Topic: Classic Multibit 0.5.18 recovery with 16 words passphrase help please (Read 472 times)

That does indeed change the situation. Not having the password and requiring it to be brute forced is indeed more of a specialist task


Not necessarily. While it isn't impossible to setup and run something like hashcast or btcrecover etc... the problem comes from the performance of "typical" hardware that most users have, or, more correctly, the lack thereof. The equipment necessary to bruteforce anything but relatively simple wallet passwords can be quite expensive to buy or even rent. Given the sorts of passwords I use, even my gaming rig with a relatively powerful GPU isn't going to cut it if I needed to bruteforce one of my passwords. So, don't feel like you're being judged for seeking professional assistance. Very happy you managed to find a reputable firm that didn't scam you.

I still think that the fee charged was excessive tho


Truly a "good news"™ story all around.

Hi HCP,

Thank you for your message.

As you say:
Once the data files were recovered, if you knew your passwords (if any) then the recovery of the funds would have been a matter of minutes.


Actually, I had no clue what to do with the data files which were offered to me in the first place, if I know how to do, I would have been happy with that. Also, I had lost the password, so it had to be brute forced or something. Noway I could have managed by myself.

But for most people in this forum, I believe they would have been fine with getting the services of data files recovery and then recover the funds themselves.

I have no knowledge in IT, computing, coding etc... I am just a plain basic computer user (email, internet and shopping online) so yes, for me this was the best option and I am really happy. Problem sorted and really trustworthy data recovery company.

Nicky

PS. Yes I have my 24 word ledger recovery phrase in a safe place.... I have learnt so much from this forum and advice given to me... Thank you!

That is probably a little on the high side, but not out of the realms of data recovery charges.


However, this is quite excessive in my opinion. 30%!!?!

Once the data files were recovered, if you knew your passwords (if any) then the recovery of the funds would have been a matter of minutes


Having said that, you appear to be happy with the outcome, which is the main thing. I'm glad to hear that you managed to recovery your coins. It's certainly nice to here of a positive outcome for a change! Best of luck for the future...

And make sure you've made some safe and secure backups of your 24 word Ledger recovery phrase!

Hi Pmalek,

Thank you very much for your post.

Yes, indeed it took so long. But, also for several month I was torn about what to do and who to turn to. I know by myself there was no way I would resolve it. I had to turn to some IT specialist who some expertise of BTC recovery. They are no many out there and there are many scams, 'experts' taking advantage of novice people like me, who get they BTC slolen being told that 'they tried all and nothing was possible to recover their bitcoin'.

My laptop was dead (wouldn't switch on), Multibit Classic discontinued, lost wallet password etc....

At first I was quoted around £1,146 VAT included to recover the file from the broken drive, the quote was detailing the process they would go through. Only apply if they are successful. which they did: they send me a email with an attached file showing me the list of the the BTC files and I could see what files was there. They offered me to have these file on USB stick if I wanted to carry on with my own means (I think many people in this forum are very proficient technically and would choose this option). But that's not my case at all. I needed them to do the whole thing without me being involved in technical process.

Because of the severity of the job, this was a challenge and they struggled to get the BTC from the file (to be extracted and sent in a wallet) they suggested a solution that is having a partner company they have a contract with to assist further. The fees for that is 30% of the wallet. Of course, I accepted it. So more specialists become involved, I know they spent 2 days on my case.... Until they recovered my BTC and when I was ready in my side (set up of my hard wallet Ledger Nano S) they send me my BTC into my wallet minus the 30% fees.

This may seem high fees for some, but I was not knowledgeable in any way to handle by myself recovery from the files as per the first quote.
And I really needed the whole job to be done for me and have the BTC sent into my new hard wallet. So, I was happy to have them get well deserve 30% of what they recovered for their job. I still have a very good amount returned to me, I could have none if those guys didn't help me.

Yes, this will help me enormously because of my health issues. I had to give up my job because it's so debilitating and the NHS after 3 years of invasive tests, exams and procedures never managed to find what I have got. Only a Professor I found which is private care has diagnosed my condition and I need to pay private costs. (he has treated many patients with same condition as me). So, I can now take care of myself and look forward to get in normal health as soon as possible and get back to work and have a normal life.

