Topic: I need Help finding or recovering bitcoins off an old hard drive - page 5. (Read 2481 times)

so did that, it switched my commands in both user and admin to C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>
when I type the command:
C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:\ --recov_outputdir X:\Where\to\put\found\stuff  ( filling in the drive, size and output location)
it asks for passphrase for the new wallet, then possible pass phrase for lost wallet ( I just click enter to skip it)

still get the same msgs!!
can't open \\.\c:\, check the path or try as root Error:(2, 'no such file or directory')

then tried the flash drive "D" switched parameters and got the same msg:  can't open \\.\D:\, check the path or try as root Error:(13, 'Permission denied')

are there extra \\.\ in the program itself that makes it unrecognizable/inaccessible?

I tried to create a directory in the sys properties, environment variables as in: https://superuser.com/questions/143119/how-do-i-add-python-to-the-windows-path
python 27 was already in so I added python.exe
will try again.

That's beucase the 'pywallet.py' is located somewhere else. I found its location on the previous page of this thread. Type in the following command.


Now, try to run the recovery command, but make sure to select the correct drive.

You need to navigate into the folder containing the file first, using cd.

For example, enter the following to get into the root directory:

Then navigate into the folder containing the script, for example:

Then start the script again. But obviously after connecting the drive.

I want to run it on many drives none off which are connected yet!

so running it as an admin. CMD changes to: C:WINDOWS\system32>

then running the command gives me: python can't open file 'pywallet.py' : [Errno 2] no such file or directory

So which drive is the one you want to scan? C or D? If D then running the command prompt as administrator should do the trick (simply right-click and select 'Run as administrator').

so I put in a pass phrase to start the program, it asked to input possible passphrase for the deleted wallet, pushed enter to skip ( as I have no recollection), it said starting recovery and immediately: can't open \\.\c:\, check the path or try as root Error:(2, 'no such file or directory')
I tried again but searching a USB Changed the command to search device D and got:  can't open \\.\D:\, check the path or try as root Error:(13, 'Permission denied')
 

You can either try to leave it blank or set it to something that you will remember (there is no need to use an external website for that). If I were you, I would set the passphrase just to be sure it worked fine. You will need it to open the wallet if the recovery turns out to be successful.

No, the file will be created automatically. You have to specify where it is supposed to be created (--recov_outputdir parameter). Don't forget to modify all of the parameters.

Ohh, all this is one command??
Sorry I thought they were multiple different commands serving multiple different purposes!!!
Will try the one big line, and how about the destination file? I will have to create that ahead as well right?

It looks like you are basically there and looks like pywallet is installed.

you arent giving all the required arguments for pywallet to actually do anything though.

You need to do a command like what has been posted by HCP:

python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=XXX.XGio --recov_device X:\ --recov_outputdir X:\Where\to\put\found\stuff

as an example:

python pywallet.py --recover --recov_size=250Gio --recov_device F:\ --recov_outputdir C:\recoveredwallets

you will need to change 250 and F to the size of the drive you are scanning and the letter the drive shows up in my computer as.

As already said, make sure you take a back up first of the drive.

Also you will probably need to run command prompt as admin

Great, Thanks a lot for your patience and valuable advice, got it and no more web interface!

however when I tried the very clear much wanted and appreciated "idiot guide"

I got the following results:
C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recover
You must provide the device, the number of bytes to read and the output directory

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recov_size=500.0Gio
A mandatory option is missing

Usage: pywallet.py [options]

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --passphrase=PASSPHRASE
                        passphrase for the encrypted wallet
  --dumpwallet          dump wallet in json format
  --dumpwithbalance     includes balance of each address in the json dump,
                        takes about 2 minutes per 100 addresses
  --importprivkey=KEY   import private key from vanitygen

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --recov_device C:\
A mandatory option is missing

Usage: pywallet.py [options]

