Topic: Have paper backups of a 2015 and a 2016 Armory wallet. (Read 270 times)

That simply won't work. Armory doesn't "download the database with block chain files". It reads the block data that Bitcoin Core has downloaded and uses that to build it's databases.

You also can't use Armory to install Bitcoin Core.

It really doesn't matter which order you install them in... If both components (Bitcoin Core and Armory) are setup correctly, it should work... it's just handy if you already have Bitcoin Core installed, running and fully synced (without pruning), prior to trying to get Armory running as it means that Armory will have access to all the data it needs to function correctly.

Thank you for the reply. I appreciate it. When I ran bitcoin core and then installed armory and launched it, armory ran for a length of time then way the logs are describing. After a number of hours, I launched task manager to look things over. The armory process stopped at that point, and I got an error message to that effect. Resolution: back to square 1 with a clean Windows installation. I plan to install armory first, then use that to install and run bitcoin core, instead of trying the  bitcoin core installation first. That way, armory will download the database with block chain files, not bitcoin core.
Also, I have the watch-only wallet from my previous armory installation - from 2014 - and I plan to restore the wallet.dat file from that system once armory and bitcoin core are running together on the new system. Any advice? Will the offline system work exactly the same way in terms of signing any transactions from the old, restored watching-only wallet?

Why not just make another thread about armory under this section "Armory" to get a proper guide and solution of your problem about armory.

Anyway, you can do that wait for fully sync before you install the armory but even it's not fully synced they should communicate.

There might be an issue on OS you are trying to install what version of OS you currently using?

Would it matter that I did not install armory first, then download and install bitcoin after launching armory? The way I did it was to download, install, and sync up bitcoin core first. Afterward, I installed armory. I am thinking of completely wiping the hard drive and external HD, then coin the installation the other way - install armory first, then download and install bitcoin core through armory.

What are the next steps to be taken? I can't get a completely new system to successfully run bitcoin core and Armory together. They might no be in communication with each other. Are there further tests that can be performed? If I change to a Linux system, will that help me? I still want to import my BTC into a new wallet on a fresh install, regardless of the OS.

I didn't change any config files. What I did was to launch both bitcoin core and armory from cli using the parameters that were already listed. My intention was to feed the default directory settings for Armory back in at the time of launch. I did, as you are aware, change the datadir path for bitcoin core to an external HD. That appears to function normally.

I don't have dblog.txt
I have armorylog.txt, ArmorySettings.txt and armorycpplog.txt in \username\AppData\Roaming\Armory

dblog.txt should be in the same directory as armorylog.txt

If you haven't manually modified the Armory data directory, then it should be:

It's at about 20% processor utilization.

Now there is an error message: ArmoryQt.exe is not responding.
-close the program
-wait for the program to respond
I don't know whether task manager could have triggered that result in the ArmoryQt process or if it was already in a hung state and reported a 19.nnnn% processor utilization

My search of the c: drive didn't return a result for dblog.txt. Where would the log be located, if I have one?

I should have explained that this is an ongoing effort to create a completely new armory installation on a new system. After that has been completed, I want to import the watch-only wallet from my old system in order to gain access to the bitcoins on the new system with new Armory installation.
The newly-installed armory is running. It ran all night, apparently with no changes.
I did create a new wallet for the new bitcoin core installation. It's called 'new empty.' Maybe the log file is showing two different instances of startup. After each one, I shut down the system completely, relaunch the executables from the cli using the same commands, and try to monitor the result for any changes or improvements.

It's running fine according to your logs you just let it run and wait for loading to let it sync with the bitcoin core.
What I notice is this


You can check your %appdata%\Armory if there are wallet files with .wallet extension.

Next time make sure to make a backup of your armory wallet file under %appdata%\Armory before you uninstall armory because there is some chance that the files under that folder could be deleted.

The question is do you have a paper backup? Since you mention it in your first post you should have this backup. You can just import it to your newly installed armory 0.96.5

No... that actually looked like everything was going great... but then it doesn't seem to spawn the armorydb process??!?

If you open Task Manager... do you see an "armorydb.exe" process running? can you please post the contents of the dbLog.txt file as well (if it exists).

Uninstalled bitcoin core and armory, deleted all blockchain database files in d:\bitcoin\databases, then installed
bitcoin core v0.21.1
armory 0.96.5

bitcoin core:
no wallet has been loaded
go to File>Open wallet ...

armory:
stuck at splashscreen with "loading 100%"

armorylog.txt
https://pastebin.com/a2Da3VGu

to get this result, I had launched executables from cli with these commands

c:\Program Files\Bitcoin>bitcoin-qt.exe -datadir=d:\bitcoin
C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory>armoryqt.exe --satoshi-datadir=d:\bitcoin\blocks --dbdir=C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Armory\databases --datadir=C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Armory

Is it still pathing?

