![IMG_4050.PNG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWrtLtGaiAUGSpZHgKVaxr5KXH2oK3dixBuLoNsbiDESP/IMG_4050.PNG)Personally I really like Monero for the fact that it is completely anonymous and CPU mining is actually worth it. Currently on all of my CPUs I mine XMR. So here is a step by step guide to mining XMR with your CPU on Windows.

## Step 1: Get a Monero Wallet
[MyMonero](https://mymonero.com/#/)
Make sure you save the string of words it gives you because this is basically your password. Once you have this you'll need to copy your XMR address.

## Step 2: Download and extract xmr-stak-cpu
[xmr-stak-cpu download link](https://github.com/fireice-uk/xmr-stak-cpu/releases)
Choose this one: xmr-stak-cpu-win64.zip

## Step 3: Decide how many threads you should use
To do this find out how much cache your CPU has and how many cores it has. So I have a CPU that has 4mb cache and 4 cores. In order to figure out how many threads you want to use you want to divide your cache by 2mb. So this CPU should use only 2 threads because 4mb/2mb=2.
I also have an AMD FX-9590. This has 16mb of cache and 8 cores. You would think that I should be using 8 threads, but that isn't the case. If the amount of threads you should be using is equal to the number of cores you have subtract 1. We don't want to use every core. So I mine with 7 threads on this chip because 16mb/2mb=8 and we have 8 cores so we subtract 1 and are left with 7 threads.

## Step 4: Edit the config file
Click [here](https://pastebin.com/ZPJdbp7e) to look at my config file. You will notice the section under 'cpu_threads_conf' is where you will put how many threads to use. This file is set up for 7 threads so remove as you feel necessary. Also you will need to scroll down and change the wallet address to your wallets address.

## Step 5: Load Huge Pages
If you open up the config file you will notice a section outlining how to enable huge pages on Windows. But if you are lazy [here](https://pastebin.com/5bmtnSp7) is a pastebin link to what to do. At the end it will ask you to reset your computer.

## Step 6: Start up XMR-STAK-CPU
Navigate into your xmr-stak-cpu folder and double click on the 'xmr-stak-cpu' executable file.

# Congradulations!! You are now mining Monero on your CPU!

<a href="https://minergate.com">
    <img src="https://minergate.com/assets/promo/728x90-1.png"/>
</a>

If you have any other questions feel free to ask me!