I need Help finding or recovering bitcoins off an old hard drive - page 2.

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4361

Paper with QR code might also have been a "paper wallet"... a lot of the paper wallet generators use QR codes for ease of scanning address (and/or importing private key to wallet for redemption)... However, if it has been shredded and tossed, then obviously we'll never know for certain.

I know Blockchain can display QR codes when requesting a receive address, and it currently shows them for private keys which were imported to blockchain, but I don't think they ever used them for exporting mnemonic seeds or keys that were generated by their HD wallets...

Not sure if they ever showed QR codes for the old old wallets prior to the move to using HD wallets. However, it's been such a long time and blockchain has had so many UI/UX changes that I don't recall if they were used like that. I certainly never personally used them if they did.

Given that some of the 12 words are not even in the blockchain "password recovery" list... it's most probably that these 12 words are not even a blockchain recovery phrase, but some other obscure wallet with it's own proprietary recovery system. Undecided

SheriffBass

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Activity: 77

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The QR code is this picture of a scrambled net like lines, when you scan it it reflects a real written value as a wallet address or keys..... or even a business card or a link to a website....

I'm asking because there was a paper with a QR code ( already shredded and tossed Angry

!!!) near where I found the 12 words.

bob123

legendary

Activity: 1624

Merit: 2481

Quote from: SheriffBass on October 05, 2020, 10:21:53 AM

so u r just saying that these 12 words were just another way of passwords back then, right?

Kind of, yes.
I don't know enough about blockchain.com to answer that question with 100% certainty, since i didn't use at any time.

But the 12 words definitely were not a backup of the seed back then. So, basically, yes. Just another way of password.

Quote from: SheriffBass on October 05, 2020, 10:21:53 AM

did blockchain.info/.com ever have QR codes back 10 years ago?

I am not sure what you exactly mean with QR codes Huh

Blockchain.com (formerly known as blockchain.org) was created roughly 9 years ago. And they definitely didn't follow BIP39 back then.

SheriffBass

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Activity: 77

Merit: 11

Quote from: bob123 on October 01, 2020, 06:41:31 AM

Quote from: SheriffBass on September 25, 2020, 10:36:50 AM

Sorry I Don't use/ know how to use Linux, got it on a flash drive and will try it on my offline windows PC hope it works. and this also works with non BIP dictionary words too right?
Thank you.

The 12 words you possess are not the encoded seed for all of the private keys holding your BTC.
They are basically just a recovery mechanism for a specific web wallet (blockchain.com).

so u r just saying that these 12 words were just another way of passwords back then, right?

did blockchain.info/.com ever have QR codes back 10 years ago?

bob123

legendary

Activity: 1624

Merit: 2481

Quote from: SheriffBass on September 25, 2020, 10:36:50 AM

Sorry I Don't use/ know how to use Linux, got it on a flash drive and will try it on my offline windows PC hope it works. and this also works with non BIP dictionary words too right?
Thank you.

The 12 words you possess are not the encoded seed for all of the private keys holding your BTC.
They are basically just a recovery mechanism for a specific web wallet (blockchain.com).

You can not generate the private keys out of the words yourself. You inevitably have to enter them on blockchain.com to retrieve your coins.

Hardware wallets on the other hand use an open standard to derive private keys from a set of mnemonic code (12 words). And this standard uses the word list.
No hardware wallet can recover your coins from your blockchain.com words.

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4361

Quote from: SheriffBass on September 25, 2020, 09:14:53 AM

I still don't want to plug the 12 words I have to the blockchain.com server (yet), thinking of buying a hardware wallet as a ledger or trezor and try a 12 word wallet recover, however I believe they only accept BIP words!! Undecided

Correct, pretty much all of the hardware wallets that I can think of utilise BIP39 wordlists for mnemonic generation and wallet recovery. I am fairly confident that any hardware wallet you buy will reject your 12 words due to the fact that you have non-BIP39 words in it.

Quote from: SheriffBass on September 25, 2020, 10:36:50 AM

Sorry I Don't use/ know how to use Linux, got it on a flash drive and will try it on my offline windows PC hope it works. and this also works with non BIP dictionary words too right?

No, it doesn't. Ian Coleman's Mnemonic Code Converter works using BIP39 mnemonic word lists. It will be of no use to your if you have words that are not in the BIP39 wordlist.

SheriffBass

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Activity: 77

Merit: 11

Quote from: LoyceV on September 25, 2020, 09:32:57 AM

Quote from: SheriffBass on September 25, 2020, 09:14:53 AM

I still don't want to plug the 12 words I have to the blockchain.com server (yet), thinking of buying a hardware wallet as a ledger or trezor and try a 12 word wallet recover, however I believe they only accept BIP words!! Undecided

This Mnemonic Code Converter has been recommended already, but I'll do it again: download it, and run it from RAM from an offline Live Linux DVD. Unplug your internet and turn off your PC to wipe it's memory when you're done.