That's fine. I was just wanting to know how far you really needed to go down the path... if you just needed to get Armory running, restore wallet and extract private keys... or if you needed to get Bitcoin Core setup and running, Armory setup and running and then get Bitcoin Core and Armory talking to each other properly

It would seem that you're after the latter, which hopefully should not be too difficult. Let us know how you get on... fingers crossed getting the latest versions up and running will solve most of the issues.

I like Armory. I know it's secure. If possible, I will continue to use it. Keeping an amount of bitcoin in cold storage is a perfect idea.
"Trust no one." - Benjamin Franklin

The issue that I have been up against in the past is a debilitating shortage of viable hardware. That appears to have resolved itself. I really appreciate all the information.   When I get time to return to the Armory issues, I will keep you posted as to the outcome.

Yeah, I suspect some of the issues might be caused by trying to use 0.96 with Bitcoin 0.21... the older versions of Armory don't play nicely with newer versions of Bitcoin Core

Removing 0.96 and installing 0.96.5... get it running (and perhaps consider a "rescan and rebuild databases") and then see how things stand.


It really should not matter... theoretically Armory can be installed anywhere... and it's data directory can be configured to be anywhere.

However, for simplicity, it's probably easier to simply install Armory using the 0.96.5 installer and leave it's install (C:\Program Files) and datadir (C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Armory) locations as "default".


Depends on how you wish to import the wallet... trying to import the wallet files themselves might cause problems... So, I would say that you'd be better off restoring from your root key (paper) backup.

If the signed transaction you have is still "valid" (you would be advised to triple check ALL the details of it, like output address(es) and amounts etc) and you still wish to broadcast it, then that is just as easy to broadcast from one of the raw transaction "push" services (coinb.in, blockcypher, btc.com etc).

I guess the question is, are you just trying to get your coins out of Armory and then move on, or are you wanting to continue using Armory?

I was still working on old Windows systems that were first installed in 2014. I had to upgrade the watch-only wallet to Windows 10. I also  tried to upgrade to:
watch-only bitcoin core to 0.20.0 and Armory to 0.96-beta-a3d01aa722
offline Armory to 0.92.3 on a Win32 system.

================================

new hardware obtained running Windows 10 on 03-21-2021. Previous March 2021 posts were from the 2014 system. I apologize for the confusion.

Installed Bitcoin Core 0.21.0 and Armory 0.96.
Added an external HD. Moved bitcoin core to d:\bitcoin. Left Armory installed on the c: drive. That's why I left the pathing to both drives, depending on whether it was for bitcoin core or for Armory. If it's the best approach, I will uninstall Armory 0.96 and reinstall 0.96.5 to run with the new version of bitcoin core.

Should Armory be installed on the d: drive or the c: drive for the upgrade?

After the system is running, it sounds like I could either take the signed transaction and convert it to RAW HEX, then broadcast it to the network or import the wallet from the 2014 system with the BTC and go on with business as normal. Will the second option work? Are there any known issues with wallets or with anything else in between versions that I have been running since 2014?

This won't work with newer versions of Bitcoin Core... make sure you have version 0.96.5 from here: https://btcarmory.com/0.96.5-release/


Otherwise, it is kinda difficult to work out what is actually happening, as you seem to be trying to run multiple versions of things from multiple locations

The "socket error", that was showing in one of the logs, could indicate that there is a "ghost" process running hidden in the background... you might need to try ending tasks from task manager or rebooting the PC to clear them out.

Also... running ArmoryQt from the commandline, you shouldn't be using "datadir"... it should be "satoshi-datadir" to specify the Bitcoin Blocks folder... and "dbdir" to specify the Armory database dir...

ArmoryDB uses "datadir" (for Armory data directory), "satoshi-datadir" for blocks folder and "dbdir" for it's database directory.

All this is explained here: https://btcarmory.com/docs/pathing

I have both watch-only and offline systems, including both wallets, so apparently I have private keys available.

Here's the other armory log file

https://pastebin.com/2zALnFsr

Maybe the command line parameters for satoshi path were accepted by Armory, but there's something else wrong.

Versions

Bitcoin Core version v0.21.0

Armory Version        : 0.96