Windows – Full License Fresh Install
This guide will help DIY Windows users to setup a brand new provider with their Full License to run the Xa-Miner software. To do this you will need to have purchased a Full License or a Full License Upgrade from a Basic or free XM Basic license from the Xa-Miner Store. The installer supports all Windows 10 and Windows 11. Recent Windows Server versions like 2019 and 2022 will likely work as well but have not been tested formally. Versions of Windows prior to Windows 10 will also likely work but are unsupported.
The first step to install the software is to install Docker Desktop. This can be downloaded from here.
Ensure to leave ‘Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V (recommended)’ ticked.
Click on Close and restart.
After restarting, run Docker Desktop. You may see an error stating Docker is not Initialized, this can be safely ignored.
Follow the link in the message, there are 2 methods to installing WSL 2, either via the process documented here, or for older versions of Windows, using this link.
If using the 2nd method, download the installer linked in Step 4, run it and follow the prompts to install:
Once the installation is finish, click on Restart in the Docker Desktop dialog box.
After restarting, open up Docker Desktop:
Click on ‘Skip tutorial’ and you have completed the pre-installation steps for the Full Software.
Docker Desktop can be minimized at this point and next the Full License installer needs downloading from the XNS Console page. Click on the Download Latest Release button to download the Windows installer (note you will only see this if you have a full license in your account). Run the installer, you will likely see this Windows Defender pop up asking to allow Node.js Javascript Runtime through the Firewall, click on ‘Allow Access’.
A browser window will be automatically opened by the installer, showing the following, click on Advanced and then Proceed to…. (unsafe). This is just down to the self signed certificate used for the installer web page and not a security risk.
This will bring you to the initial installer page. Click on Next to proceed.
At this point the installer checks to see if Docker is installed on the system and then proceeds to the following page.
If there is no xa-miner container already detected on the system then only the Fresh Installation option will be available. If the installer is run again once there is an Xa-Miner container running on the system then the Configure Existing option will be available and Fresh Installation will not be available. This will be covered later in this guide. Click on Fresh Installation.
In most cases the default Application Folder will suffice but can be changed if needed. Additionally, if you want to or need to run this provider on non-default ports, click on Advanced Configuration and the following options appear where you can customize both ports and the Metadata folder.
To change any of the folder paths, click on the existing path and a pop-up window will appear (note you’ll see all other application windows minimized and just the folder selection window will be shown, once you’ve selected the folder, the other application windows will be brought back up).
If you enter ports which are in use already on the PC then the installer will check and show an error that those ports are not available.
To add in storage folders to the provider, click on Add Storage Folder (again, the pop-up will come behind the browser window). Add each storage folder you wish to provision and then click on Finish.
Then you will likely see another Windows Defender pop-up asking to allow Docker Desktop Backend access through the firewall, ensure Private networks is ticked and click on Allow Access.
Click on the link to proceed to the Xa-Miner UI setup. The first setup screen you should see the blockchain being downloaded and then extracted, once available, click Next to proceed.
Should the Internet Status show Not Connected in the page above, this indicates the docker container that has been installed does not have internet access, this is likely related to having a firewall issue which is blocking the docker container. Either disable the firewall or add rules to allow the docker container to have internet access (should be covered by the Windows Defender pop-up above). Click on Next.
This page is important as this is the recovery seed phrase for your provider wallet, you will need this for sending SCP coins out of the wallet so ensure to either download the PDF or write down the 29 words and keep it somewhere secure.
After clicking on Next you are taken to the registration page where you should register the Xa-Miner with the SAME e-mail address you used when ordering the license. This will help with ensuring all of your Xa-Miners and licenses are displayed together in the XNS Console page as they are linked by your e-mail address. If you are registering a 2nd or 3rd provider you should use the same e-mail address as the 1st is registered to (and the same address as any Xa-Miners you may have).
On the next screen click on Dashboard (note the Configure Ports is not possible on the Windows Xa-Miner UI and will be removed in a future version):
This will bring you to the main Xa-Miner UI Dashboard:
Here you will see at the top of the page your provider ID. This is needed to register against your Full license in the XNS Console. Simply copy it from here, go to the console.xns.tech link, select Licenses from the left menu and paste the provider ID in against your license key. If you have not yet purchased your license, please visit the store to complete your purchase.
The final step in setting up your new software Xa-Miner is to add the storage folders on the Storage menu. Selecting the Storage page from the top menu should show you the folders added earlier in the installer as below:
Here you need to enter the capacity of each folder. Note that on Windows it’s still recommended to limit the size of any one folder to 2TB so if using a larger hard drive for storage, for example a 10TB drive, make multiple folders on the drive. If need be, after creating any additional folders, simply run the installer again which will bring up the installer UI, choose Configure Existing and then add the new storage folders and click Finish. Then when you reload the Xa-Miner UI, you will see the additional folders on the Storage menu.
After entering the required value next to the folder, click on Assign and then repeat for each subsequent folder.
Congratulations, your new Xa-Miner is now fully setup. To learn more about the Xa-Miner UI and all its functions, please visit the Xa-Miner UI Walkthrough page.