So, I would really recommend this recovery company, they are very competent, professional and trustworthy. In this business, this is priceless...
https://www.dataclinic.co.uk/cryptocurrency-wallet-recovery/

I hope this help.
Nicky

A very positive ending to a problem that lasted way too long. I am glad it worked out in the end, especially considering the health issues that you have. Since your Nano S was probably shipped with three cards to write down the seed, make one more copy to be ultra-safe.

If it's not a secret, how much did the company charge for their recovery services? I think it could benefit other users who are thinking about doing something similar if they knew how much such work costs.

Hi BlackHatCoiner and Hi NeuroticFish,

Thank you so much for sharing my happiness with this good ending for me!
That's so kind of you and it's lovely to read your comments.

Yes, I have the hardware Ledger Nano S wallet. I watched several time youtube video for set up etc so when I received my Ledger Nano S wallet (bought directly from Ledger official website) it was a bit easier for me to go through the set up process and get to understand how it work.

Indeed, I've got my 24 words well written and I shall keep them safe. Really good suggestion to have TWICE. I will copy them in another paper and keep it in a separate safe place for double back up!

You guys on this website are really great and I have always welcome all you suggestions. So thank you again today.

Nicky

It's good to hear that. If I remember correctly, your problem was that you couldn't recover the wallet file from the broken laptop? Yeah, you stood lucky, selected a trustworthy service and everything went smooth.

Now, make sure you keep them safe this time. Buying a hardware wallet for a non-technical person like you, would be the first thing I'd recommend. I don't know what you've done with the seed phrase, but I suggest you to write it down twice so that you can have back ups.

Enjoy your bitcoin.

I'm glad it ended well. And very nice of you to come back with a feedback.
Now make sure you keep super safe some copies of the seed for that hardware wallet 

Hello,

I wanted to give you an update regarding my BTC in Multibit Classic wallet in my dead / broken laptop.

As you know, this has been an headache for me. Multibit Classic does not have seed words recovery phrase, and it has been discontinued in addition to the fact that I have the wallet in a dead laptop and I am not a technical person at all.

I really wanted to give a big thanks any to all of technical people and BTC experts on this forum who tried to help me even if I didn't manage by myself.

After holding for few months, being stuck and not knowing what to do, I decided to contact a recovery company which specialised in recovering Bitcoin. I was extremely hesitant because of trust issue. It's always possible for a recovery service to tell you that they tried and couldn't managed (laptop dead and too damaged / no password etc...) and then keep the bitcoin for themselves...

So after doing some searches and queries with some of recovery companies in UK (where I live) I had some who never responded to my query, some that I wasn't sure about and one company who was very straightforward, explained the process and started to give me some hope.

I made more researches on that specific company and found out that they have helped police to recover data for example. I had more conversation with them. I found Chris was very professional, clearly explained what they would do and their commitment to preserve bitcoin ownership to their clients. I started to have my trust growing from also a good guts feeling.

I decided to go with them and they arranged for a courrier to pick up my dead computer. On reception, Chris confirmed it was with them and they would take good care of the work to carry on. I was fully informed at each step. Overall, it took about a week (I know they had quite a challenge with my case...) and finally they recovered my bitcoin!

I have then bought a hard wallet (Ledger Nano S) to which Chris transfer the BTC they recovered, so I have now my bitcoin back and it's now kept in a secure wallet.

If you happen to be in UK and in trouble with Bitcoin you need to have experts to recover for you, I would higher recommend that you are using their services. They are trustworthy and that's something that I do not say easily.

The company is called Dataclinic:
https://www.dataclinic.co.uk/cryptocurrency-wallet-recovery/

If they can't do this for you, I don't know who could. I am really impressed and forever grateful with them helping me. Especially since I have a chronic medical condition that the NHS is unable to treat and I had to go private for treatment, so having my BTC recovered, is going to help me greatly with the cost.

I hope this help.

Nicky

Hi BlackHatCointer,

No, I didn't give him the 16 words.

I tried the link provided:
https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password?guid=

I have entered there my 16 words, all checked in the link:
https://github.com/blockchain/unused-My-Wallet/blob/master/mnemonic_words_v3.html
And they are all there. So I wanted to be sure I didn't have any misspelled word or something/

So, when I entered all my 16 words in the blockchain mnemonic phrase in the box provided I have a message below:
Invalid checksum

Thank you very much again.

