Topic: How to complete a old bitcoin transfer from 2013 in the easiest way? (Read 618 times)

If you see something like: "null" after you type in the walletpassphrase command and press enter... Then yes, it sounds like you do indeed have the correct password...


Might just be if you have a space in the passphrase then...

Anyway, glad you managed to figure it out. Good luck with rescuing the funds... just follow TryNinja's suggestion exporting the private keys... and importing them into Electrum.

Wow, do I have the right password? 

I used the console trying out different old passwords that I had that I thought could suit, and for over an hour I got the message (after entering enter):

Error: The wallet passphrase entered was incorrect. (code -14)

But then, in my last try, I got a blank space after entering enter. So I tried the same password again, and got the same blank space.

So do I have the right password?

I had some special characters  in the password, but I didnt need to put in marks in the console of that reason.

Thanks again HCP for the detailed explanation. If I do get grab of my funds, I will try to send you something.

you can download the blockchain in OTHER computer systems.

If you type wrong characters in the command itself... like:
waletpaassphrse 12345 1

You'll simply get a "Method not found" error. Nothing bad will happen.



Also, the newer versions of Bitcoin Core actually have "text prediction" as you type, that shows a list of commands that start with the same letters and you can just select the one you want:




The format for the command is:

walletpassphrase "your-pass-phrase" number-of-seconds-to-keep-wallet-unlocked

I simply chose "1" as the "number of seconds to keep the wallet unlocked" value, so that your wallet doesn't stay unlocked for extended periods of time But you can use any number you want really...

So yes, for a password of 12345, you would use:

walletpassphrase 12345 1

Note that if you passphrase has a space in it (and possibly "special" characters like !@#$%^&*() etc)... you should use " marks... like this:

walletpassphrase "this is a passphrase that has spaces in it" 1

Thanks very much for the answeres, espesially HCPs more detailed answer is just what a newbie like me need.

The first task for me now is then to try out several passwords I used back then, but I have never used a command interface before, and are afraid of doing something wrong that is closing the whole system.

So what happends if I somewhere type in a wrong character, or dont type in a correct space?

If I, for example, should try with the password 12345, is it then correct that i type in the following (and after that hit enter):
walletpassphrase 12345 1

Or is the last number (1) a command that tell me I shall hit enter?

Is it an option for me to try out my password by trying to send one satoshi to a fake / or real bitcoinadress despite that my current wallet is empty?

Wherever you read that... it is wrong... the blockchain is currently running a little over 150Gigs... not even close to 1 TB.


Sounds like a good idea... make backup(s) of the wallet.dat file... then update to the latest version of Bitcoin Core.


If you don't have the right password, you will not be able to export your private keys... nor send funds out. To test if you have the correct password, you can use the "console" and the "walletpassphrase" command

- Help -> Debug Window -> Console
- use the command: walletpassphrase "YOUR-PASS-PHRASE" 1

If the passphrase is correct, you will get the response "null"... otherwise, you'll get an error message like "Error: The wallet passphrase entered was incorrect. (code -14)"

The only thing you need to do is: export your private key (google it if you don't know how) and import it in a new Electrum wallet. That's it.

You won't need to download anything else other than Electrum and you should be able to see and spend your funds instantly after opening your Electrum wallet.

No. Just do what I said above and you will be ok.

Thanks for the answers so far, but as a newbie i feel there is many traps I can get stuck in in this procedyre. Or isnt it? For example shouldnt I first utdate my old wallet before importing my private keys into Electrum?

Now it is late night here I live, so I have to go to bed. But i will see tomorrow  .

If you don't want to waste a lot of time downloading the full node better to backup the private keys from your old client and import it into electrum wallet since electrum wallet is lite version you can import  your wallet without downloading the  whole blockchain ..
The miners fee right now is different and the fee is really high unlike before..  you can check the default fee here https://bitcoinfees.earn.com/

Your wallet does not need to be online for you to receive transactions. As long as it was confirmed in a block in the past, it will be in the blockchain.

In the autumn of 2013 I downloaded a bitcoin wallet (Bitcoin QT v0.8.5-beta) to my laptop and buyed half a bitcoin. The wifi I then used was not fast, and I therefore gave up the downloading of the blockchain after some hours.

I opened the same wallet these days, and I see I then had downloaded about 1/15 of the blockchain (222 weeks behind). I read some place that the blockchain now is about 1 TB big, and I have only 724 GB free space on my harddisk on my laptop.

I now had the downloading of the blockchain going for about 2 hours, and it is now standing at 224 weeks behind, and there is now a message in my wallet that says: URGENT: Alert key compromised, upgrade required

So I now need advice for how I can recieve my bitcoins in the simplest possible way for a newbie like me  and hopefully not loose my bitcoins  .

My provisional plan for doing this is to first make a backup of my Bitcoin QT wallet on a pendrive. Then update the Bitcoin QT wallet to the latest Bitcoin Core wallet, and then download the Electrum wallet and sweep over the private keys from the Core wallet to the Electrum wallet. Where is the weakest point of this plan? And is there a better way to do it?

Can I assume the old fee from the sender now is way too low? Is it then possible that the sender can repeat the sending with higher fee (because I assume this is the easiest way out)?

My  Bitcoin QT wallet is encrypted, but I am not shure I have the right pasword, and I do not find a place in my wallet to test it out. Do I need my password in this plan?