Topic: A general question about BTC addresses and bitcoin-qt (Read 721 times)
Agreed, at least I know and (hope at least) that when I finally sync the stupid client again (I'm working on 3 days waiting for it to sync) I'll have my address and BTC.
Your wallet.dat file is what contains your private keys, the other files are just the blockchain, chainstate, debug log, and peer information and are automatically redownloaded/recreated if they are missing. Just copy your wallet.dat into Bitcoin-qt's datadir before you run it, and your bitcoins will reappear once the blockchain is downloaded (though don't delete your backup, you may need it again). If you've already reinstalled Bitcoin-qt, just replace the wallet it generates for you when it isn't running, and save a backup of the new wallet and/or import the keys from it if you used it for anything in the meantime.
PSA on backups: Bitcoin-qt sends change to different addresses that are stored in the wallet.dat file unless you set a specific change address (which is potentially less secure, though not significantly). It generates 100 to start with, then creates more as necessary; however, the new addresses won't be in your backups, so periodic backups are necessary to ensure that you don't lose anything in the event of a crash or if your computer is lost or stolen. This is done transparently, meaning you won't see the other addresses unless you specifically go looking for them (and there's no particular reason to unless you're curious), but it's something to keep in mind so you don't forget to back things up every once in a while.
Great description of what to do should my computer get hosed. Thanks for such a short, clean version. PSA on backups: Bitcoin-qt sends change to different addresses that are stored in the wallet.dat file unless you set a specific change address (which is potentially less secure, though not significantly). It generates 100 to start with, then creates more as necessary; however, the new addresses won't be in your backups, so periodic backups are necessary to ensure that you don't lose anything in the event of a crash or if your computer is lost or stolen. This is done transparently, meaning you won't see the other addresses unless you specifically go looking for them (and there's no particular reason to unless you're curious), but it's something to keep in mind so you don't forget to back things up every once in a while.
I got everything working ok and I can see by BTC I just have to wait for the network to sync, which is by far the longest part. Thanks for all the advice guys I really appreciate it.
Yes, all your private key is stored inside the wallet.dat. Did you encrypt it? If not, you might want to move all the coins to another address just in case your computer have any malware.
Your wallet.dat file is what contains your private keys, the other files are just the blockchain, chainstate, debug log, and peer information and are automatically redownloaded/recreated if they are missing. Just copy your wallet.dat into Bitcoin-qt's datadir before you run it, and your bitcoins will reappear once the blockchain is downloaded (though don't delete your backup, you may need it again). If you've already reinstalled Bitcoin-qt, just replace the wallet it generates for you when it isn't running, and save a backup of the new wallet and/or import the keys from it if you used it for anything in the meantime.
PSA on backups: Bitcoin-qt sends change to different addresses that are stored in the wallet.dat file unless you set a specific change address (which is potentially less secure, though not significantly). It generates 100 to start with, then creates more as necessary; however, the new addresses won't be in your backups, so periodic backups are necessary to ensure that you don't lose anything in the event of a crash or if your computer is lost or stolen. This is done transparently, meaning you won't see the other addresses unless you specifically go looking for them (and there's no particular reason to unless you're curious), but it's something to keep in mind so you don't forget to back things up every once in a while.
PSA on backups: Bitcoin-qt sends change to different addresses that are stored in the wallet.dat file unless you set a specific change address (which is potentially less secure, though not significantly). It generates 100 to start with, then creates more as necessary; however, the new addresses won't be in your backups, so periodic backups are necessary to ensure that you don't lose anything in the event of a crash or if your computer is lost or stolen. This is done transparently, meaning you won't see the other addresses unless you specifically go looking for them (and there's no particular reason to unless you're curious), but it's something to keep in mind so you don't forget to back things up every once in a while.
What do you mean you removed everything but your wallet? Do you have the wallet.dat file?
If so, yes you can recover your addresses.
If so, yes you can recover your addresses.
yes I still have my wallet.dat file, i just had to delete everything else.
well then i guess that's good because i was worried.
What do you mean you removed everything but your wallet? Do you have the wallet.dat file?
If so, yes you can recover your addresses.
If so, yes you can recover your addresses.
I had to delete my computer (fresh restart thank god i saved my wallet) last night just to make sure I didn't have any malware on it, and in doing so I ended up removing bitcoin-qt and everything else associated with it but my wallet.
I am running a sig campaign and have an address to tied to that, is there any hope at all at retrieving those address or those lost in the wind now that I had to completely uninstall the client?
Just a general question.
I am running a sig campaign and have an address to tied to that, is there any hope at all at retrieving those address or those lost in the wind now that I had to completely uninstall the client?
Just a general question.
Jump to: