Topic: Armory failed to find Bitcoin Core and other issues (Read 259 times)

If your Armory is "offline" and not synced/connected with Bitcoin Core etc... your private keys will indeed say "unused" as Armory will be unable to see the history etc. That is "normal".

Just export all your private keys as indicated above and then import them.

I've tried to do this but all the private keys say they are unused so any idea where i can find the used keys?

If you goal is to just move away from Armory, then I'd suggest you don't bother trying to get Armory working... just export your private keys and then sweep them into your Electrum wallet.

Select your wallet in Armory, click "Wallet Properties"... then select "Backup this wallet":



Then select "See Other Backup Options":



Then select "Export Key Lists"... the button at the bottom will change to say "Export Key Lists", click that:



On the next screen, you want to select "Address String","Private Key (Plain Base58)","Include Unused (address pool)" and "Omit spaces in key data" like this:



The textbox at the bottom will show all your addresses and private keys... identify the address(es) that contain your Bitcoins... then in Electrum select ("Wallet -> Private Keys -> Sweep") and then copy/paste the private keys from Armory that match the addresses where your Bitcoins are. (NOTE: The private keys are the "PrivBase58" values in Armory).

Electrum should create a transaction for you that sends the Bitcoins from those addresses/private keys into your specified Electrum wallet.



PROTIP: Make sure your Electrum wallet is setup properly and you have the "seed" safely written down offline and have tested that the seed will recreate the same addresses etc before you send any coins.

Yeah, at a bare minimum, I'd get a 256GB external SSD (or, better yet, 512 if you can afford it) and store the blockchain and Armory data there. (The SanDisk Extreme and Samsung T5 lines in particular are nice, especially the T5.) Long story short, Core doesn't like hard drives, much less Core + Armory. Maybe if it's a screaming fast drive but the ones in general purpose laptops are dog slow.

Anyway, if you go the external route (internal's not recommended unless you know what you're doing, which really isn't that bad), make sure the drive's plugged into a USB 3.0 port. Plugging it into a USB 2.0 port will be like putting a Honda Jazz engine inside a Maserati.


Pastebin doesn't let people search by username (AFAIK). Please post a direct link to the logs. Thanks.

Hello jojo and droark, et.al,

Thank you for your offers to help.  I tried to send some bitcoin to my electrum wallet this morning but Armory did nothing when I pushed send!

My laptop has a 1tb hard drive (not solid state-oops, but I will now buy a solid state!).  It is a Acer Aspire E5-523G amd a9-9410 radeon r5, 5 compute cores 2C+3G 2.9ghz. RAM is 8GB.  64 bit OS, x64-based processor.  OS is Windows 10.

Bitcoin Core version is 0.15.1 (64-bit).  Armory version is 0.96.3.99.  Armory currently shows it is online (connected at block 506645 and updating ok) and it confirms the correct amount of bitcoin in my wallet.

I have just created a new log and have posted it to pastebin.com under my username beaglea109.

I will certainly now get Trezor or Ledger Nano on your advice, but for the time being would like to move the bitcoin back to electrum so at least I will not have to keep annoying you guys with problems!  I can move the bitcoin from electrum to one of the hardware wallets when I purchase it and get it up and running.

Thanks, Alan

Yes, please post your log files (File -> Export Log File, then upload the contents to pastebin.com). Also, please explain more clearly what's happening, and please answer my question regarding whether or not you're using a hard drive or solid state drive. (This is important, believe it or not! I'm guessing hard drive but I need confirmation.)

I am sorry your thread sort of became a venue for venting there OP.  We will try to help you to get your coins into a more user friendly wallet.

Please describe to us the software environment you are currently using; OS, Core version and Armory version.

Describe the current state of your Armory install, does it show your wallet balances and say it is online?

What wallet solution are you trying to migrate to?  I would recommend a hardware solution such as Trezor or Ledger Nano.

Thank you to everyone of you hard working and dedicated and selfless people who maintain your patience with new users like me.  I apologise for some of my comments which you all have picked up were motivated by a high level of frustration, a large amount of fear and a strong sense of being outside the 'jargon' and knowledge curves!  I have been away from home for work for 10 days and returned today to catch up on this forum and my trapped Bitcoin.

I certainly now understand the knowledge requirements and capabilities expected of Armory users a bit better and I respect the views that I am probably never going to be able to properly use Armory due to my restricted ability to learn and maintain the required level of knowledge.  I currently, however, cannot move away from Armory because I just cannot get it to send my bitcoin out to another wallet (being Electrum unless somebody can recommend another better one please?).  So, I will continue to persist and try to do as recommended.  I think I need to modify my config file and see if I can get it working.  I will first try to find the required config file!

I will let you all know how I go with that soon I guess.  Alan

I think I'll use this thread to vent a bit myself. These comments are not directed at the OP, just my experiences as a part time member of the gratis Armory customer support team.