Nicky

You should never give to anyone your seed words, like never. Did you give them to him? Also, did you try the blockchain.com link we gave you?

Hi Trigger 1975,

Thank you very much.

Jim Burton graciously responded to me.

He confirmed that mnemonic phrase was only for Multibit HD as previously suggested in several posts here by different members. Phrases length were 12, 18 and 24 words. So, that's not the case with me having 16 words only.

I made more searches and find that 16 words could be to old Bitcoin recovery password phrase. I tried to see if my words were there:
https://github.com/blockchain/unused-My-Wallet/blob/master/mnemonic_words_v3.html

And yes, they are!

It happens that along with my paper notes in the same notebook as my 16 words phrase, I have a login name and password for Blockchain, so at some point I had signed up and I guess this is where I got the 16 words phrase. So, it's not related to my Multibit wallet from which I therefore not have any mnemonic phrase to recover my bitcoin.

As previously stated, my Multibit classic wallet is in laptop that is dead / broken but I still have it.

I contacted Dave at https://walletrecoveryservices.com who responded to me, but he works on lost password / seed phrase etc. and not on broken laptop so I don't think he would be able to help. He asked me for my seed words, since there are not related to my wallet, this won't work.

So, I need to find a reliable and trustworthy bitcoin recovery service for broken laptop. I am not going to rush into that, I need to do extensive researches. If it happens that a member her knows somebody who can do that for me (I live in London, UK) please let me know.

Thank you all again for your kind time and helpful input.

Nicky

Holding my thumbs for you, that Jim Burton can finally help you to get your BTC back  Good luck.

Hi BlackHatCoiner and HCP,

I do not remember what I deleted from my previous laptop. I tried to 'remove' program from the control panel in order to make disk space but it didn't do the job... Now the computer is dead.

And the bitcoin I got in my Multibit Classic wallet in there was sent from Kraken which I had first bought my bitcoin. Then Jim Burton helped me to get it in Multibit Wallet at the Vap cafe.

NB. After a lot of searches, I found Jim Burton... Through Meetup.com website and I sent him a message. I hope he will respond to clarify the 16 words mystery (to me) and also let me know any recommendation or help if he can provide me. I explained about the dead laptop...

HCP: Jim Burton was the UK lead developer for Multibit. So the group meeting was only about Multibit Wallet. From what you say he may have shown Blockchain but I do not remember at all... It has been a while. I hope Jim Burton will let me know about this as well regarding if the 16 words are related he should know.

So, if he replied to me, I will let you know. Fingers crossed.

What a mess I have done.

Thank you again all of you for your kind help and time. You have been so patient with me because I am so inept and uneducated in technology etc. So really a huge thank you.

Nicky

There is not "recovery phrase" feature available for MultiBit Classic... OP is adamant they were using MultiBit Classic and had a 16 word phrase. But those 2 things are mutually exclusive.

So, either they had MultiBit Classic and were also using another wallet like Blockchain.info (that is one of the only known wallets that used a 16 word phrase system) or the OP is simply remembering things wrong.

It would not surprise me if this "Jim Burton" guy had shown this group several wallets that they could use... like, use blockchain.info if you want a "web wallet", use multibit Classic if you want to use a local desktop wallet etc.


And I am very very VERY VERY "affirmative"... that those 16 words have nothing to do with your MultiBit Classic wallet. MBC never used word phrases as a method of wallet backup. MBC backup options were exporting the private keys or copy the wallet file. Those were the only options.

MultiBit HD used BIP39 word phrases, but they were either 12 or 24 words, it did not use 16 word phrases.

Have you tried the blockchain.info password recovery form as I suggested earlier: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password

Does your 16 word phrase work on that page?

I have some questions about your first post. You've written the text below:


1) On your first computer, do you remember what exactly you deleted? I know that it's been years, but you may remember something important. Was your deletion for example the cause of your computer's crash?
2) You say that you had a bitcoin there, on your first pc. Are you completely sure that you had used Multibit Classic to receive that one bitcoin? For example, do you remember generating an address or an invoice for your receival? I've written you on my first reply how an address looks like. (1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa).
3) After 3 years, once you bought the new laptop and installed Multibit classic again, what did you do to after the installation? How did you expect to show you a balance since you hadn't imported the old wallet?
4) Is there anyone else besides Jim Burton that knows about this? A known/friend of yours that bought 1 bitcoin back then, in that meeting?