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --passphrase=PASSPHRASE
                        passphrase for the encrypted wallet
  --dumpwallet          dump wallet in json format
  --dumpwithbalance     includes balance of each address in the json dump,
                        takes about 2 minutes per 100 addresses
  --importprivkey=KEY   import private key from vanitygen
  --importhex           KEY is in hexadecimal format
  --datadir=DATADIR     wallet directory (defaults to bitcoin default)
  --wallet=WALLETFILE   wallet filename (defaults to wallet.dat)
  --label=LABEL         label shown in the adress book (defaults to '')
  --testnet             use testnet subdirectory and address type
  --namecoin            use namecoin address type
  --otherversion=OTHERVERSION
                        use other network address type, whose version is
                        OTHERVERSION
  --info                display pubkey, privkey (both depending on the
                        network) and hexkey
  --reserve             import as a reserve key, i.e. it won't show in the
                        adress book
  --multidelete=MULTIDELETE
                        deletes data in your wallet, according to the file
                        provided
  --balance=KEY_BALANCE
                        prints balance of KEY_BALANCE
  --web                 run pywallet web interface
  --port=PORT           port of web interface (defaults to 8989)
  --recover             recover your deleted keys, use with recov_size and
                        recov_device
  --recov_device=RECOV_DEVICE
                        device to read (e.g. /dev/sda1 or E: or a file)
  --recov_size=RECOV_SIZE
                        number of bytes to read (e.g. 20Mo or 50Gio)
  --recov_outputdir=RECOV_OUTPUTDIR
                        output directory where the recovered wallet will be
                        put
  --clone_watchonly_from=CLONE_WATCHONLY_FROM
                        path of the original wallet
  --clone_watchonly_to=CLONE_WATCHONLY_TO
                        path of the resulting watch-only wallet
  --dont_check_walletversion
                        don't check if wallet version > 81000 before running
                        (WARNING: this may break your wallet, be sure you know
                        what you do)
  --wait=NSECONDS       wait NSECONDS seconds before launch



C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --importprivkey=KEY
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py", line 5004, in
    db_env = create_env(db_dir)
  File "C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py", line 1269, in create_env
    r = db_env.open(db_dir, (DB_CREATE|DB_INIT_LOCK|DB_INIT_LOG|DB_INIT_MPOOL|DB_INIT_TXN|DB_THREAD|DB_RECOVER))
bsddb.db.DBNoSuchFileError: (2, 'No such file or directory -- C:\\Users\\Hoss\\AppData\\Roaming\\Bitcoin\\__db.001: No such
 file or directory')


C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --info
A mandatory option is missing

Usage: pywallet.py [options]

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --passphrase=PASSPHRASE
                        passphrase for the encrypted wallet
  --dumpwallet          dump wallet in json format
  --dumpwithbalance     includes balance of each address in the json dump,
                        takes about 2 minutes per 100 addresses


C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --dumpwallet
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py", line 5004, in
    db_env = create_env(db_dir)
  File "C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py", line 1269, in create_env
    r = db_env.open(db_dir, (DB_CREATE|DB_INIT_LOCK|DB_INIT_LOG|DB_INIT_MPOOL|DB_INIT_TXN|DB_THREAD|DB_RECOVER))
bsddb.db.DBNoSuchFileError: (2, 'No such file or directory -- C:\\Users\\Hoss\\AppData\\Roaming\\Bitcoin\\__db.001: No such file or directory')

C:\Users\Hoss>



C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --importhex
A mandatory option is missing

Usage: pywallet.py [options]

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --passphrase=PASSPHRASE
                        passphrase for the encrypted wallet
  --dumpwallet          dump wallet in json format
  --dumpwithbalance     includes balance of each address in the json dump,



The only command that properly worked was:

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --version
pywallet.py 1.1


am I missing something or doing something terribly wrong??
do I have to create a file (with defined path) for potentially recovered wallet/ keys before running it?
So sorry, I'm normally not as stupid as I appear here however it's all very new to me!!!
Thanks again,

Pywallet doesn't look into directories in "recover" mode... it simply scans the entire device.

There really isn't a lot to learn if you're just wanting to scan a drive looking for potential/deleted wallet files. You simply use the options as already mentioned.

# --recover option tells pywallet to operate in recovery mode (ie. scan the device looking for wallet files)
# --recov_size options specifies the size of the device... if you have a 256gig drive, you say 256Gio... if it is an 8Gig thumbdrive, specify 8Gio (the script author used Gio for Gigabytes for some reason?) Note that if you have an 8Gig drive and specify a smaller size (ie. 2Gio), the script will only scan the first 2 gigs then stop.
# --recov_device specifies the drive letter for the device you want to scan
# --recov_outputdir simply tells the script where to place any "recovered" wallet files etc.