Sorry I Don't use/ know how to use Linux, got it on a flash drive and will try it on my offline windows PC hope it works. and this also works with non BIP dictionary words too right?
Thank you.

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: SheriffBass on September 25, 2020, 09:14:53 AM

I still don't want to plug the 12 words I have to the blockchain.com server (yet), thinking of buying a hardware wallet as a ledger or trezor and try a 12 word wallet recover, however I believe they only accept BIP words!! Undecided

This Mnemonic Code Converter has been recommended already, but I'll do it again: download it, and run it from RAM from an offline Live Linux DVD. Unplug your internet and turn off your PC to wipe it's memory when you're done.

SheriffBass

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Activity: 77

Merit: 11

you would be very surprised with what my little brain can think off, when I try to hide something I hide it sooo good even I can't find it!!!

what's better than just a pass phrase? one that consisting of 12 totally random words that makes no sense and is more unpredictable??

I still don't want to plug the 12 words I have to the blockchain.com server (yet), thinking of buying a hardware wallet as a ledger or trezor and try a 12 word wallet recover, however I believe they only accept BIP words!! Undecided

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4361

Quote from: SheriffBass on September 23, 2020, 02:10:47 PM

OOoooooorrrrrr it's the 12 words created to encrypt and decrypt the Bitcoin core wallet??? right???

I'd have to be honest and say "No". Most people don't use "12 words" to encrypt/decrypt a Bitcoin Core wallet... Bitcoin Coin simply uses a "passphrase" which is essentially just a "password"...

The user is free to make it whatever they want... from a simple password like "abc123" to something very long and complex like "Th1s Is My Super SecRet P@55 Phrase That Uses Symb0ls Numb3rs and Upper and Lowerc@se Letters And is vErY Long!2020#"

SheriffBass

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Activity: 77

Merit: 11

Quote from: HCP on August 27, 2020, 06:42:15 PM

Quote from: SheriffBass on August 27, 2020, 05:47:20 PM

My question was specifically about working offline on Bitcoin core ( that's where the original wallet was created and I have it already up to date).

Bitcoin Core does not, and never has, used 12 word seeds... if you have a 12 word seed, it was not created with Bitcoin Core.

OOoooooorrrrrr it's the 12 words created to encrypt and decrypt the Bitcoin core wallet??? right???

I just have to figure out which wallet!!

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4361

Quote from: SheriffBass on September 02, 2020, 07:47:39 PM

au contraire mon amie!! I rather it this way which means the time frame is correct ( I didn't make it up recently during my search/ research) as it predates such seeds which make it more likely to be a blockchain password!!

Possibly... but being a simple BIP39/Electrum seed would make things a LOT easier Undecided

Quote

I hope I didn't set it up with my old Verizon email as I stopped using them a while ago!!!! :-( and I can't use their email any more!!

If so, then there is pretty much no way to recover... as far as I know, no-one has ever been able to recover if they've lost use of the email as blockchain.com can't/won't change it...

Quote

any danger of being monitored or hacked if I enter the pass phrase live online? any precautions I can take??

No more danger than anything you usually do online... there isn't anything you can really do except make sure you're connected to the correct website and you're fairly certain that their are no keyloggers/malware etc on your machine... possibly using a LiveOS on a USB stick with a clean install of Linux might help ensure there is no malware etc...

SheriffBass

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Activity: 77

Merit: 11

Quote from: HCP on August 31, 2020, 08:06:25 PM

Quote from: SheriffBass on August 31, 2020, 12:16:36 PM

So the words aren't all on either list!!

That is problematic, as it means it is neither a BIP39 wallet seed mnemonic, nor an Electrum wallet seed mnemonic Undecided

au contraire mon amie!! I rather it this way which means the time frame is correct ( I didn't make it up recently during my search/ research) as it predates such seeds which make it more likely to be a blockchain password!!

Quote

so if it's a blockchain password and I don't have a wallet ID can I scan my old PC to find this "wallet.aes.json" file? any special software or method to target such file??

Try the recovery methods at Blockchain.com... https://login.blockchain.com/#/help

If you don't have wallet-id, but have an idea of what email address you might have used... and you still have access to the email address, you can try the wallet-id reminder option. You can also try the "Forgot your password" option and see if it works... unlikely given you have nonBIP39 words... so also try the old recovery: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password?guid=

Quote

I hope I didn't set it up with my old Verizon email as I stopped using them a while ago!!!! :-( and I can't use their email any more!!

e 12 words live online? or can I do it offline ( to a hardware wallet or software) to generate public/ private keys?

Yes, it's an online web-based platform... so if you want to try blockchain.info recovery, you have to do it via their website.
any danger of being monitored or hacked if I enter the pass phrase live online? any precautions I can take??

Quote

any difference between blockchain.com/.info?