---

Please correct me if I'm somewhere wrong: You bought one bitcoin in a meeting some years ago. The tech-guy who introduced you bitcoin, told you to use Multibit Classic and sent you that bitcoin to your wallet. Later, he insisted that you have to be careful and write these 16 words, because you could recover your bitcoin this way if your computer ever stopped working. He never told you how to recover it, did he?

Nicky, it seems that these 16 words were generated by blockchain.info. I can confirm what HCP said. Here's a link for you to read: 16 word recovery phrase for blockchain wallet not working.

From a bitcointalk googling, I found out about this forgot-password link, I think that this is what you're looking for: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password?guid=

Hi trigger 1975,

It came back to me that my wallet was set up with the help of Jim Burton (in a Vap cafe - London Shoreditch) we were a small group of people, new to bitcoin and this was an hour session to get help as we were all novice.

I am very affirmative that Jim Burton insisted on taking the time to copy on a piece of paper 16 words that was randomly given (can't remember how) and he said that this would help to recover our bitcoin if we have issue like wallet lost or anything else (in my case my laptop is broken - but I still have it). Hence I was looking for a way to recover my bitcoin with my 16 words phrases. I searched the internet endlessly, really desperate.

Thank you for providing the web link for web.archive.org for the help page. (the last one) the other one are downloading and I don't know what to do with it.

Hi NeuroticFish,

After searching in pictures and some other helpful posts here, I can confirm that I have Multibit Classic.
How could my founds by in Blockchain? I remember very well them to be in my Multibit wallet in my broken laptop.
The company does bitcoin recovery: https://www.mjm.co.uk/specialist-services/bitcoin-recovery.html  - Please have a reed and let me know

Hi BlackHatCoiner,

My laptop is really broken. An asus Transformer notebook T100TA 2GB - Very light in weight and capacity...
The guy in the Vap cafe was Jim Burton... I have been searching for him in google but so far no luck. Still searching...

Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate your expertise and time.

Nicky



 

Just a short notice, that you can find Multibit Classic binaries here (luckily archive.org has snapshotted the files as well)  

Windows: https://web.archive.org/web/20150315031609/https://multibit.org/releases/multibit-0.5.18/multibit-0.5.18-windows-setup.exe

Mac: https://web.archive.org/web/20150315033803/https://multibit.org/releases/multibit-0.5.18/multibit-0.5.18.dmg

Linux: https://web.archive.org/web/20150315032605/https://multibit.org/releases/multibit-0.5.18/multibit-0.5.18-linux.jar

The links are on the old FAQ page (right side) and there you also find the signatures.

https://web.archive.org/web/20150318124140/https://multibit.org/faq.html

But: did MultiBit Classic have some sort of recovery phrase?  I thought only MultiBit HD did have?  I have lost some change in my old MultiBit Classic wallet which I did archive on tape but lost access to the tape.  Still have access to a MultiBit Classic wallet backup from some days before the change addresses where created, so if there's a way to recover per hidden recovery phrase feature, I'd be very happy to learn how.

I don't know from my experience, but at a simple check, the company looks legit and it's in business since 1999.
However, they are specialized in recovering data (files) from your hard drive, not your Bitcoin.
This means that:
* while they may get your files, you will still have to find out what to do with those
* there's no guarantee whether they'll try or not to get their hand onto your coins


The problem is that all the information you provided is ambiguous, to say the least:
* you said that you have a seed for Multibit, but it's not a seed for Multibit
* you implied that you had funds in the first Multibit (Classic or HD, who knows?)
If the funds are indeed yours, try to remember if you moved the funds from Multibit to Blockchain.info or from Blockchain.info to Multibit.

That's because the funds could be at Blockchain.info, and then the information you need may be in your old e-mails and you have a chance to get hold of the coins without risking recovery.
If the funds are in Multibit, it could also be of use to tell how you moved the old wallet to the new laptop 3 years ago.

It doesn't make any sense to me. Back when you created it in that cafeteria, did that guy make it for you? Or he showed you how to do it? Have you keep contact with that guy? He may be the only one that knows what you'd done.

Do you have access to the files of that laptop? How "broken" can you characterize it? Can you open it or not?

