Windows 11 is the latest operating system from Microsoft, and with it comes a whole host of new features and improvements. One of the most significant changes is the inclusion of the new Windows Subsystem for Linux, which allows you to run Linux applications natively on Windows.
This could potentially be a game-changer for cryptocurrency miners, as it opens up the possibility of mining Ethereum on Windows.
Before we get into that, though, let’s take a quick look at what Ethereum is and how it works. Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.
These apps run on a blockchain, an incorruptible digital ledger of all transactions. The Ethereum blockchain is powered by Ether, a cryptocurrency that can be mined.
Mining is how new Ether is created. It’s also how transactions are verified and added to the blockchain. When you mine Ethereum, you are rewarded with Ether for contributing your computing power to the network.
This process is known as “proof of work.” In order to mine Ethereum, you need a GPU-equipped computer and an Ethereum mining software such as Ethminer.
Running Ethminer on Windows has traditionally been a bit of a hassle, as it requires setting up a virtual machine or Bootcamp partition in order to run Linux. However, with the new Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), things have gotten a whole lot easier.
WSL allows you to install and run a full-fledged Linux environment directly on Windows, no virtual machine required. This means that you can now run Ethminer natively on Windows 10!.
The process is still a bit complicated, but here’s a quick rundown of what you need to do:
1) Enable WSL on your Windows 10 machine. This can be done through the Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off menu.
Scroll down to “Windows Subsystem for Linux” and check the box next to it. Click “OK” and reboot your machine when prompted.
2) Once WSL is enabled, head over to the Microsoft Store and install your preferred Linux distribution. For this guide, we’ll be using Ubuntu 18.
04 LTS.
3) Once Ubuntu is installed, launch it and follow the prompts to set up your user account. Once that’s done, you’ll be taken to the Ubuntu terminal. From here, we’ll need to install Ethminer so that we can start mining Ethereum!
4) To do this, simply type in “sudo apt-get install ethminer” and hit enter. This will download and install Ethminer from the Ubuntu repositories.
5) Now that Ethminer is installed, we just need to tell it what address to mine for (i.e., where our rewards will go).
To do this, type in “ethminer –mine –address YOUR_ETHEREUM_ADDRESS” and hit enter (replacing “YOUR_ETHEREUM_ADDRESS” with your actual Ethereum address). And that’s it! You should now see Ethminer starting to mine for Ethereum!.
Of course, if you want to actually make any money from mining Ethereum you’ll need to put in some serious hardware firepower; mining with just your CPU isn’t going to cut it these days. But if you’ve got a beefy GPU rig set up already, there’s no reason why you can’t start mining Ethereum right away on Windows 10! So go ahead and give it a try!.