Topic: Problems with synching (Read 1563 times)

True.


I sometimes think its some form of placebo. Give them some "good" nodes to add to a list and some commands and they feel like its faster but it would have probably taken the same time without all the tinkering. The bootstrap.dat however does wonders. I used it myself recently and its big shortcut even on a system with an old magnetic HDD.


Most recent example IMHO [1] but I still have a little hope they are not lost.


I think the idea of "the official" wallet (beeing bitcoin core) is somehow stuck in the head of newcomers. I sometimes have the feeling they understand bitcoin as some kind of company that issues a currency and bitcoin core is the companies official client. All other wallets are just copies. It has the same icon as bitcoin.org, must be the best.
I just read the "choose your wallet" page again and it was greatly improve. With warning ! Take time to educate yourself and everything. I dont know what else to do honestly.


I read about a stampsized machine somewhere that can run a full node. Only ~16 connections though, but fully working node.
Anyway, that wasnt the post I was refering to. Its in the original paper [2] section 8. The idea of a client that does not need to download the full blockchain and not even a full block.

Edit: looks like headers first is coming [3] with the next update. That might speed things up.


[1] https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoins-trapped-in-express-coin-bitcoin-wallet-826065
[2] https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
[3] https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/wladimir-on-twitter-headers-first-has-been-merged-to-bitcoin-core-826501

I'm fairly active in Technical Support and the big majority of "Help, it takes a long time / what is wrong with Bitcoin Core" problems in this section are usually resolved after they waited for the sync to finish. Things like the bootstrap.dat, peers.dat and connect= may make it quicker, but the bottom line is you just have to wait. So I stand by my comment: Download, double-click, wait, done. ;-)

Also, maybe people should just read?

https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

The general clicky-clicky-give-me-ze-coinz-now attitude of people towards bitcoin has ended in tears a many times in various shapes and forms. Bitcoin is not easy. At the very least make an attempt at reading, trying to understand the basic principles, the risks involved with the different options that are available and then make an informed decision. This may mean that a light weight solution is the one for you. Or use something like Circle, if convenience is the most important (*shudder*). But it's more fruitful to go through that process first, before jumping in to something you don't understand and becoming frustrated.


Regarding Satoshis post (if it's the one I'm thinking of) on that not everybody will run a full node: note how he talks about "generating" in there. So he was talking about mining. We are already at this point. Now, a bitcoin node without mining can be run on a minimal budget and resources using a RaspberryPi with an external hard drive (not saying *that* is trivial to do, but it works).

I agree.  Not everyone will run full nodes, the more techy the person is, the more likely they will.  I just know my aunt or grandmother would not try.  They'd call me and try to get me to do it over the phone or via screen sharing/VNC or just switch to something that is easy to set up.  Most people want to use bitcoin for , not run a node.  That is the nature of how growth goes.


:-)

No! Exporting private keys works without syncing.


Somehow I aggree with both (Newar) of you. On the one hand you have the people that have no problem setting up bitcoin core or endure/solve the problems when they arise and on the other hand you have the people that have problems and maybe should just use another wallet.
Satoshi predicted that not everyone would be running a full node in the future. Maybe this time is now, maybe we are allready at a stage where only "nerds" or tech savvy individuals run full nodes besides the big companies and miners.

If you have no need for Bitcoin core, not using the features available only in Bitcoin core, not planning to run a full node for long periods of time, try lightweight, SPV wallets. They offer basic features, sending and receiving Bitcoins, Multibit and electrum are one of them. If you have a need for Bitcoin core, use torrent to download the bootstrap and place the blocks to the data folder.

Multibit is the wallet that's most convenient to use. I feel it's as secure as core wallet for the simple user and there's no blockchain hassle.

But yeah, you'll have to have a working and synced core wallet to export the keys and import them into multibit.



(I used the similar Dogecoin core wallet and Multidoge for a similar task and it worked, I am almost sure it's the same with BTC wallets)

It sounds like this is for an alt-coin (hyper stake), so you might ask in the alt section, but it just means that it hasn't found any peers to connect to as of that point.

In this case, yes, those may not be issues.

But ALL have been issues this year making it non trivial to install for a non tech person. Most people would just say screw it.  Look at the issues for 32 bit versions and the initial sync running out of RAM, look at all the tech support threads, depending on the platform, and all the various suggestions people have, some of which I mentioned above.

Obviously I can say, if you exclude app nap because it is Mac, or you can exclude 32 bit issues because it is Windows, then you can say it is easy because you just exclude all the machines with issues.  Anyway, thin clients are best for these types of users right now, imo.  Bitcoin Core is resource intensive now, more so than the past, and will only get more so. 

Well, that is the case. 32 vs. 64 is no issue. RAM is no issue. App nap is a Mac specific thing. Peers is no issue. Bandwith is no issue. All you need to add to your list is: wait.

I feel I need to add to this after I read it, I am convinced Isp's are now messing with p2p, and that the problem may not be bitcoin at all, but there are most defo major syncing problems goin on in docsis 3 area's

I think all the tips about using the torrent,  32 vs 64 bit, questions about RAM, App Nap, slow vs fast peers, bandwidth, RAM, etc make it no longer trivial.  Trivial is something my Aunt or grandmother could do. Download, double-click, done.


Not to say it is hard for the technically inclined, but definitely not trivially easy. Back in 2010 and 2011 it was very fast to start up and to be caught up to the current chain and a lot less resource intensive.


Edit: btw, this is not a criticism of Bitcoin, just a statement of facts.

Of course it's trivial, it just needs time. From my observation, the "fresher" the blocks are the slower it gets. CPU will spike because it's validating the blocks. It's not just about downloading.

So if you have tried the torrent, tweaks like the connect= command etc., all you can do is wait.

In return you will know that the blockchain on your harddisk is *the* blockchain and don't have to rely on a 3rd party as you do with thin clients. Worth something, IMHO.

Bitcoin Core isn't trivial to set up any more and is much more resource (time, storage, CPU, memory) than the lightweight clients.  It serves its purpose.


Good luck.  ;-)


















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Ya Shoreana posted some helpful stuff that i have read and tried with no solutions. I will check out the Alternatives that you suggested because the BTC core is getting long in the tooth with the B.S.

Thanks for your Help Bro.

It is definitely easier to use one of the thin clients.

Multibit or Electrum are both reputable and should be much faster that Bitcoin Core since they do not download the blockchain.

Some are discussed here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=37.0

Just make sure you download from the official site.  ;-)


It would be difficult to debug Bitcoin Core without more info, particularly since you looked at what shorena had suggested elsewhere.

shitty 8.1 Windows and i can't find anything on here so i'm not sure of what Memory Etc. i have sorry.

When i run Task manager the BTC Spikes my CPU and it almost spikes my memory and Disk.

Never had this problem on the older version

What OS are you running?  Memory? etc

To make a long story short.  Had 0.91 or .092 seen the 0.93 version available clicked d/l.   I messed up after and clicked on the older version and it said can't access the blockchain or something want to Reindex it? I clicked yes then knew i made a mistake when i seen the older version.   Deleted the blockchain and started 0.93.  went fast as hell up to like 250,000 then slowed right down.

It has been days and it's at 306,507 blocks 17 weeks behind and it downloads a block or 2 every ten minutes or so then just stops.

I have restarted the core multiple times even letting it sit overnight with almost no movement. I have tried deleting the debug file and the peers file in the roaming folder with no improvements.

I have followed Shorenas advice on multiple different threads with no improvements.

Any Ideas to fix this? or is there a better Wallet to use without the B.S. BTC Blockchain?
Thanks!