Validating Checksums

What is a checksum

A checksum is a cryptographically derived mathematical representation of a file. It provides a way to validate that the file you have matches exactly the file someone else has published. In the case of crypto miner firmware, it allows you to validate that the firmware you're about to install on your miner is exactly the right and unmodified version that has been published by TMGcore.

How to check a checksum

1. Download the firmware you'd like to use to your computer. Place the firmware in your downloads directory.

2. Download sha256sum.exe from the following URL. Place it in the same directory in which you've saved your firmware:
   http://www.labtestproject.com/files/win/sha256sum/sha256sum.exe

3. Open a command prompt by pressing windows key + r, typing cmd, and pressing enter

4. Change directory into your Downloads directory (or wherever you've saved your firmware). Usually, you can type "cd downloads" and press Enter.

5. Type sha256sum.exe followed by the full name of the firmware file you'd like to validate. For example, to validate the checksum of antminer-s19jpro-bb-tmgcore-v1.1.9-update.tar.gz, you would type "sha256sum.exe antminer-s19jpro-bb-tmgcore-v1.1.9-update.tar.gz".

6. Confirm that the 64 character string generated matches exactly the string published on the TMGcore firmware site for the file in question.

   1. If the checksum matches exactly, you can be confident knowing that the file you have has not been modified.

   2. If the checksum does not match exactly, you should delete the file and re-download it from the TMGcore firmware site. It may have been corrupted during download, or maliciously modified after the fact.

What now

Now that you have validated the checksum of your firmware file, you can proceed with installing in on your miner. Follow the instructions for Installing Firmware via an SD Card or Installing Firmware via the Upgrade Process for more information.