I personally haven't ever heard such recovery service, but I guess they're trustworthy. If I were you, I'd go and take a look.

Hello,

That's all so weird the 16 words recovery phrase enigma....

I still have my broken laptop with me (which has the initial wallet where it was originally set up).

Have you heard of successful bitcoin recovery?
What do you think of this:
https://www.mjm.co.uk/specialist-services/bitcoin-recovery.html

Or, is somebody aware of trustworthy recovery service or bitcoin expert I could contact and could help me?

I live in London - Great Britain.

Thank you
Nicky

100% that your 16 words did not come from Multibit Classic nor Multibit HD.

16 words sounds like an old blockchain.info (now blockchain.com) password recovery phrase... especially given that none of the words are in the BIP39 list. The blockchain.info legacy password recovery used a completely different list to BIP39.

You can check your 16 words against the ones in this (very long) list: https://github.com/blockchain/unused-My-Wallet/blob/ddbb0995fbdb2b5f22bef9eb92a26e2bfefb6e00/mnemonic_words_v3.html


Note that this 16 word "recovery" phrase will NOT recover your wallet. It will only recover the password to your wallet.

Refer: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password


Unfortunately, if you don't have the original wallet.aes.json backup file from blockchain.info or some record of the "wallet id", then this 16 word phrase will be of very little use to you. Given that your old computer is "dead", then I'm going to guess you don't have the wallet.aes.json file...

Do you perhaps have access to the email address that was registered to blockchain.info and/or an old email from blockchain.info stored in your email account with either a record of your wallet-id or perhaps even an email with a copy of the wallet.aes.json backup file attached?

Another idea: can this 16 word list be the recovery for a Blockchain.info old wallet?
I don't know what words they have been using...

Hi BlackHatCoiner,

Yes, they are. All of them. Like: newborn or pinpoint....

I was wondering if it would be worth considering using a 'bitcoin recovering data services' here in London to get professional to look into my broken laptop which has the initial Multibit Wallet. Maybe, from there the data recovery expert would be able to get my private keys and with this I could then use it to get my bitcoin in Electrum?

Problem is that would be difficult to trust somebody to do that: there might be some scams out there to take advance of people stuck technically and steal their bitcoins.... Or to end up with somebody who claim they can recover and they cannot, then the broken laptop would become totally redundant even for recovery...

Any recommendation on that very welcome.

I am so lost.

Whatever the outcome of all of this, I am immensely grateful to all of you in this forum who has kindly been trying to help me with my problem.

Thank you
Nicky

This sounds weird. And they're all in the english dictionary?

Hi BlackHatCoiner,

Thank you for the link.

I have checked all my 16 words from my phrase with the tip of Ctrl+F and none of my words are in this list. So, I tried all of them, and for each of them I had a sound (like an error sound) as word couldn't be found each time...

Don't know what that's mean at all...

Thank you
Nicky

Could it be 15 words plus a passphrase?

Nicky, is there ANY word from your seed phrase that isn't included in this list: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039/english.txt ? (You can search the list with Ctrl+F5)

I'll answer your last post first, and I can confirm that your link really shows the MultiBit Classic version of the wallet, and this is what the MultiBit HD version looks like :



However, if we know that the Classic version did not have the ability to create a seed, and that the HD version had a seed of 12/18 words, I wonder how it is possible that you have a seed consisting of 16 words

Hello,

This is how my multibit wallet looks like:


https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/MultiBit


So, if somebody has the same layout, they can confirm if this is classic or HD.

Thank you.
Nicky

Hello,

I thought that I had Multibit classic, but after reading all posts, I am not sure anymore. I tried to copy the layout of my Multibit via Snipping tool in this post, but I didn't manage... Sorry about this. However, it seems that with Multibit HD seems more common to recover bitcoin, so I hope this is what I have.

Lucius: No, can't find the may who helped us back in 2014 to set up the wallet and told us to keep those 16 words. It was a 'one day event' that you book through meeting website for events with people of similar interest. This one was for novice people willing to have help to get a wallet with Multibit.
I can however, remember very well that he said that those 16 words were to be kept in case we had to recover the wallet and those words in we loose it, we was like loosing our bitcoin and we needed them to recover the bitcoin if needed.

