TAO'S MASTERNODE SETUP GUIDE FOR DUMMIES (UPDATE GUIDE UPDATED FOR 13.0)

[KiwiCodger]

Have followed setting up masternode for dummies exactly. All went according to instructions except for the last step where after copying the masternode.conf file to the c:/dash directory, unlocking the wallet and then using the 'masternode start-alias HB1' command (yes my alias is HB1) I get the following:
{
"alias" : "HB1",
"result" : "failed",
"errorMessage" : "could not find alias in config. Verify with list-conf."
}
Its as if the masternode.conf file does not exist.
I already had a dash wallet in a Dash folder under 'Program Files' on the c:. I created a dash folder under c: and transferred the dash-qt.exe to it and that is where my masternode.conf also resides.
When I do a masternode list-conf I just get {}.
Am going around in circles now. Any suggestions.....

 

[Dworf]

@KiwiCodger
take a look in "%appdata%\dash"

 

[KiwiCodger]

Dworf, many thanks, yes it is working, should have posted earlier and saved myself some grief. Huge thanks!

 

[Gurjieff]

This shouldn't be this difficult, but....i'm at this point:

"Visit DASH dot ORG with this link ...... and download the latest Linux .tgz file.

Extract the file using whatever extractor program you use to wherever you want on your PC.

Locate the beating heart "dashd" and "dash-cli" by clicking on the extracted Linux file, and navigating to BIN, 64, dashd/dash-cli."

I've downloaded the Linux.tgz file and i've tried extracting it using 7zip while running windows 8 and I can't get over this hump to reveal any files within there. WTF am i missing here?

 

[splawik21]

This shouldn't be this difficult, but....i'm at this point:

"Visit DASH dot ORG with this link ...... and download the latest Linux .tgz file.

Extract the file using whatever extractor program you use to wherever you want on your PC.

Locate the beating heart "dashd" and "dash-cli" by clicking on the extracted Linux file, and navigating to BIN, 64, dashd/dash-cli."

I've downloaded the Linux.tgz file and i've tried extracting it using 7zip while running windows 8 and I can't get over this hump to reveal any files within there. WTF am i missing here?

Hello, if you`re using the win8 you can1t download the program for the linux my friend it will simply not work
https://www.dash.org/downloads/ - download the client for the windows.

 

[UdjinM6]

Hello, if you`re using the win8 you can1t download the program for the linux my friend it will simply not work
https://www.dash.org/downloads/ - download the client for the windows.

I guess he is just following the guide and tried to get server parts to upload them later

@Gurjieff when you downloaded the file it you should be named smth like dash-0.12.0.58-linux64.tar.gz
Right click -> 7zip -> Extract here
Now you should also have file named dash-0.12.0.58-linux64.tar
Right click -> 7zip -> Extract here
And there you go - dash-0.12, the folder you were looking for

 

[Gurjieff]

I guess he is just following the guide and tried to get server parts to upload them later

Yes, exactly. I get an error message when I try to extract the dash-0.12.0.58-linux64.tar file.

It says "Can not delete output folder. The directory is not empty.: C:\Users\downloads\dash.0........"

I have a computer with linux on it, but i'd prefer to use this one. If i were to get the file off of the linux device and put it on the virtual server, I won't need it again from my windows PC, right?

Any other suggestions are appreciated.

 

[UdjinM6]

Yes, exactly. I get an error message when I try to extract the dash-0.12.0.58-linux64.tar file.

It says "Can not delete output folder. The directory is not empty.: C:\Users\downloads\dash.0........"
...

Any other suggestions are appreciated.

Just tried that myself on win8 vm - it says "can't create symlink....blablabla." (which is ok, no symlinks on windows) and files are definitely there. That's strange it didn't work for you... Extracting this file should not try to delete anything afaik, make sure you downloaded it from dash.org/downloads and not from anywhere else. Also try to download it again, maybe your current file is broken. Or maybe some kind of antivirus is trying to interfere with the process - try disabling it for a short time, extract and enable again.

...
I have a computer with linux on it, but i'd prefer to use this one. If i were to get the file off of the linux device and put it on the virtual server, I won't need it again from my windows PC, right?
...

