Topic: Portable Electrum Wallet Problem (Read 271 times)

That's a valid point.
But there is no doubt that windows 7 is - by far - less secure than windows 10 by default. Core security mechanisms are missing, which got implemented in windows 10.

Win 10 is known to be a microsoft spyware. But this doesn't mean Win7 isn't also collecting user data. If one really cares about his/her privacy, using windows itself is a huge no-go, regardless whether it is win7 or win10.

one might argue that using Windows you are never safe at all, whether it is an older version like 7 or the new version Windows 10. in fact the new one might be less safe specially with all the backdoors and official spyware Microsoft has intentionally embedded in that version themselves.

the highest level of security is achieved by using open source software, including the OS (ie. using Linux) and preferably being offline.

That's somewhat debatable given Microsoft's somewhat appalling record in 2020 for releasing updates that have deleted users data (multiple times) and, more recently, installed very old, outdated driver files.

It has got to the point where I leave it on "notifications only" and wait a good 7 days before running updates to give it enough time to make sure there aren't any major issues If more publishers were releasing games on Linux, and my work systems weren't so MS focused, I'd probably change in a heartbeat!

Besides the fact that windows 7 has reached its end of life, there are tons of security mechanisms not available in it which are present in newer versions of windows.
Using windows 7 puts you automatically at risk. Simply by not having the necessary protection mechanisms from your OS.

If you are using windows, at least make sure to have the latest updates on the latest OS available.
When using windows, there is literally no good reason to not update the OS (except for some inconveniences windows has when updating, maybe).

Microsoft ending support for Windows 7 means they no longer fix any new issues found in that OS or publish new updates. otherwise the old updates that they had released so far are still available on windows update and should be downloaded that way.

I'm currently using Windows 7 service pack 1 and using latest version of Electrum without any issue.
The only thing that I did before is by installing VC++ redistributable so if you having some different issues like these error below


Or other errors like Electrum not opening(The same as your issue). Just install the whole VC++ packages but if you don't want to download and test every version of VC++ much better to download the all in one pack which is one that I used to make the Electrum work on Windows 7.

The source is not from microsoft since they end support the Windows 7 but you can still able to download the all in one package on the 3rd party source from "techpowerup".

Here's the link(Latest update of AllinOne VC++)
- https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/

Here's the virustotal result below to make sure it doesn't have any malware stuffing.
- https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/9929308880a7c7f93bb5659913646f0c9559d0ebccccb9c2f41f8fe0549605f2/detection

If you don't trust Techpowerup much better download VC++ one by one to test which one will work as suggested above but for me I don't have any problem using their package.

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Also, antivirus is one of the another reason why Electrum is not opening or just stuck on taskbar you might need to configure the antivirus to trust the Electrum software, I experienced this before it takes 15 minutes to scan the Electrum before it open and sometimes it does not open but it's running on the background.

Try to rename the data directory in the same drive as the portable executable, it's "electron_cash_data", rename it into "electron_cash_data_backup" or similar.
If you mean "Electrum", not "Electron" as you said in the OP, the data directory for the portable version is "electrum_data".
That should clear the data directory; then try to open Electrum 4.0.3/Electron 4.1.1.
If it opened, restore your wallet using the seed phrase.

If it didn't worked and you want to return everything else, delete the newly created data directory and rename the original back into "electron_cash_data"/"electrum_data".
You may as well choose to create a backup of that original folder.

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If it didn't open using the above instructions and your OS is an old non-updated version of Windows7 labeled as "Windows 7 Service Pack 1" in Properties of "My Computer",
then try to download and install the said update, it's required by most app, not just Electrum and you might need it in the future.

Make sure to select the correct version to install: support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2999226
Specifically, one of these:
You can check if your PC is x64 or x86 (32-bit) in the same window where you can find the Windows version and service pack.

The installer will also detect if you already have it in your PC.

Most likely that is the reason why you're not able to get it working properly... if you can't upgrade to Windows 10, then your options are:

1. Try a Linux Live OS on a USB pen drive and boot from that
2. Try a Linux OS running in a virtual machine like Oracle Virtual Box
3. Try using Electrum on Android

What is your end goal here? recover the funds and spend them? or recover the funds and continue using Electrum? Do you want a "permanent" solution that you can continue to use going forward or are you just trying to recover your coins?

 I am using WINDOWS 7 . Maybe that's why it is giving problem .  Should I try it  on my Android phone as said above ?

You can easily find a good tutorial for Electrum on youtube. You can watch the below tutorial which is short and easy to understand.

How to - Set up an Electrum Bitcoin Wallet [April 2020]

Whenever you download Electrum make sure to check the URL before downloading as people fall prey to a phishing attack.
You can use the below site and also bookmark it for future use.

Electrum download

If the latest version is not compatible or if you are facing issue despite all your efforts you can also try using a little older but newer than your current one and try to see if that works out for you. Below is the Index of Electrum versions and try to see if any of these works out for you.

Index of Electrum

What operating system are you running? Newer versions of Electrum have some issues with older versions of Windows, as per the electrum download page:

Basically, Windows 10 should work without issues, Windows 7 can be quite problematic to get running properly, since version 3.0+ of Electrum

Download Electrum APK from the link I gave on the above post or from the google play store then install it.

1) Once you installed open the app and select create new wallet,

2) Click Standard Wallet then click next.

3) Select I already have a seed then click next

4) Then enter your and click next

then your wallet will appear with whatever funds you got left.

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Sorry I am on my mobile now so can't able to post those screenshots.

Where do I have to create the backup ?

Yes I have the recovery seed . But I am unable to upgrade . I have downloaded the recent version but it doesn't open . Can you put a link to any tutorial ? I will try in android too .

I hope you had created a backup of your wallet if not then create one and then upgrade it to the new version. When you create a backup of your wallet you can access your wallet on any device by importing the wallet using backup phrase. So yes, you can use your same wallet on your desktop too.

Do you have the recovery seed of your portable version? If yes then you can upgrade your wallet into new version with no issues.

https://electrum.org/#download here you can find the latest version, if you still having problem with installation just download the android format and install it into your smartphone then import the old wallet recovery seed here to get access to your funds.

Hello , I have some Bitcoin in a portable elecron wallet  which is on my pen drive . Now if I try to transfer the bitcoin to an address in Localbitcoin or any other address , it says "error: server didn't respond " . My electron version is 2.9.0 , which is quite old .  Maybe this is the reason I am unable to send the bitcoin . And I am unable to upgrade it to current version . How do I upgrade ? And if I download the 4.0.3 version , it just doesn't open in my computer .