NeuroticFish: It flash each word in orange and offers me an alternative word instead. How weird. I could understand if I written badly one word (because of one wrong letter) but it does that for each of them... I tried to replace with the alternative suggested for few words, but it keep going on. So I got back to my initial words (the way I wrote them) ignoring words suggested to see.
Then I went to the Derivation Path section and selected 'Multibit HB' in client: I have in orange top of the page the message: 'Invalid Root Key'.

Thank you again for your time and help. I really appreciate also your patience...

Nicky

I can only confirm that I used MultiBit Classic and that this crypto wallet did not have the option to backup through seed, but the only options were to copy the wallet file or to extract the private keys that the wallet generates and keep them safe. Is there any way to contact that man and try to find out exactly what those 16 words represent?

The fact there's the orange text is not good.
Let's try with what it suggest, or maybe you can find yourself any alternative good word, based on what you see in that handwriting.
The point is to try all you can until you find an address that has either funds, either transactions.

Is "xxxx" the 16th word of your seed phrase? I'm afraid that the seed phrase was generated with Multibit HD and not with Classic. As NeuroticFish said, in Classic there wasn't such option. Using a single seed to generate addresses was then included in HD ^{(hierarchical deterministic)} which makes much more sense to me now. Nicky, are you sure that it was the Classic one that gave you these 16 words?

If it flags you a message in that orange frame it means that you've entered something invalid. As you said, you've entered a word that doesn't exist in the Multibit's wordlist.

Hi NeuroticFish,

Thank you so so so much for all your help and time.

I managed to copy the folder in my desktop (thanks for advising me on that, this was very clear) and to open the Mnemonic Code Converter which looks exactly like your screenshot! So, that's good.

I have entered my 16 words and I have one that is flagged in 'orange' and I am given an alternative option saying that this word doesn't exist in the wordlist.  Message is xxxx is not in the worldlist, do you mean xxxx ?

Should I keep the word the way I entered it (but I have the orange flag) or should I replace it with the word they suggest which has one letter different (maybe I wrote it wrong in the first place, my hand writing is quite bad...)?

I understand that you have to go, but again, thank you so much for your help.

As I am stuck, I would wait for whenever I can get addition help to carry on the process, if you are back tomorrow, I would be happy to follow up with your kind help. I really appreciate.

Thank you and waiting for next step. Again, I have one word which shows in 'orange' on top right.

Thank you so much
Nicky

Good news is: the page tool for Mnemonic looks exactly like yours, so I have the good one...

This is not a big problem. The actual problem is that I have to go, so either somebody takes this over, either we continue sometime else (I'll be online again tomorrow, but I can't tell when)


Basically you have to drag and drop that folder from the downloaded archive anywhere else, like for example the desktop.
Although it's not exactly the same situation as for you, I hope that this helps.

https://www.tenforums.com/attachments/general-support/68028d1485964056t-cant-drag-drop-text-image-ie-11-wordpad-other-programs-drag-drop-desktop.jpg


I would actually be happy if this method works. I think that this is the easy method.
But if you can extract the wallet file (which you'll have to find, with some help) from the old computer, then another direction may be available.

Hi NeuroticFish,

I am sorry, but as I told you I am not technical at all.

Regarding the zip file, yes I did click on it only. I don't know how to unpack it.

Not clear for me 'how to copy it'. If I right click 'copy' on the folder bip39-master then what do you mean by 'copy it somewhere else'...?
Sorry, but I really struggle with this, I know that is surely very easy for you, apologies to be so unable with basic computer functiion.

Since it seems that the tools works only for Multibit HD and not for Multibit Classic, any other route for me (simple please) to use my 16 words phrase and recover my bitcoin? Like into another wallet that could recognize my 16 words phrase?

Or any other easy option?

Thank you again so much for your help.

Nicky

This is a problem. And only now I understand where it comes from.
You didn't unpack the zip file, you just clicked into it.

After clicking into, there's a folder bip39-master. Please copy it somewhere else so it gets unpacked.
Then you'll have to start over, but from the new index.html after copying.
I have high hopes that now the web page will look like in my images.


As I told BlackHatCoiner, the seed cannot work with Multibit Classic, only with Multibit HD.
I think that this may be one of the reasons the second install didn't work out.

Hi NeuroticFish,

Thank you so much for all of this.