No, blockchain.info was moved to blockchain.com a while ago... the .info domain now redirects to .com

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4361

Quote from: SheriffBass on August 31, 2020, 12:16:36 PM

So the words aren't all on either list!!

That is problematic, as it means it is neither a BIP39 wallet seed mnemonic, nor an Electrum wallet seed mnemonic Undecided

Quote

so if it's a blockchain password and I don't have a wallet ID can I scan my old PC to find this "wallet.aes.json" file? any special software or method to target such file??

Try the recovery methods at Blockchain.com... https://login.blockchain.com/#/help

If you don't have wallet-id, but have an idea of what email address you might have used... and you still have access to the email address, you can try the wallet-id reminder option. You can also try the "Forgot your password" option and see if it works... unlikely given you have nonBIP39 words... so also try the old recovery: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password?guid=

Quote

do I have to enter the 12 words live online? or can I do it offline ( to a hardware wallet or software) to generate public/ private keys?

Yes, it's an online web-based platform... so if you want to try blockchain.info recovery, you have to do it via their website.

Quote

any difference between blockchain.com/.info?

No, blockchain.info was moved to blockchain.com a while ago... the .info domain now redirects to .com

SheriffBass

member

Activity: 77

Merit: 11

Quote from: HCP on August 28, 2020, 04:27:27 PM

No... the password recovery system was simply that, it would allow you access back to your account... but is not capable of restoring the wallet "from nothing".

You needed the "wallet.aes.json" backup file + password (which can be decrypted with a tool provided by blockchain.info)
or
Wallet-ID + password (+ access to email for 2FA), so you can log into their website

The "old" recovery system is here: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password?guid=
Their "new" recovery options are here: https://login.blockchain.com/#/help (the 12 word recovery option here is only valid for HD wallets from about 2016 onwards)

Where people come unstuck with blockchain.info is that they don't understand they can't just do a password reset... your wallet is stored encrypted with your password. Not even blockchain can modify that, so if you forget your password, you're not able to recover.

People have become so used to websites being able to reset passwords, they just don't believe that blockchain can't do the same... Undecided

So the words aren't all on either list!!
so if it's a blockchain password and I don't have a wallet ID can I scan my old PC to find this "wallet.aes.json" file? any special software or method to target such file??
do I have to enter the 12 words live online? or can I do it offline ( to a hardware wallet or software) to generate public/ private keys?
any difference between blockchain.com/.info?

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4361

No... the password recovery system was simply that, it would allow you access back to your account... but is not capable of restoring the wallet "from nothing".

You needed the "wallet.aes.json" backup file + password (which can be decrypted with a tool provided by blockchain.info)
or
Wallet-ID + password (+ access to email for 2FA), so you can log into their website

The "old" recovery system is here: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password?guid=
Their "new" recovery options are here: https://login.blockchain.com/#/help (the 12 word recovery option here is only valid for HD wallets from about 2016 onwards)

Where people come unstuck with blockchain.info is that they don't understand they can't just do a password reset... your wallet is stored encrypted with your password. Not even blockchain can modify that, so if you forget your password, you're not able to recover.

People have become so used to websites being able to reset passwords, they just don't believe that blockchain can't do the same... Undecided

SheriffBass

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Activity: 77

Merit: 11

Quote from: HCP on August 28, 2020, 03:41:10 PM

Quote from: SheriffBass on August 28, 2020, 01:19:08 PM

sounds good, Will cross check them against both lists and see which is a match (hopefully)!

I forgot to mention that if you have words that are not in either list, there is a chance that it's an old blockchain.info password recovery mnemonic... in which case, you would need the wallet backup file or "wallet-ID" and possibly access to the email address you used to sign up to that service.

oh crap, aren't these the ones that require a ton of impossible info and find excuses so they would never release it to you anyway!!!

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4361

Quote from: SheriffBass on August 28, 2020, 01:19:08 PM

sounds good, Will cross check them against both lists and see which is a match (hopefully)!

I forgot to mention that if you have words that are not in either list, there is a chance that it's an old blockchain.info password recovery mnemonic... in which case, you would need the wallet backup file or "wallet-ID" and possibly access to the email address you used to sign up to that service.

SheriffBass

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Activity: 77

Merit: 11

Quote from: BASE16 on August 28, 2020, 10:27:21 AM

Quote from: SheriffBass on August 27, 2020, 05:47:20 PM

Not sure if u didn't get my question or if can't get your answer!!

I think you didn't get my answer.
But i also think that you will get it soon tho

getting it now, u gave me the short quick answer that I didn't understand why!! but now I see that all roads are leading to Electrum!!

SheriffBass

member

Activity: 77

Merit: 11

sounds good, Will cross check them against both lists and see which is a match (hopefully)!

Topic: I need Help finding or recovering bitcoins off an old hard drive - page 2. (Read 2481 times)