I don't mind hand holding a bit in this sub-forum, although I will also be a bit direct when dealing with people who didn't even bother to "read the manual" in the slightest. If, for example, you've managed to fund a receive address without realizing you need a synced full node to use Armory, well I have little patience for you because clearly you haven't even bothered to do the tiniest bit of research on the matter before jumping in headfirst.

For starters, this is Bitcoin. This is the epitome of user responsibility with the wonderful reward of financial freedom (as in speech, not beer). If you haven't been reading about Bitcoin in your spare time for two weeks to a month straight, you definitely shouldn't be using Armory. The better you understand the basics of how Bitcoin itself works, the easier it will be to use Armory. This wallet is for savvy users. For those who take the time to get it working, it rewards the user with security features second to none.

Next, you really shouldn't be trying to use Armory on that low power laptop CPU with a 5400 rpm HDD and 2 GB of RAM. Laptops in general are typically not great as full node PCs (unless you've got some ROG or Alienware gaming laptop). You need a little bit of oomph in your PC to have a smooth experience with Armory, and this is mainly because of the fact that you need to run a full node to get Armory up to speed. Now, it doesn't mean you need the latest 16 or 18 core monsters from AMD or Intel. For the longest time (until I finally retired it last year), I was using a Core2Quad Q6600 and some 8 year old SSD as my full node system. Yeah, that's a 13 year old computer running a full node with ease. Sure, it was a high end CPU for it's time, but honestly, you can build a functional full node PC for less than $250 (used - Sandy / Ivy Bridge quad core PCs are very cheap and work wonderfully). An offline signer does not need to be powerful or expensive, but at least use something with a modern 64-bit OS (this is 2018 ffs).

I've been at this a while, but it's really simple to run Armory smoothly. Here are some pointers which should make things easier.

- Don't use Armory to secure an amount of Bitcoins that is worth less than the computer you are running Armory on.

- On the flip side, don't use a $200 computer to secure $350,000 worth of bitcoins, buy a dedicated machine (on and offline) which will make the job easier for you.

- Use a modern OS that you are comfortable with. I use Windows (latest version always) as I've had tons of problems running Bitcoin on linux and none on Windows (granted I am a linux noob).

- Don't use a PC that is cluttered with tons of bullshit as the PC that you use for spending Bitcoins! This should be common sense.

- Use the "portable" versions of Core and Armory. I've never "installed" either of these programs, and I've never ran into the seemingly endless amount of problems that people bring to this sub-forum.

- Don't use a HDD or a portable drive for the block chain. SATA SSD is the minimum I would recommend to use with a full node. PCIE M.2 is just gravy (and not all that expensive anymore).

- Learn the default locations for the Bitcoin and Armory folders and make sure you can see them and browse to them with ease.

- Use config files for both Bitcoin Core and Armory. It's just so much easier than messing with shortcut targets. Put "listen=1", "addnode=127.0.0.1", "server=1", and "disablewallet=1" in your bitcoin.conf.

- Make simple paths if you are going to put your databases in a custom location. Mine are D:\Bitcoin and D:\Armory.

- Make sure your computer can run uninterrupted while downloading the block chain. You don't want it shutting down for whatever random reason while doing the initial sync. In fact, always shut down Bitcoin Core cleanly.

- A fast internet is beneficial when doing the initial sync. Try to keep the chain up to date once you are completely synced. Hell, go nuts and support the network by running a 24/7 full node!

- Do not, under any circumstances, let Armory control Bitcoin Core (or bitcoind) for you. Alan made a huge mistake here in an attempt to "make things easier" for users. So many issues that people face come from this horrible design choice. I can't wait until it's gone. Seriously, this shit needs to go.

- Finally, be patient when you've tried your best and still can't get it working. None of us here are getting paid to provide help (afaik). Don't start your thread bashing Armory or Bitcoin or the devs or the users helping you. Don't act entitled, you didn't pay for any of this nor are you paying anyone to help you. Provide basic information about your setup (OS, PC specification, software versions, or better yet LOG FILES in the first post)!

- Search before posting. You problem probably isn't unique and has already been solved in the past. Put some elbow grease into fixing it yourself, you'll feel better in the end! At the same time, don't be afraid to ask for help when all else fails.

This seems the best thread right now to wade in with a few of my thoughts.  I am in a place where I can really relate to both sides of this.

Let me state first; goatpig, droark, PheonixFire, Holliday...thank you so much!  I have been lurking this board pretty hard the last few weeks, resisting the urge to post most of the time, and observing the level of patience you bring to your interactions with end users, many of whom are stressed out, frightened and frustrated to begin with.  Your efforts are impressive, worthy of respect and very much appreciated.

Many, indeed most, users have no business running Armory.  It frequently does not "just work".  I myself try to maintain 2 separate online systems to allow access to transactions even in the event of problems.  It is rare, however, when one or the other configurations does not refuse to sync and I usually feel lucky just to have one working.  I have experienced bizarre behavior with regards to pathing where putting things on one disk will work, while putting them on another disk, with precisely the same pathing syntax save the drive letter, will not.  I have cursed, cried, and beat my fists on the desk.  In short, I feel great empathy for users, many less adept than myself, with wealth trapped in what sometimes seems like this nightmarish Rube Goldberg machine.