I have tried to follow you onscreen steps and guidance.

Yes, it looks differently, but I have located the Derivation Path section.
However, I cannot get 'Multibit' under the drop down arrow in the 'client' section.

Also, I do not have Multibit HD but Multibit classic. I do not if this matter or no.

Do I need to press enter or tick something once I have written my 16 words as previously? Because I should be like you able to select 'multibit' in the client section, but I cannot: it doesn't move...

Thank you
Nicky

I'm a bit surprised on the "slightly different" part, but I hope that no orange color means that we are on the good track. Please don't paste the seed or the private keys. (meaning be very careful with that you post publicly).
Next steps, see the red squares.
For derivation path please try with m/0'/0, get the first address (bottom red square) copy/paste-it into https://chain.so (I switched to an easier website)
If no funds nor transactions found, try with m/0'/1.







^^ here you can see if you have funds or transactions.

Regarding 16 words, I can confirm that I have indeed the 16 words phassphrase.

When I got help for the setting of my wallet Multibit Classic in 2014 with the tech guy in the Vap cafe in London Shoreditch, he strongly insisted that all of us taking time to write carefully the 16 words that was generated and to keep them in a piece of paper safely.

He explained that this was for us to recover the bitcoin in case we loose the wallet, or the computer or whatever.

I have kept this piece of paper with my 16 words seed (as I believe you call that). That's why I am trying to recover my bitcoin with them.

NB. I am a woman.

Thank you for all your help out there... I hope I can recover my bitcoin.

I am quite desperate. I lost my job and I am currently ill with a chronic condition, so recovering my bitcoin would be amazing to me.

Thank you for your kind help and support.

Nicky

Hi NeuroticFish,

I have entered my 16 words in the space but it's look slightly different from your screenshot. Didn't 'enter' or 'confirm' anything. No orange colour...



Valid entropy values include:

 Binary [0-1]
101010011
 Base 6 [0-5]
123434014
 Dice [1-6]
62535634
 Base 10 [0-9]
90834528
 Hex [0-9A-F]
4187a8bfd9
 Card [A2-9TJQK][CDHS]
ahqs9dtc
 Show entropy details
 Hide all private info
Mnemonic Language
English 日本語 Español 中文(简体) 中文(繁體) Français Italiano 한국어 Čeština Português
BIP39 Mnemonic
ENTERED MY 16 WORDS THERE

Thank you
Nicky

I have used Multibit Classic and it certainly had no seed at all. The only Multibit with seed was Multibit HD (Hierarchical Deterministic).
So I guess that OP was used the incorrect words and he has Multibit HD, hence I went on the path of recovering from seed.
If this won't work or you have better idea, be my guest, I don't mind at all. I just want this person get to access his funds, with or without my help.

@NeuroticFish, where did you read that you can recover them that way? I think that you're referring to Multibit HD. He said that he used Multibit Classic. I have no idea what's the difference between these two, but there may be one.

Basically the problem is that there are no binaries of Multibit Classic somewhere on the internet, I've checked lots of sites. If there were, it'd be much easier to help him/her. The project is officially abandoned: https://github.com/Multibit-Legacy/multibit


And they've only left the source files. Is there anyone understanding how to compile Multibit? Because I don't.

As I wrote, into the BIP39 Mnemonic area 



Please tell if, after writing the seed, there's any error on top-right under orange background.

Hi NeuroticFish,

Thank you very much for this.

I have followed your instruction and got the file open as a web page.

However, there are so many things in there... Where do I enter my 16 words? I don't know where to enter them at all... Sorry about this.

Please help.

Thank you
Nicky

OK, I'll start easier. Can you please download https://github.com/iancoleman/bip39/archive/refs/heads/master.zip
You'll get a file master.zip, which you will have to unpack/extract. You'll obtain a folder bip39-master, you go inside, go into src and double-click index.html
In the opened web page, please fill into BIP39 Mnemonic your 16 words.

Let us know if you managed to reach this point.



That's where wallet related questions belong. Whatever is not clear, ask again.
People will try to answer in a way or another until you understand what you have to do.

Just keep in mind that you work with an old/outdated wallet most of us didn't work with and the answers may or may not be helpful   ; but at least we'll try.

Hi NeuroticFish,

Thank you for trying to helping me.

