Topic: Wondering if anyone can help. (Read 1220 times)

In bitcoin Core App go to Help->Debug Window->Console
In console you are able to export private key of your address. The command is
Then you may import this key to another (light or web-based) wallet. Blockchain.info for example.

If you need to spend the funds just do something like what this tutorial says.

As for the debug, I am not an expert, but I don't see anything wrong there, does it end abruptly like that?

Thanks again.

Here's the debug.log file:

2016-06-07 15:01:26 Bitcoin version v0.12.1 (2016-04-11 13:01:43 +0200)
2016-06-07 15:01:26 InitParameterInteraction: parameter interaction: -whitelistforcerelay=1 -> setting -whitelistrelay=1
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Using BerkeleyDB version Berkeley DB 4.8.30: (April  9, 2010)
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Default data directory /Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Using data directory /Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Using config file /Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/bitcoin.conf
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Using at most 125 connections (2560 file descriptors available)
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Using 2 threads for script verification
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Using wallet wallet.dat
2016-06-07 15:01:26 init message: Verifying wallet...
2016-06-07 15:01:26 scheduler thread start
2016-06-07 15:01:26 CDBEnv::Open: LogDir=/Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/database ErrorFile=/Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/db.log
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Bound to [::]:8333
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Bound to 0.0.0.0:8333
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Cache configuration:
2016-06-07 15:01:26 * Using 2.0MiB for block index database
2016-06-07 15:01:26 * Using 32.5MiB for chain state database
2016-06-07 15:01:26 * Using 65.5MiB for in-memory UTXO set
2016-06-07 15:01:26 init message: Loading block index...
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Opening LevelDB in /Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/blocks/index
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Opened LevelDB successfully
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Using obfuscation key for /Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/blocks/index: 0000000000000000
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Opening LevelDB in /Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/chainstate
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Opened LevelDB successfully
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Using obfuscation key for /Users/PaulHudson/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/chainstate: 12856379b7670d0a
2016-06-07 15:01:26 LoadBlockIndexDB: last block file = 0
2016-06-07 15:01:26 LoadBlockIndexDB: last block file info: CBlockFileInfo(blocks=0, size=0, heights=0...0, time=1970-01-01...1970-01-01)
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Checking all blk files are present...
2016-06-07 15:01:26 LoadBlockIndexDB: transaction index disabled
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Initializing databases...
2016-06-07 15:01:26 Pre-allocating up to position 0x1000000 in blk00000.dat
 

You would add -prune to the startup command.

Well I'm not sure how to pass parameters to the application since I don't use a Mac. I'm sure other people have figured it out so google around for how to do that. I think you may need to write a script though.

Go to the data directory (should be in ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/). The debug.log file should be in their. Then post that file here. If it is too large to post here, put it in a new paste on http://pastebin.com/ and then post the link to that paste here.

If you have the wallet.dat file, then you should have your private keys. You could use pywallet to extract the private keys, but I'm not sure if it still works.

UPDATE: Have saved both sets of wallet.dat files that have appeared on both my mac and the external hard-drive. Unsure as to what they contain but I have now backed up both just incase

Hey,

Thanks for your helpful comments guys, much appreciated.

I have a few questions if you don't mind...

How would I enable pruning? It sounds ideal for them to be downloaded and then deleted when no longer necessary.

I have absolutely no idea how to add '-datadir=' to the shortcut or even where the shortcut itself is.

How would I show you guys the debug.log file so that I am able to open the bitcoin core?

I've been looking at the files I still have under bitcoin and there seems to be very little left in comparison to before.

I am unsure if I have the private keys, how do i go about exporting to then import to electrum multibit?

You could enable pruning which can save space. It will still need to download the entire blockchain but most of it will be deleted after it has been downloaded and verified.

The setttings for that are stored in the registry (or whatever the mac equivalent is) and once it is in there, Bitcoin Core will always know that it is no longer the first session. The solution is to use the -datadir option. I'm not quite sure how to do this in a Mac, but what you need to do is find where the startup command is (probably in a shortcut) and add the following to the end of the command:
where is the path to the new data directory. Make sure there is a space between this option and whatever is already there for the command.

Quote from: ph4 on June 07, 2016, 10:02:27 AM

To make matters worse the application now won't even start and 'quits unexpectedly' every time I try to open.

That's a whole other problem and we will need to see the debug.log file to figure that out.

Quote from: ph4 on June 07, 2016, 10:02:27 AM

My question is what do I do now in terms of retrieving the original bitcoin if this is at all possible (I have the address it was sent to and the key of course)?

Presumably, I could delete all files and re-download the application allowing me to change the default directory to the external hard drive but this would surely result in me losing access to the original address and thus my bitcoin.

First, you must find the wallet.dat file and back it up to a safe location. That file contains your private keys that you need to spend the Bitcoin. You could export the private keys and import them to Electrum, but my solution above with the datadir should fix your problem.

Bitcoin Core is the reference client.  It establishes the consensus rules that all other wallets must abide by if they wish to operate on the Bitcoin network.  It is neither the safest, nor the best-encrypted.  As a matter of fact, if you don't set up a password on your Bitcoin Core wallet, then it is not encrypted at all.


You have the private key for the address that you sent the bitcoins to?

If so, you could switch to a lightweight wallet such as Electrum or Multibit and either import the private key, or sweep the funds to that new wallet.


Before you do ANYTHING you should create a backup of your wallet and store it in a secure location.  That way you can recover your bitcoins no matter what you do to the current working copy.  If you haven't created a backup yet, please do so immediately. Hopefully it isn't too late (if you deleted the old wallet.dat file and don't actually have the private key).

Hey guys,

Have a difficult situation on my hands and wondering if anyone can help as I am extremely new to bitcoin...

Downloaded the Bitcoin Core application as I believed it was the safest and best-encrypted method of wallet to hold bitcoin temporarily, however, didn't realise that it would try to download the whole of the blockchain data directory before allowing me to move funds using the application.

Stupidly I transferred a large amount of bitcoin to the address I had on the application before it had caught up to the current time.

Naturally my mac ran out of memory with around 10 weeks to go left in catch up and having deleted everything I could It was clear I needed an external hard drive to store the blockchain and allow me to move the funds.

Having spent another sum of money on the hard drive I set about changing the default directory using this guide:
http://bitzuma.com/posts/moving-the-bitcoin-core-data-directory/

However when I got to the 're-opening' the bitcoin core stage instead of assuming it was my first session and asking for either the default or custom directory, bitcoin core simply resumed the download but from the START (roughly six years left to catch-up).

To make matters worse the application now won't even start and 'quits unexpectedly' every time I try to open.

My question is what do I do now in terms of retrieving the original bitcoin if this is at all possible (I have the address it was sent to and the key of course)?

Presumably, I could delete all files and re-download the application allowing me to change the default directory to the external hard drive but this would surely result in me losing access to the original address and thus my bitcoin.

Please someone help or advise me in this situation I would be very grateful

Paul

PS. I understand the issue was due to a lack of research originally and take complete blame for it, just wondering if there is ANYTHING I can do