I don't recommend the browser interface as it will slow things down considerably for drive scanning. Also, it isn't terribly stable, is horribly outdated and may cause more issues than it solves. By using the commandline you can see exactly what the script is doing rather than having it filtered through the browser interface and other unnecessary packages.

I'm currently compiling a list of all the possibly needed CMD commands to try them out (on a flash drive/ dummy HDD) in case I need any plugins, more pkg downloads before plugging in the old hard drive and going offline with the PC.

any tutorial  source/ how to videos (beside the readme file) with all these commands, and how to properly use them?

seems that what I found so far is targeting wallet.dat assuming I have it/ know where it is located on the HDD, but if it was deleted then what directory should I have pywallet look into?

and what file name ( if it doesn't exist anymore!!) with what commands?

intriguing to find the program looking for a hex format that's unique to bitcoin wallets however knowing how to make it work safely is a bit tricky!!

still slowly but surely a learning curve, but very exciting.

Thank you Legendary HCP, I will certainly read ( the whole 33 pages) as I need to learn as much as I can, and screw up the least :-)

if you don't mind me asking why not use the web interface? is it complicated to use, not reliable, not secure, not as accurate?

when I run/ open the pywallet2.2 window I see all the commands I click on autowritten on the CMD aswell, ( I think).

the plan is once I have the software set up and running ( without the need to download/ update any more files) that PC will be permanently off line and searching for the wallet on an external drive for security reasons.

BTW, What do you think of this other tool:

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.702133

is it safe, easy, accurate?
Thanks again,

I suggest you read some of the later posts (like the last 2 or 3 pages) in this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=34028.640

As already mentioned, DON'T use the web interface. You need to use the commandline.

There are plenty examples of how to use PyWallet in "--recover" mode. The general format is:


Note that it uses "Gio" instead of GB for the size of the device to scan... and for anything larger than a USB stick of 4-8Gigs, you can expect to be waiting for hours and hours for the scan to finish. Scanning a full harddrive of several hundred gigs will likely take over a day.

HMM,

  so while testing the PYwallet2.2 program: when I run the import a read-only address in the info tab I get this address:

 1HT7xU2Ngenf7D4yocz2SAcnNLW7rK8d4E

which seems to be around for years: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.12811008
when I run the key in the info tab get some info about one key I get the private key, hexprivkey, hash160, Pubkey aswell!!!
when I run it in print balance: it gets the exact balance off the blockchain!

I never downloaded this key to this computer, and don't even have a wallet here yet!!

I still need to learn how to make pywallet2.2 look else where beside the c:\ drive totally offline!!

Funny i installed this on Monday:

HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 780 [text/plain]
Saving to: `update.bat'

100%[==============================================================================>] 780         --.-K/s   in 0s

2019-08-12 15:35:32 (86.3 MB/s) - `update.bat' saved [780/780]


C:\Users\Hoss>update.bat

C:\Users\Hoss>if AMD64 == x86 set arch=

C:\Users\Hoss>if AMD64 == AMD64 set arch= (x86)

C:\Users\Hoss>if AMD64 == IA64 set arch= (x86)

C:\Users\Hoss>del pywallet.py
Could Not Find C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.py

C:\Users\Hoss>"C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32\bin\wget.exe" https://raw.github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet/master/pywallet.py --no-check-certificate
SYSTEM_WGETRC = c:/progra~1/wget/etc/wgetrc
syswgetrc = C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32/etc/wgetrc
--2019-08-12 15:35:32--  https://raw.github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet/master/pywallet.py
Resolving raw.github.com... 151.101.0.133, 151.101.64.133, 151.101.128.133, ...
Connecting to raw.github.com|151.101.0.133|:443... connected.
WARNING: cannot verify raw.github.com's certificate, issued by `/C=US/O=DigiCert Inc/OU=www.digicert.com/CN=DigiCert SHA2 High Assurance Server CA':
  Unable to locally verify the issuer's authority.
WARNING: certificate common name `www.github.com' doesn't match requested host name `raw.github.com'.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet/master/pywallet.py [following]
--2019-08-12 15:35:32--  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet/master/pywallet.py
Resolving raw.githubusercontent.com... 151.101.0.133, 151.101.64.133, 151.101.128.133, ...
Connecting to raw.githubusercontent.com|151.101.0.133|:443... connected.
WARNING: cannot verify raw.githubusercontent.com's certificate, issued by `/C=US/O=DigiCert Inc/OU=www.digicert.com/CN=DigiCert SHA2 High Assurance Server CA':
  Unable to locally verify the issuer's authority.
WARNING: certificate common name `www.github.com' doesn't match requested host name `raw.githubusercontent.com'.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 345092 (337K) [text/plain]
Saving to: `pywallet.py'