Armory is, however, widely regarded as the single most secure wallet solution in existence.  With that comes costs.  The devs will always prioritize security over ease of use.  This is not a piece of software that is going to autoconfigure or in any way hold your hand.  It is like a race car, it requires some tinkering, the controls are touchy, and if you don't know what you are doing you can break it pretty easily.  If you want the best, you are going to have to grapple with it.

I am not a coder, and I do not pretend to know what goatpig is up against, but I can only imagine that the challenges are formidable.  Given the legal situation regarding Armory as a business, those of us with old legacy wallets are lucky indeed that a solid development and support community continues.  Not that we could not have, with enough pain and hacking, got our transactions out signed and broadcast, but new features to keep up with the times, such as segwit address support and the, very much appreciated, BCH signer would not be happening.

Running Armory, for me, has become a stubborn matter of pride.  A grudge match if you will.  I am a BITCOINER god dammit!  I WILL figure this shit out!

I guess what I am saying is that I think beaglea109 is a bit harsh with "We can, and should, do much better than this."  Armory is a niche wallet for a specific user profile.  But at the same time I truly empathize with the frustration.

I have primarily been reading and keeping my mouth shut, perhaps at some point I will feel confident enough to triage a few of the easier threads and give something back.

Which version of Armory are you running?

EDIT: Also, I think you're misunderstanding the purpose of Armory. I'm not going to pretend that Armory is the most user-friendly Bitcoin wallet out there. It isn't. It's designed for people who know what they're doing and want maximum security; it's fundamentally intertwined with Bitcoin Core. Could it be improved? Sure. For various reasons, development has slowed down over the years. It's not ideal. It's just the way things are. If anybody would like to submit some patches, please do so! Otherwise, if this setup is too much for you, there are plenty of other wallets out there that don't require a full node and are more user-friendly. The thought of my parents trying to use Armory horrifies me, much less some random person in Uganda whose entire life basically resides on their cell phone. Somebody else can figure out how to on-board those people. It's not my concern vis-à-vis Armory.

As for the Acer laptop comment, keep in mind that Bitcoin Core itself doesn't work particularly well with hard drives. (I assume your laptop has a hard drive, and not an SSD.) This setup is fundamentally unfriendly to cheaper hardware. Could Armory be a bit friendlier? Maybe, but there's only so much we can do when trying to process what will be 200 GB of data in a few months (and will continue to grow).

Dear Armory support community,

I have been struggling to load and run Armory for over two weeks now.  I have asked for help from this community but have received nothing useful in response.

For background, I have degrees in law, commerce and a two-year post-grad in information technology.  I was once able to program in C++ and have worked as an IT manager for local government in Australia only a few years ago. I am a Fellow of CPA Australia amongst earning other relevant and current business credentials.

My point is:  I am computer savvy and relatively competent.  And not senile, yet.

However, it has been a nightmare trying to install and run the newest versions of Armory.  And Armory is said to be the best that we, as a crypto community, have to offer the masses out there!

We can, and should, do much better than this.

For what it is worth, the settings that have eventually worked for me are:  
Bitcoin Install Directory: C:\ProgramFiles\Bitcoin  
Bitcoin Home Directory:  C:\Users\your user directory\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin\Database    

Armory is by no means ‘stable’ for me even now (I just tried to run it again and it will not find the Bitcoin Core ‘node’ as you all like to refer to it as).  I guess I will have to wait for it to shut down (keeps saying it is not responding) and reboot my computer and try again.  

Really, is this acceptable?

Here is another tip:  open Armory once you have manually entered the paths on the screenshot above, THEN open Bitcoin Core to get past the fact that Armory will not establish a connection to the Bitcoin Core database without Bitcoin Core running separately.  Oh, and make sure that you shut down Armory BEFORE you shut down Bitcoin Core or else Armory will throw another tantrum.

We really should not have to do all of this if we are aiming to make the customer experience seamless and user-friendly.

I am running Armory on a dedicated and brand new Acer laptop, straight off the shelf in Melbourne for $650.  Now, before anyone of you jumps in with a barrage of comments about Aer computers being a poor choice, please let me remind you that normal people buy normal computers.  If we expect the entire population of the globe, including those 3 billion people that cryptocurrencies are said to ‘save’, let’s have a really good think about how we can make Bitcoin safe and secure and usable for everyone.

I hope these comments help.  Remember, you will need to fully install Bitcoin Core before Armory will run for you.  

Note that if you are using the ‘free’ virus security software that came with your Microsoft 10 installation on your new computer, it will block Bitcoin Core from Bitcoin.org because it regards it as unsafe.  I replaced this virus protection software with Malwarebytes Premium and it seems to be fine.

Feel free to ask me questions if you are a non-expert like me.  I will try to help with some of the basics that I have learned through my own trial-and-error process.

Regards, Alan