX operating system will always need to save some resources for itself. Later if you get serious about mining and want to get the most work out of your machine you should follow this video about how to set up a dual-boot Linux machine.

First step for getting you a VM is to head over to https://www.virtualbox.org/ and click on the big blue button that says “Download Virtualbox”. Now while that is downloading head over to http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop and download the latest version of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a Linux distribution that is easy to work with for new users since it feels similar to Windows or OSX, some Linux gurus may have a personal preference for an different version, but for the newbie Ubuntu works well.

This video explains the process for installing on Windows but the process for installing on OSX is nearly identical :

If you successfully follow the directions in the video then Congratulations! You now have taken your first step into the world of Linux and Zcash Mining!