Yep, these files are for server side of the setup, so you won't need them on your windows machine other than for moving them to you linux one via putty. If you're a bit familiar with linux you can actually download the file right to your server and extract it there:

wget https://www.dash.org/binaries/dash-0.12.0.58-linux64.tar.gz
tar -xf dash-0.12.0.58-linux64.tar.gz

And now you should have dash-0.12.0 folder on your server, so just pick the right files (dashd and dash-cli) and move them to locations mentioned in the guide.

 

[Gurjieff]

Just tried that myself on win8 vm - it says "can't create symlink....blablabla." (which is ok, no symlinks on windows) and files are definitely there. That's strange it didn't work for you... Extracting this file should not try to delete anything afaik, make sure you downloaded it from dash.org/downloads and not from anywhere else. Also try to download it again, maybe your current file is broken. Or maybe some kind of antivirus is trying to interfere with the process - try disabling it for a short time, extract and enable again.



Yep, these files are for server side of the setup, so you won't need them on your windows machine other than for moving them to you linux one via putty. If you're a bit familiar with linux you can actually download the file right to your server and extract it there:

wget
tar -xf dash-0.12.0.58-linux64.tar.gz

And now you should have dash-0.12.0 folder on your server, so just pick the right files (dashd and dash-cli) and move them to locations mentioned in the guide.

Yes, it looks like the firewall was the culprit. Thank you!!!

However, after I transferred the dashd and dash-cli files using the WinSCP i'm now getting stuck with trying to make them executable files for some reason. (I didn't drop the files into any particular folder as it wasn't specified to do so)

I typed in "chmod 777.dashd" into the Putty accessed VPN and am getting error messages there now. 'chmod: missing operand after 777.dashd'

I thought that perhaps there might be spacing issues in play here such as chmod[space]777[space].dashd and variations of that, but nothing seems to work.

Help is appreciated!

 

[UdjinM6]

Yes, it looks like the firewall was the culprit. Thank you!!!

However, after I transferred the dashd and dash-cli files using the WinSCP i'm now getting stuck with trying to make them executable files for some reason. (I didn't drop the files into any particular folder as it wasn't specified to do so)

I typed in "chmod 777.dashd" into the Putty accessed VPN and am getting error messages there now. 'chmod: missing operand after 777.dashd'

I thought that perhaps there might be spacing issues in play here such as chmod[space]777[space].dashd and variations of that, but nothing seems to work.

Help is appreciated!

There should be no dot, "chmod 777 dashd".
Actually, a better practice is to make it executable by the current user only (instead of making it executable by everyone) - "chmod u+x dashd"

 

[Gurjieff]

@KiwiCodger
take a look in "%appdata%\dash"

I'm having the same issue as KiwiCodger, but i have no idea what you mean with "%appdata%\dash". Could you please clarify?

This is the message that I get when entering: "masternode start-alias MN1"

"alias" : "MN1",
"result" : "failed",
"errorMessage" : "could not find alias in config. Verify with list-conf."

 

[Dworf]

I'm having the same issue as KiwiCodger, but i have no idea what you mean with "%appdata%\dash". Could you please clarify?

%appdata% is a reference to the config directory under Windows. If you use a Linux environment, you'll need to check your configuration in "~/.dash"

 

[Gurjieff]

%appdata% is a reference to the config directory under Windows. If you use a Linux environment, you'll need to check your configuration in "~/.dash"

I'm using windows, thanks. What i need is a step by step on solving this problem. I'm not sure what or how to use the %appdata%.

 

[Dworf]

I'm using windows, thanks. What i need is a step by step on solving this problem. I'm not sure what or how to use the %appdata%.

open Windows Explorer and enter %appdata% into the address line. Then look for the directory "Dash". there you will find "masternode.conf" - if not then read TAO's masternode guide and follow the steps precisely. In that file your masternode configuration should be listed

 

[Gurjieff]

open Windows Explorer and enter %appdata% into the address line. Then look for the directory "Dash". there you will find "masternode.conf" - if not then read TAO's masternode guide and follow the steps precisely. In that file your masternode configuration should be listed

Okay. I found it. Now what?

 

[stan.distortion]

Okay. I found it. Now what?

About half way down Tao's third post:

Back on your Windows PC, you need to tie it all together, and get on with your life of Masternode payments....

Remember the dash.conf file you and Joe created on your VPS? You now need to create a masternode.conf file on your Windows PC, to link with it.

Save the notepad file you created earlier.

