Topic: Ubuntu to Windows Wallet Migration Good or Bad Idea? (Read 228 times)

Armory 94.0+ cuts the 180GB db files down to ~ 3GB

• backup Armory wallet files
• delete Armory databases folder (NOT the folder below it)
• upgrade to Armory 96.5 at https://btcarmory.com

consider getting minimum 0.17.1 if you want to be conservative (everything less than that has now-known bugs). But if you're changing the whole setup after catching up on the blockchain, you'll be ok till then

Fellow Forum Member,
I have the update I promised. After many hours of time spent syncing my bitcoin core app and Armory app I hit a brick wall relating to not enough hard drive space. In short, I was never able to see a wallet balance in my outdated Armory v93.1 and bitcoin core v0.15.1.0 apps due to some low disk space error messages that appeared. I was really disappointed and somewhat perplexed. Upon checking I learned the following:

• My 500GB hard drive is really 465GB after it is formatted.

• My .bitcoin file size is 213GB

• My Armory data base size is 180GB.

• My disk space app tells me I have 20GB left. However, my Bitcoin Core app is telling me I only have 350MB left of hard drive space. This has me perplexed.

Long story short, I picked up a new 2TB Sandisk SSD hard drive today for my new Ubuntu version 18 LTC Online PC build. I intend  to rebuild my Armory Online PC and then transfer over the necessary files both Armory and Bitcoin Core app need to work correctly.  I would really be grateful if anybody in this forum can clarify for me the following:

• Is transferring this 213GB blockchain data a good idea or is it smarter to just re-download all 213GB  blockchain data from scratch? In other words, does the Bitcoin Core app prefer one way or the other? Additionally, what is the source path and destination path to this blockchain data if transferring it is the best approach? In other words, does the new Bitcoin Core v18 app use a different blockchain data folder location compared to my old v15 Bitcoin Core app?

• What are paths to the critical Armory files I need to transfer?

• Besides blockchain data, what are the paths to other critical Bitcoin Core files I need to transfer?

• My plan is to install the latest Armory version 0.96.5. What not included dependencies do I need to look out for so Armory works correctly?

• I'm not sure about installing the app called QT. Do the latest Bitcoin Core and Armory versions require I install QT?

• Is there any great online training content that already has answers to my questions?

My focus right now is to get my ONLINE PC back up. I will focus on rebuilding my OFFLINE PC at a later time. Thanks in advance for any help relating to setting up an Online Armory PC.

One last thing I would like to share. For those buying a laptop from Craigslist as an Ubuntu offline PC, you should make sure it can accept a 2.5" / 15MM height form factor internal hard drive. Laptops that only accept internal hard drives with a 9.5MM height will prevent you from buying inexpensive 2TB or 4TB mechanical hard drives. And force you to instead buy expensive 9.5MM height 2TB and 4TB SSD drives. In short, NewEgg and Amazon do not have for sale 9.5MM height, 2TB, 7500RPM 2.5" internal laptop mechanical hard drives because hard drive manufacturers are only now making 15MM high ones for mechanical hard drives that match such specs. 

Neither is the offline deb. The latest offline deb was for 0.96.2 and as per my previous post it doesn't include all dependencies for modern versions of Ubuntu.

I do not know from the top of my head, but...

what you need to know (IIUC) is which version of the GCC compiler comes with Ubuntu 18 LTS. If it's a version < 7.2, you want the first Armory package. If 18 LTS has a GCC version >= 7.2, it's the second Armory package.

the consequences of being wrong are perfectly ok, your Ubuntu package manager will tell you "I haven't got GCC version 7.2". It seems very unlikely that 18 LTS has GCC <4.9, version 4.9 is pretty old

Carlton,
Thank you very much for your post. I was surprised to learn I was looking at the wrong website.

Question regarding the two Ubuntu download links below:
Armory 0.96.5 Ubuntu/Debian 64-bit with GCC 4.9
Armory 0.96.5 Ubuntu/Debian 64-bit with GCC 7.2

Which download is the one that applies to the Offline PC?  I'm asking because I want to know if the .deb file for the Offline PC includes all needed dependencies.  I plan to setup an Offline PC with the latest Ubuntu 18 LTS. Therefore, it would be helpful to know which download is the correct one to setup an Offline PC.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.

come here or to the Tech Support sub, there's always plenty of help on offer.



there's an unknown ETA on that. if you don't need to use your BTC for "a while" (a while of unknown length, that is), then it'll be alright to go that route




that's the old site, it's out of date

https://btcarmory.com is the new/genuine website, and version 0.96.5 is the current latest version

PhoenixFire and Carlton Banks,
Thank you very much for contributing to this thread. Your answers are very helpful. My Bitcoin Core app is still syncing up. It shows it has 1year and 13weeks left to be in total sync with the Bitcoin blockchain. Once syncing is done, I will launch my outdated Armory app and cross my fingers it shows me a wallet balance after it syncs up to Bitcoin Core. As for broadcasting, I don't plan to do that. I just plan to keep it in cold storage for another 7 to 10 years and see what happens to the price in the future.