100%[==============================================================================>] 345,092     --.-K/s   in 0.07s

2019-08-12 15:35:32 (4.98 MB/s) - `pywallet.py' saved [345092/345092]


C:\Users\Hoss>del pywallet.bat
Could Not Find C:\Users\Hoss\pywallet.bat

C:\Users\Hoss>"C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32\bin\wget.exe" https://raw.github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/pywallet.bat --no-check-certificate
SYSTEM_WGETRC = c:/progra~1/wget/etc/wgetrc
syswgetrc = C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32/etc/wgetrc
--2019-08-12 15:35:32--  https://raw.github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/pywallet.bat
Resolving raw.github.com... 151.101.0.133, 151.101.64.133, 151.101.128.133, ...
Connecting to raw.github.com|151.101.0.133|:443... connected.
WARNING: cannot verify raw.github.com's certificate, issued by `/C=US/O=DigiCert Inc/OU=www.digicert.com/CN=DigiCert SHA2 High Assurance Server CA':
  Unable to locally verify the issuer's authority.
WARNING: certificate common name `www.github.com' doesn't match requested host name `raw.github.com'.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/pywallet.bat [following]
--2019-08-12 15:35:33--  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/pywallet.bat
Resolving raw.githubusercontent.com... 151.101.0.133, 151.101.64.133, 151.101.128.133, ...
Connecting to raw.githubusercontent.com|151.101.0.133|:443... connected.
WARNING: cannot verify raw.githubusercontent.com's certificate, issued by `/C=US/O=DigiCert Inc/OU=www.digicert.com/CN=DigiCert SHA2 High Assurance Server CA':
  Unable to locally verify the issuer's authority.
WARNING: certificate common name `www.github.com' doesn't match requested host name `raw.githubusercontent.com'.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 32 [text/plain]
Saving to: `pywallet.bat'

100%[==============================================================================>] 32          --.-K/s   in 0s

2019-08-12 15:35:33 (3.91 MB/s) - `pywallet.bat' saved [32/32]


C:\Users\Hoss>del install.bat
Could Not Find C:\Users\Hoss\install.bat

C:\Users\Hoss>"C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32\bin\wget.exe" https://raw.github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/install.bat --no-check-certificate
SYSTEM_WGETRC = c:/progra~1/wget/etc/wgetrc
syswgetrc = C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32/etc/wgetrc
--2019-08-12 15:35:33--  https://raw.github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/install.bat
Resolving raw.github.com... 151.101.0.133, 151.101.64.133, 151.101.128.133, ...
Connecting to raw.github.com|151.101.0.133|:443... connected.
WARNING: cannot verify raw.github.com's certificate, issued by `/C=US/O=DigiCert Inc/OU=www.digicert.com/CN=DigiCert SHA2 High Assurance Server CA':
  Unable to locally verify the issuer's authority.
WARNING: certificate common name `www.github.com' doesn't match requested host name `raw.github.com'.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/install.bat [following]
--2019-08-12 15:35:33--  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/install.bat
Resolving raw.githubusercontent.com... 151.101.0.133, 151.101.64.133, 151.101.128.133, ...
Connecting to raw.githubusercontent.com|151.101.0.133|:443... connected.
WARNING: cannot verify raw.githubusercontent.com's certificate, issued by `/C=US/O=DigiCert Inc/OU=www.digicert.com/CN=DigiCert SHA2 High Assurance Server CA':
  Unable to locally verify the issuer's authority.
WARNING: certificate common name `www.github.com' doesn't match requested host name `raw.githubusercontent.com'.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 1943 (1.9K) [text/plain]
Saving to: `install.bat'

