I opened my bitccoin wallet for the first time in several years and see the "Alert key compromised, upgrade required" message. I can't figure out what or how to upgrade. I've attached two screenshots of (1) the wallet and (2) its About window.
Bitcoin idiot needs to upgrade something
- Thread starter mwr
- Start date
That was sent when BS/core where concerned Gavin could derail their plan. it effectively encouraged everyone to instance segwt
It just means you can't trust the alert key. (Those messages.)
You don't need to upgrade your private keys are forwards and backwards compatible.
Because of the fork you'll need a new way to interact or spends the balances.
Another upcoming fork November 18th means you'll need to another way to broadcast transactions as that client is at risk of being rejected by the bitcoin network.
Depending on what you want to do what reality you chose you have options.
If you let me know I'll try help.
It just means you can't trust the alert key. (Those messages.)
You don't need to upgrade your private keys are forwards and backwards compatible.
Because of the fork you'll need a new way to interact or spends the balances.
Another upcoming fork November 18th means you'll need to another way to broadcast transactions as that client is at risk of being rejected by the bitcoin network.
Depending on what you want to do what reality you chose you have options.
If you let me know I'll try help.
Honestly, I have no idea what you said means. Some time ago I thought I had purchased some bitcoin, but for some reason could never later "find" it. I thought I'd try again so looked through the bitcoin folder on my computer and found bitcoin-0.8.5-win32-setup.exe, ran it and then the wallet shown above appeared. It seems to be "catching up" with synchronizing (was about 500 weeks behind).
I also found saved info in a text file for signing in to mtgox.com, libertyreserve.com, and goldexpay.com, none of which work now.
What's the best way for me to find out if I actually own any bitcoin?
I also found saved info in a text file for signing in to mtgox.com, libertyreserve.com, and goldexpay.com, none of which work now.
What's the best way for me to find out if I actually own any bitcoin?
lots of early adopters lost money on MtGox if you never withdrew your Bitcoin they are gone.if you withdrew your bitcoin from mount Gox you'll have them, otherwise I am sorry.
as for libertyreserve.com it's the Napster of money and Bitcoin is the BitTorrent. so that's done.
goldexpay.com i have no idea what that is.
Sync your node and you'll see a balance if one exists, but only if you had previously installed the wallet and withdrew the coins and still have the wallet.dat file in the old data directory.
you could look for a wallet.dat file in the following directories on old computers. (there is one old HD in a landfill in the UK that has hundreds of millions on stored on a wallet.dat file)
C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Application data\Bitcoin (XP)
C:\Users\YourUserName\Appdata\Roaming\Bitcoin (Vista and 7)
good luck.
First back up that file it could be worth millions. once your node has finished syncing, and you want try another wallet.dat shut down bitcoin back up the existing wallet, add the new one and start it up again. (just hope you did not password protect it and forget the password (i have lost lots of coins that way. )
the wallet.dat file is by default in the directory above.
once your node has finished syncing, and you want try another wallet.dat shut down bitcoin back up the existing wallet, add the new one and start it up again. (just hope you did not password protect it and forget the password (i have lost lots of coins that way. )the wallet.dat file is by default in the directory above.
I'm using a new Win 10 computer that replaces my old Win 7 one that was syncing my bitcoin wallet. I can still access the old computer. Can I move the wallet.dat file from the old computer to the new one and continue syncing? If so, where should I put the wallet.dat file on the new Win 10 computer?
No. My prior computer didn't have a monitor and now it does. I just started syncing again on the old computer. About 50 days left to go.
The sync now says "4 weeks behind", so it should be nearing the end.
>Sync your node and you'll see a balance if one exists, but only if you had previously installed the wallet and withdrew the coins and still have the wallet.dat file in the old data directory.<
I'm not clear what that means. I don't think I ever "withdrew the coins". If I did buy some bitcoin in the past, then never did anything about it until now, would I not currently have access to the coins (via this sync) and be able to sell them?
Also, the computer in use with the syncing was purchased after I would have bought bitcoins. All data was supposedly copied to this computer, including the bitcoin folder. Is that a problem?
>Sync your node and you'll see a balance if one exists, but only if you had previously installed the wallet and withdrew the coins and still have the wallet.dat file in the old data directory.<
I'm not clear what that means. I don't think I ever "withdrew the coins". If I did buy some bitcoin in the past, then never did anything about it until now, would I not currently have access to the coins (via this sync) and be able to sell them?
Also, the computer in use with the syncing was purchased after I would have bought bitcoins. All data was supposedly copied to this computer, including the bitcoin folder. Is that a problem?
79b79aa8
Well-Known Member
- Sep 22, 2015
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bitcoin cash is a fork of bitcoin. whatever bitcoin you once had (you control the keys to), you also have that same amount of bitcoin cash. at the moment it is worth 20% the price of BTC.
so could you read that wallet.dat file?
it is no issue that you changed your files to a different computer, except perhaps from a security standpoint. let's say you have not been the most careful with your data.
so could you read that wallet.dat file?
it is no issue that you changed your files to a different computer, except perhaps from a security standpoint. let's say you have not been the most careful with your data.