The masternode.conf file needs to have the following information:

LABEL: A one word name you make up to call your node (ex. MN1)
MN IP : PORT: Your masternode VPS's IP, and the port is always 9999.
MASTERNODEPRIVKEY: This is the result of your "masternode genkey" from earlier.
TRANSACTION HASH: The collateral tx. hash from the 1000DASH deposit.
INDEX: The Index is always 0 or 1.

The first three you should know by now, so you just need to find out the last two. To get your transaction hash and index, open your wallet and go to TOOLS=>DEBUG CONSOLE.

On the command line, enter "masternode outputs".

You will get a string that looks like this:
{
"06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb" : "0",
}
The long string is your transaction hash, and the last number is the index. You now have all the information you need. Open a NEW notepad file.

The masternode.conf must look like this (no spaces between MN IP and PORT):

LABEL MN IP : PORT MASTERNODEPRIVKEY TRANSACTIONHASH INDEX

Example:
MN1 52.14.2.67:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0

Now you need to save this notepad file as c:\dash\masternode.conf.

Please note: Make sure that you save under file type "All files" as Windows will default to a text file. It must be saved as a .conf file in order to work. Please verify it is saved as a .conf file!

The info needed to fill out all that is spread out through the guide.

 

[Gurjieff]

About half way down Tao's third post:


The info needed to fill out all that is spread out through the guide.

Was that supposed to be helpful? I've done that. I have the file created, and it's located where it apparently should be. Within my .conf file contains the following:
MN1 42.70.21.190:9999 7rB9vpckUuNpbMpzXK5Z2vvVd8dqfGmbmri6i9ApgMgRbRTq8Be 1722107c3ac0fe8cd1e543d0b62c8070160b9ca5aae78b07112d457c8b2da512 0

The program is apparently working on my server, but not sure what's wrong here.

 

[stan.distortion]

Was that supposed to be helpful? I've done that. I have the file created, and it's located where it apparently should be. Within my .conf file contains the following:
MN1 42.70.21.190:9999 7rB9vpckUuNpbMpzXK5Z2vvVd8dqfGmbmri6i9ApgMgRbRTq8Be 1722107c3ac0fe8cd1e543d0b62c8070160b9ca5aae78b07112d457c8b2da512 0

The program is apparently working on my server, but not sure what's wrong here.

Ok, you'll need to redo that if you haven't changed any of it or someone could hijack your vote. Right, so you've masternode.conf filled out correctly on the offline box and dash.conf filled out correctly with the masternode private key and masternode=1 on the server so it's just the start command that's not working for you, right?

 

[Gurjieff]

Ok, you'll need to redo that if you haven't changed any of it or someone could hijack your vote. Right, so you've masternode.conf filled out correctly on the offline box and dash.conf filled out correctly with the masternode private key and masternode=1 on the server so it's just the start command that's not working for you, right?

I believe so, but to be sure, how do I verify that I have masternode=1 on the server?

 

[stan.distortion]

I believe so, but to be sure, how do I verify that I have masternode=1 on the server?

You're comfortable enough with the terminal interface to talk to your server? If not it's worth checking a few guides on the basics and playing around with it a bit, navigating directories, seeing what's in them, etc.

Log into the server and you'll be in your home folder and in there should be a hidden folder called .dash (note the . before the folder name, that hides it) and in that folder there should be the dash.conf file. You've already shown your masternode private key so just copy and paste the output of this command from the terminal window to here.

cat .dash/dash.conf

That command is short for Concatenate output should looks something like this if it's done according to Tao's guide...

rpcuser=RANDOMSTRINGOFLETTERSANDNUMBERS
rpcpassword=LONGERRANDOMSTRINGOFLETTERSANDNUMBERSHAVEFUN
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
listen=1
server=1
daemon=1
logtimestamps=1
maxconnections=256
masternode=1
masternodeprivkey=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
addnode=23.23.186.131

...with the parts in caps changed to your settings, if the masternode private key in there matches your private key from your offline box and dash is running on the server (query it with something like "./dash-cli help") then you should be good to go.

EDIT: Just a point and I really don't mean to be rude, good security is very important and Tao's guide goes through just the simplest precaution, if it's proving difficult to follow then using a good hosting service would be a far safer option. There are several, Node40 has a good reputation but that's just my opinion.