Topic: Have paper backups of a 2015 and a 2016 Armory wallet. (Read 331 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

Using new Windows 10 system, got bitcoin core running and synced up. Launched from cli using
"C:\Program Files\Bitcoin\bitcoin-qt.exe" -datadir=d:\bitcoin

Armory failed.
https://pastebin.com/6aqBvtLR

attempted to launch armory from cli using

cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory
armoryqt.exe -datadir="d:\bitcoin\blocks"

no errors are returned on the command line.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory>armoryqt.exe -datadir="d:\bitcoin\blocks"

C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory>

The log file is in pastebin: https://pastebin.com/2zALnFsr

So you only have the signed transaction? How about this armory wallet installed from your old PC?

If you don't have them and you only have a signed transaction there is a way to convert them to raw hex code.

Follow this guide below

- Install fresh Armory wallet on your new PC
- Open Armory
- Switch user to expert mode
- reopen the Armory wallet
- Now you should see some additional features
- Click offline transaction you should see this image below



- Load file then choose the signed transaction that you have
- Now click "Copy raw TX(HEX)"
- Go to https://coinb.in/#broadcast
- And paste the raw hex code then submit.

Let's hope if it can still broadcast old signed transaction. You don't need to be fully synced or without Bitcoin core. This one should be work if not there is nothing we can do.

From March 18 2021

From March 19 2021

Armory still connected to bitcoin core on my old system at that time. That isn't really being online, but I had forgotten about that. I didn't sync up to the network first, the way it looks. There were no network connections from Armory to the btc network. I created a transaction to send the balance remaining in the wallet to another address. I signed the transaction using the offline system. When I tried to broadcast it to the network, it failed. There were no connections. I have the file for the signed transaction.

I will try to go back to the new system and external HD to work on resolving Windows permissions issues. Another approach would be to simplify that part of it by using a large enough HD for the blockchain from the beginning, install bitcoin core and Armory on it, then import the wallet to the new system. The current wallet, still containing the balance, can be imported without issues -- ?

The old system stops syncing headers. I have restarted the PC, restarted bitcoin-qt and armory, re-established connections to the BTC network. The process stops. I have repeated that attempt dozens of times. Let me get those log files from pastebin.

That's still valid for the 0.96.5 version of Armory... it's really referring to the backup system version, not so much the version of the software.


Yes there are issues... in that, basically, it's not actually possible.


The 1.35c Armory "paper wallet", is just an Armory Backup with a "Root Key" (the 2 lines of 9 groups of 4 chars), is that correct?

You won't be able to use that Root Key with any software other than Armory... it's a system unique to Armory and I am not aware of any other wallet software that can process it.

Also, the QR Code is simply the root key text encoded as a QR code... so, you won't be able to scan it with any other wallet unless it can actually import Armory root keys (and again, there are none that are able to... that I am aware of)

Just confused about the bolded part above. Armory wallet is online but you don't have a network connection?

If it wasn't broadcasted yet then your bitcoin is still there. If you want the BTC right away there is another way can you still open the armory?
If yes then what you need to do is to export the private key from your Armory wallet and import it to Electrum wallet. That's the only way that you can do it now if you want it right away and without downloading the entire blockchain.

In Electrum you can make another transaction after you imported it and you don't need the transaction file that you created from your armory.

I have both offline and watching-only wallets.
I signed a transaction last time my Armory wallet was online, so I have that transaction file. It sent the balance of the Armory wallet to a different address. It was not broadcast because I had no network connections at that moment. If I can get my Armory running again, then apparently there will be a way to broadcast that transaction to the network.
The file is not in HEX. The data is in a different number system. If there is a way to use that file by itself, and not use the Armory wallets again, I would prefer that method. It would be the fastest.
Let me look through my previous posts for more information re: the transaction file. I know that there were some helpful responses. Also, I will try to locate and repost the errors and log files from my original Windows PCs (from 2014) that I posted in Fall 2020 and Winter 2021.

I think the watch-only wallet file extension of the armory is .wallet like mine I have a armory_mywallet_watchonly.wallet.

So I think there is no Android wallet that you can use to import .wallet file.
If you still want to make a watch-only wallet you need to collect all public keys or BTC address from your armory wallet and import it to Android Electrum.


Can you explain what errors do you get from Bitcoin core and maybe we can find some solution to your issue?

And I would like to ask are you planning to recover your wallet with watch-only wallet? and then use Android wallet instead?

Take note you can't be able to send or sign a transaction without private keys.

Wallet version was 1.35c at that time.

Are there any known issues with importing an Armory watching-only wallet to Android BTC wallets?
This would use the paper backup. I hope to be able to scan in the QRC. Any thoughts? Any recommendations on which Android wallet works the best?

There is a lengthy history behind this. Mostly Windows-related problems, the way it looks. I am not sure how much relevancy the details would have.
I have tried to upgrade Armory and bitcoin core on my old Windows systems - unsuccessfully. Syncing headers does not complete after launching bitcoin-qt

I also tried loading current versions of bitcoin core and Armory on a new Windows machine, used an external HD for the data directory. I ran into Windows permissions-related errors when trying to use the external drive to run bitcoin core on the PC and launch Armory to access the datadir.

In addition, I have a signed transaction from the last time I had Armory online. I was not connected to the network, though, so it was never broadcast. The file format is something besides HEX, although it does appear similar to HEX.