No, I can confirm that I do have 16 words seed. They are all words which make no sense with each other and no password (as you would create one) in included in this list.

I am worried that my post has been moved to 'development and Technical Discussion' section in this forum. This may be more suitable for technical people to read and understand which I am not.

I am trying to understand what you wrote to help me but cannot make sense of it. It's really too complicated for me and already highly technical.

Any way just to use my 16 seeds words to get this passphrase to recover in another wallet in a very simple way?

Thank  you very much again for all your help.
Nicky

Since you have the seed, I've found something that may be working for you, OP. I hope that the 16 words are actually 15-words seed and a password maybe?
Can you try to follow the steps provided here?
(You should indeed not use the online version of iancoleman website, instead download it).

Then you'll have to check those addresses and see if you have money on them; for that you'll paste the address (starting with 1) to https://blockchair.com/


Edit: You should try also with default (m/0'/0) derivation path. And you have to check the first resulted address and see if it has transactions, not necessarily funds; transactions would already be a great sign.

Hi BlackHatCoiner,

No I haven't tried that.

I haven't got a clue how to do. It doesn't seem that I have an option to do that. I searched but didn't see how...?

Would you kindly guide me how to do?

Thank you
Nicky

You should recover your old Multibit wallet in the new laptop with your 16 words. Have you tried that?

Hello BlackHatCoiner,

Thank you very much for your reply.

I have an address similar to what you show me, it's on the line, Your Address:
and this is in the section of 'request'

I am worried that this wallet do not have the right key where the found would be recovered because this is a wallet I have created when downloaded Multibit classic in my second laptop...

My first laptop where I had in the first place the wallet created and bitcoin in there is not working anymore so I cannot access the key there (the line similar to what you explain to me, that is call 'your address' in my wallet.

So that's why I was hoping to use my 16 words passphrase to recover my bitcoin, because the current wallet I have is not the initial one (where the bitcoin was initially) and I am not sure if by creating a new wallet when I downloaded Multibit in my new laptop 3 years ago, my private keywords would enable me to recover bitcoin from the previous laptop...

Sorry if this is confusing. I am myself.

However, I really appreciate that you are responding and trying to help me in a very simple and non technical way.

Thank you very much.
Nicky

You'll get tons of replies shortly, don't worry. You're most likely going to gain access to that bitcoin. First things first, back up anything related with Multibit! Wallets, files, anything you believe that it's related with the program. Since you state that you're not a tech-guy, you probably don't know what is the wallet file.

Multibit is an old SPV (Secure Payment Verification) client. I'm not sure, but I had read somewhere that there is no Multibit server running these days, and this is maybe why it doesn't show you balance. These 16 words aren't obviously generated with the BIP39 standard and thus, you can't import them on an improved SPV such as electrum.

Do you see any addresses on the program? (such as: 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa)
If you do see them, is there a "Show private key" option anywhere? In order to access your funds you'll have to find the private key of the address that has your bitcoin. A private key looks like this:


If you find the private key of the address that has the funds, then you'll have your bitcoin. I'm sure that someone who has used multibit in the past can help you more than I do.

Hello,

I am not a technical person at all. Just able to use computer to basic standards. Please help me with basic step to follow that are not technical. I appreciate your kindness.

My problem:

I used to have few years ago a Multibit Classic bitcoin wallet in a computer that then stop working. I tried to delete some programmes to makes some space as it was only 2GB memory and was full, but I think that I did damage even further and this computer does not work anymore. In addition, the screen is black even when plugged in and switched on (I thing the hardware is damaged too) I used to have one bitcoin there.

3 years ago, I bought another laptop (with 4 GB memory). I downloaded the Multibit wallet and it's the 0.5.18 classic version. I cannot see any bitcoin on the balance. It's show 0 BTC.

For your information, when I did create my wallet in my previous laptop (now not working) I did write my 16 words passphrase. Yes, it's 16 words I can confirm (not 12 or 24). For information, I had this wallet created with a tech guy while on a crypto cafe in London when a meeting was organised to get help (through meeting group website) for people wanting to get help with setting up a wallet for total novice like me.

So my question is: I have the 16 words for the passphrase from Multibit Classic. Can anyone help me step by step in very simple way how to use this passphrase to get my bitcoin in another wallet?

I thank you very much in advance for your kind help.

Nicky