100%[==============================================================================>] 1,943       --.-K/s   in 0.001s

2019-08-12 15:35:33 (3.26 MB/s) - `install.bat' saved [1943/1943]


C:\Users\Hoss>del update.bat   & "C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32\bin\wget.exe" https://raw.github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/update.bat --no-check-certificate
SYSTEM_WGETRC = c:/progra~1/wget/etc/wgetrc
syswgetrc = C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32/etc/wgetrc
--2019-08-12 15:35:33--  https://raw.github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/update.bat
Resolving raw.github.com... 151.101.0.133, 151.101.64.133, 151.101.128.133, ...
Connecting to raw.github.com|151.101.0.133|:443... connected.
WARNING: cannot verify raw.github.com's certificate, issued by `/C=US/O=DigiCert Inc/OU=www.digicert.com/CN=DigiCert SHA2 High Assurance Server CA':
  Unable to locally verify the issuer's authority.
WARNING: certificate common name `www.github.com' doesn't match requested host name `raw.github.com'.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/update.bat [following]
--2019-08-12 15:35:34--  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet-win-files/master/update.bat
Resolving raw.githubusercontent.com... 151.101.0.133, 151.101.64.133, 151.101.128.133, ...
Connecting to raw.githubusercontent.com|151.101.0.133|:443... connected.
WARNING: cannot verify raw.githubusercontent.com's certificate, issued by `/C=US/O=DigiCert Inc/OU=www.digicert.com/CN=DigiCert SHA2 High Assurance Server CA':
  Unable to locally verify the issuer's authority.
WARNING: certificate common name `www.github.com' doesn't match requested host name `raw.githubusercontent.com'.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 780 [text/plain]
Saving to: `update.bat'

100%[==============================================================================>] 780         --.-K/s   in 0s

2019-08-12 15:35:34 (95.4 MB/s) - `update.bat' saved [780/780]


C:\Users\Hoss>C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master\pywallet.bat

C:\Users\Hoss>pywallet.py --web --port 8989
2019-08-12 15:36:24-0700 [-] Log opened.
2019-08-12 15:36:24-0700 [-] Starting server: 2019-08-12 15:36:24.787000
2019-08-12 15:36:24-0700 [-] Site starting on 8989
2019-08-12 15:36:24-0700 [-] Starting factory



C:\Users\Hoss\Documents\pywallet-win-files-master>pywallet.py --web --port 8989
2019-08-12 16:00:19-0700 [-] Log opened.
2019-08-12 16:00:19-0700 [-] Starting server: 2019-08-12 16:00:19.899000
2019-08-12 16:00:19-0700 [-] Site starting on 8989
2019-08-12 16:00:19-0700 [-] Starting factory


exactly what u said happened, I tried to open port 8989 (didn't know how) on internet explorer but didn't work!!


tried pip install pywallet and the same error msg.!

ran it again today and opened port 8989 on chrome and voila, it's on: pywallet 2.2

now i just have to learn how to use it, change search directories to external drives to find deleted or hidden wallets, keys, passwords, locations........
thank you very much.

Maybe try using the .exe installer for Pywallet... as per the instructions here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/pywallet-22-manage-your-wallet-update-required-34028
NOTE: do not bother with the .bat file and using the web interface... it's no good for what you want.

That should install all the bits and pieces that you need to have pywallet.py installed somewhere on your system... you should then be able to use "python pywallet.py [blah blah blah]" as required. I have successfully used this installer on Windows 10 to setup pywallet.

Note, the installer is in French... so here are some screenshots with notes:


You should see a cmd window like this popup:


Then you should see WGET start:


Now you can click "Next", "Next", "Next".... "Install", then "Finish". You'll see a bunch more commands in the commandline box and then it should close.

Now open the commandline to the install directory that you put in Step 1. above and run "install.bat"... you'll see a bunch of commandsline execute and then you will see pywallet.py in the "dir" listing:


Following that, you should be able to run pywallet.py... you can safely ignore the warning about pycrypto and libssl...



If you are still getting errors about modules/libraries OTHER than pycrypto or libssl, then there is a good chance that you have not installed Python 2.7 correctly (or perhaps your %PATH% is not set correctly).

I would if I could, but I have no experience with either pywallet or team viewer.