I will make sure to post if I do see or do not see my wallet balance once this process is done. This way I can make sure I can help others in the same boat I find myself in which is bringing back to life an Ubuntu laptop which has been dormant for a very long time.

Additionally, Carlton has convinced me to keep using Ubuntu since it has better privacy compared to Windows. One thing I forgot to mention is  I only have like 75GB left on the hard drive running my Ubuntu OS, Armory, QT, Bitcoin Core and blockchain data. In short, I believe it is time to get a new laptop from Craigslist and leave my old laptop as is.

This time I will be buying a Western Digital 4TB 2.5" laptop hard drive so I can have plenty of space to continue syncing up to the blockchain for years to come. On this new laptop I will install the latest Armory, Bitcoin Core and Ubuntu software. The bridge I will eventually have to cross is learning how to transfer the entire blockchain data from the old hard drive to the new 4TB hard drive and also figure out how to migrate my Armory wallet over to the new 4TB hard drive.  However, I think maybe it may be smart if I wait for Armory version .97 to come out before I go about on building a new Ubuntu Armory laptop.

Lastly, I will reword one of my questions a different way.  The Armory download site (https://www.bitcoinarmory.com/download/) has the download links shown below:

DOWNLOADS:
0.96.0
#1 Armory 0.96.0 Installer for Windows 64-bit
#2 Armory 0.96.0 Zip package for Windows 64-bit
#3 Armory 0.96.0 for Ubuntu/Debian 64-bit with GCC 4.7
#4 Armory 0.96.0 for Ubuntu/Debian 64-bit with GCC 5.3
#5 Armory 0.96.0 Signed Hash File

Only options #3 and #4 seem to be Ubuntu related. Given that, which download (#3 or #4) applies to the Offline PC? And which one (#3 or #4) applies to the Online PC?  Also, what is the GCC 4.7 and GCC 5.3 difference about?  Thanks in advance for any help.

you're never going to be comfortable using something if you use it once, then don't touch it for several years



yes



keys can stay on Ubuntu offline machine.



it'll work, but you're giving up your privacy, who Microsoft will sell to anyone they like

As far as I can tell it should work. I think you might have problems broadcasting transactions, but unsure.

Nope. The offline and online device model still exists. Newer versions of Ubuntu/Debian retired and no longer include the older version of the QT framework that Armory uses. Including these packages (and their dependencies!) in the offline archive would bloat the filesize and probably be a pain to maintain.
N.B. The devs are working hard to modernize the codebase for v0.97.

The somewhat easy method around this is to grab the .deb files from the apt cache on the online machine and copy to/install on the offline machine. This isn't without flaws.

I believe the bootstrap file is largely irrelevant these days. You would probably be better to copy over whatever blockchain data you have and continue syncing.
Armory wallets aren't tied to a specific platform - wallet files should be interoperable but make sure you have your paper backup anyway.
It really depends on how much happier with Windows you are. 10 has some quirks related to Armory <-> node operation that aren't experienced on Windows 7 or on Linux. With 7 support ending in January, the options dwindle.

Fellow Forum Members,
My online bitcoin laptop is setup with bitcoin core v0.15.1.0 and Armory v93.1. I have not turned it on for years. However, I managed to update it to the latest Ubuntu v18 bionic beaver. My question is simple. After bitcoin core finishes syncing up in about another 3 weeks and then I launch my v93.1 Armory software am I still going to be able to see my wallet balance of one original bitcoin? In other words, are the versions of Armory and Bitcoin Core I'm using just too old to still successfully work and show me a correct wallet balance? 

Additionally, I hope somebody can clarify for me the following. In the old Armory v93.1 software there was an Armory download to install onto the Online PC and a second Armory download to install onto the Offline PC where the private keys are kept. Now for Armory v96.5 I see there is only a single Armory download. What happened to the Offline PC Armory download?  I am confused about this change and I am hoping someone out there can clarify to me why has the OFFLINE PC Armory download been eliminated? Are we now expected to keep are private keys on the Armory installed on the ONLINE PC?  That would be a big change in security because keeping them on an Offline Armory PC setup seems a lot safer to me. Or are we expected to use the same v96.5 Armory software download and install them on both an ONLINE PC and OFFLINE PC? 

Lastly, I have never really felt comfortable with the Ubuntu Linux OS. I am seriously thinking of setting up an entirely new system under the Windows10 OS which I master a lot better. In my head I see this workflow:

1. Download bootstrap file via torrent file link.
2. Install Bitcoin Core 18.1 and sync it up.
3. Install Armory v96.5 and allow it to sync up with Bitcoin Core data.

Where I am confused is my wallet on Ubuntu. Will an Armory Ubuntu wallet still be recognized on a Armory Windows setup? Additionally, do my private keys on my Offline Ubuntu PC stay where they are at?  Or do I need to move them to a separate offline Windows PC?  In short, is it a good or bad idea to migrate from Ubuntu over to Windows?

I hope somebody out there will be kind enough to address my questions so I can have a clearer idea of what path to follow.  Thanks in advance for any help.