79b79aa8
Well-Known Member
- Sep 22, 2015
- 1,031
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What you want is not to lose sight of the wallet.dat file in which you actually stored bitcoins long ago. You want to safely back it up. You don't want to overwrite it with an empty one. You don't want to send it unencrypted over the internet.
Everything else (syncing up the client, what machine it is running on, etc.) is mostly irrelevant, as it can be easily recuperated/reproduced.
Be careful about this: if there is no wallet.dat file in its place in the \Bitcoin directory on the new machine, the client will generate an empty one every time you fire it up.
So again: in your original files in your old computer, there should be a wallet.dat file. That's where your private keys are. That is all that matters. If you password-protected that back in the day, start remembering that password.
[doublepost=1514393259,1514392333][/doublepost]let me try to explain myself differently (as you wait for your client to sync).
you could right now pretend you had never heard of bitcoin. download the current client software from scratch and install it on a new machine. wait until it syncs (that takes a while). when everything is up and running, you will have a running client and obviously 0 BTC in your wallet.
at that point, close the program, manually replace the wallet.dat file in this virgin setup with your old wallet.dat file. open the program again and suddenly a BTC balance appears!! if you password protected it, when you go to spend your BTC balance (when you hit "send") it will ask you for the password.
if you did have a balance, and you did know the password (or didn't set it), congratulations! you just were reunited with your money.
[doublepost=1514394239][/doublepost]
- if it is a new client, the wallet.dat will be empty.
- if you manually remove that wallet.dat file, the program will generate a new empty one next time you start it.
- but if you replace the default empty wallet.dat with a loaded one, the client will read it and tell you your balance.
- so be careful with how you manipulate that old wallet.dat file.
Everything else (syncing up the client, what machine it is running on, etc.) is mostly irrelevant, as it can be easily recuperated/reproduced.
Be careful about this: if there is no wallet.dat file in its place in the \Bitcoin directory on the new machine, the client will generate an empty one every time you fire it up.
So again: in your original files in your old computer, there should be a wallet.dat file. That's where your private keys are. That is all that matters. If you password-protected that back in the day, start remembering that password.
[doublepost=1514393259,1514392333][/doublepost]let me try to explain myself differently (as you wait for your client to sync).
you could right now pretend you had never heard of bitcoin. download the current client software from scratch and install it on a new machine. wait until it syncs (that takes a while). when everything is up and running, you will have a running client and obviously 0 BTC in your wallet.
at that point, close the program, manually replace the wallet.dat file in this virgin setup with your old wallet.dat file. open the program again and suddenly a BTC balance appears!! if you password protected it, when you go to spend your BTC balance (when you hit "send") it will ask you for the password.
if you did have a balance, and you did know the password (or didn't set it), congratulations! you just were reunited with your money.
[doublepost=1514394239][/doublepost]
- once the client is synced it will read off whatever balance you have from the wallet.dat file, which sits in a default place in the application's directory.
- if it is a new client, the wallet.dat will be empty.
- if you manually remove that wallet.dat file, the program will generate a new empty one next time you start it.
- but if you replace the default empty wallet.dat with a loaded one, the client will read it and tell you your balance.
- so be careful with how you manipulate that old wallet.dat file.
Thanks for the great and understandable info!
>wallet.dat file in its place in the \Bitcoin directory<
For Win 7, would that be: C:\Users\YourUserName\Appdata\Roaming\Bitcoin
>wallet.dat file in its place in the \Bitcoin directory<
For Win 7, would that be: C:\Users\YourUserName\Appdata\Roaming\Bitcoin
79b79aa8
Well-Known Member
- Sep 22, 2015
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i have no idea, i don't use windows, but i don't see why it should be in a \Roaming directory.
my advice is: setup a bitcoin client in your new machine from a fresh, up-to-date download. whatever blockchain data you've been downloading for days will be compatible, you won't have to download that again.
once you have your fresh client in your new machine, run it, confirm you have a 0 balance. now look under the hood to find the wallet.dat file. this will be empty. exit the client. delete the wallet.dat file. run the client again. notice that you have a new empty wallet.dat file. exit the client. delete it again.
once you are comfortable you understand how the client/the directory structure work, get the loaded wallet.dat file from your old machine, which you have backed up. copy that in the new machine in the place where the empty wallet.dat files have been popping up. open the client.
have a plan for how you intend to deal with the coins, if any.
my advice is: setup a bitcoin client in your new machine from a fresh, up-to-date download. whatever blockchain data you've been downloading for days will be compatible, you won't have to download that again.
once you have your fresh client in your new machine, run it, confirm you have a 0 balance. now look under the hood to find the wallet.dat file. this will be empty. exit the client. delete the wallet.dat file. run the client again. notice that you have a new empty wallet.dat file. exit the client. delete it again.
once you are comfortable you understand how the client/the directory structure work, get the loaded wallet.dat file from your old machine, which you have backed up. copy that in the new machine in the place where the empty wallet.dat files have been popping up. open the client.
have a plan for how you intend to deal with the coins, if any.
That path came from a post above in this thread.
>have a plan for how you intend to deal with the coins, if any<
I'll need to ask about that if I find any coins.
>have a plan for how you intend to deal with the coins, if any<
I'll need to ask about that if I find any coins.
